Bark N Bubbles

Owning a guardian breed is a large responsibility, even more so than other dogs. It is also a great joy - if you're suited to it.

First, though, the subtle difference between a guard dog and a guardian breed needs to be set out:

• Guard: a person or group of persons that guards, protects, or keeps a protective or restraining watch.

When we think of guard dogs, one of the first breeds that comes to mind is the Doberman Pinscher, bred specifically with that purpose in mind. The Black Russian Terrier is another true guard dog breed. The Malinois and the German Shepherd Dog are also thought of as guard dogs, although the German Shepherd in particular was once more a herding dog that would protect his people and property. The Bull Mastiff became a guard dog over time, after the days of their ancestors as war dogs were over.

• Guardian: one who guards, protects, or preserves, custodial, tutelar, tutelary, defender, protector.

Great Pyrenees, Komondor, Central Asian Shepherd, Anatolian, Caucasian Ovcharka...

There is a subtle but real difference between the guarding breeds and the guardian breeds. The guards' duties are to know what their handler wants done and to do things accordingly, to be on guard against threats from the outside and to follow orders. They excel at sports like Schutzhund.

The guardians were historically breeds that often performed their duties without direct supervision. Their responsibility was not only to recognize and neutralize the outside threat, even if it was something new and outside their direct experience. Just as important a duty was the task of keeping track of their charges, whether livestock or the nomad family spread out across the steppes, making sure everyone was there and well.

No one "owns" a guardian breed. You live with them. It must be a relationship built on respect and trust from the earliest stages, when you and that puppy choose each other and pledge your loyalty and love. It is your responsibility - and a heavy one - to see that the guardian puppy who is going to share this part of your life learns all the lessons it needs to be able to perform its duties, to make good decisions in the discharge of those duties. A guardian breed that is kept to a sheltered existence and isn't allowed to grow and learn and move through the world easily - if warily - never becomes a whole dog. A guardian is what these dogs are, not what they do.

There is a misconception that allowing your guardian to observe human behavior and experience benign interaction with other people at an early age will ruin their instincts. It doesn't; it gives them the experience to know and make good decisions when faced with a situation where they must make a choice. These are intelligent breeds with adaptable and facile brains. Teach them. Instill self confidence. A confident dog is one that won't act out of fear or blind rage.

It's important to honestly ask yourself, before you ever look into that puppy's eyes, if you are at least as smart as your guardian breed dog is going to be. You're going to have to be stubborn, too, without being intractable. You need the strength of the oak and the flexibility of the willow and the judgment to know when to invoke each one because you will be tested. You will earn the love and respect of that dog, just as it will earn yours. Your patience will be tried in a thousand different ways, and rewarded two-fold.

Oh, and when that puppy becomes an adolescent... that's when you prove yourself! Your wonderful, sweet, loving puppy has become an attitudinal brat. If they don't see you they don't hear you, so you'll find yourself talking to the butt more than the head. Even at that age, though, you can't bully these dogs, the only soft spot they have is their feelings and you'd better have a connection to the heart and conscience of the brat-dog! Once the adolescent months are over, though, you will have your dog back, provided you haven't done something truly stupid, like try to bully your way through those frustrating days.

It's a tall order, a daunting responsibility, but for the right human and the right canine, worth every moment, every jot of extra effort. A labor of love.

Article by Ken Adamas - visit his site to save on pet products like dog kennels and dog training collars.

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