This page is part of the Auxiliary section of the Beginner's Course of the
D.S. Dog Training Workshop - an element of the Dog Science Network
Attack Training
In attack training, the dog being trained is, essentially, taught to bite someone on command. Most commonly, attack trained dogs are employed by law enforcement agencies who teach their canines to bite and hold the right arm of any person they are commanded to strike.
This website does not teach attack techniques, partly because we do not want to be party to anyone being bitten by dogs, but also, because attack training privately owned pets is usually pointless and almost always counterproductive.
It is pointless because, in order to secure your physical safety, you do not need an attack trained dog. All that you really need to do is to buy a large dog of guarding lineage and train him up to perfection. If you do that, your dog will be so well behaved that you will be able to take him with you to many of the places that you go throughout the day.
Thus, if you should need his umbrella of protection, you will be that much more likely to have him there with you. The fact that he has not been trained to attack on command is beside the point. No one in their right mind is going to physically attack you as you stand a few feet from your large, perfectly trained guard dog.
What makes attack training counterproductive is that fact you can never really trust a dog not to attack on his own accord, after you have taught him to attack on command. As a result, many people are so anxious about the possibility that their attack trained dog might bite someone inappropriately that they end up leaving him at home, locked in their back yard, where he will be altogether useless to them if they are menaced by thugs while running errands on the other side of town.
Indeed, many people find that when they attack train their dog, all they really accomplish is to trade the fear of being assaulted for the fear that their dog will attack and injure someone who has the resources to drag them through the courts and on out the other side to a world of financial ruin.
An affable guard dog whose obedience skills are honed to perfection is every bit as good at keeping you out of harms way as an attack trained dog. Better really, because you are more likely to have him with you when the unexpected happens and things turn desperate. In addition, the super obedient dog can serve to shelter you from anxiety. But an attack trained dog - that's another story.