Pick right dog for protection

Not long ago, a woman called me, very upset. She'd just dropped her dog off at a shelter — the same shelter from which she had originally adopted him only a few weeks earlier.

When I asked why she had returned him, she described what were obvious signs of severe aggressive tendencies.

When I asked why she had taken him home with her in the first place, she said, "For protection."

OK. "For protection" makes sense. A lot of people bring a dog into the family for protection. But protection and aggression are not the same things.

You don't want your four-legged, iron-jawed protector protecting your home and belongings from you and your family. And you don't want to have to protect yourself and your family from little Cujo. You are then prisoners in your own home, held captive by your own dog. That's no way to live.

We all want to feel safe. And we all have our ideas of how to find that feeling of safety. Bigwigs hire bodyguards. There's the home alarm system — just a notch above the car alarm in effectiveness. And some folks keep a gun near the nightstand — intimidating, but not for everyone. Still others — many, many others — get a dog.

If you're leaning toward the latter, there are some things you should know and understand before diving in.

Above all, protection dogs should be social, friendly and loving — with everyone. What? What about growling? Snarling? Frothing at the mouth?

Protection dogs are not mean or scary. They're highly trained, physically conditioned and mentally alert creatures. They're also incredibly loyal and loving — when properly trained and socialized and treated with love, praise and affection.

Protection dogs do their best work from inside the house. Left outside, your watchdog is vulnerable to the very people you want protection from.

Dogs will be dogs, and even the most sophisticated and intelligent watchdog finds it hard to resist a juicy sirloin. If some ne'er-do-well drops a sweet-smelling hunk of beef seasoned with arsenic into your backyard, your pal and protector won't be around to help you when you need it. This really happens. Evil does exist. So keep your dog inside, where he can keep you safe and you can keep him safe.

In thinking about a dog in terms of protection, ask yourself what you really want and what you really need. Do you want a protection dog, trained like a police dog, or do you really want a burglar alarm with a heart?