The $230,000 protection dog
Julia the German shepherd is cute, she’s good with children—and she’s fierce when told to be.
She cost her owners $230,000, but they consider her well worth it. She’s a highly-trained and prize-winning protection dog who can do a multitude of things, including the Lassie-like (although she looks more like Rin-Tin-Tin) tracking down of a wandering child, and the removal of a chunk from the extremity of an intruder.
I’m always a bit puzzled by these dogs. I know they would deter an unarmed person, but what about an armed one? Wouldn’t the dog just end up being shot dead? Or is it inherently difficult to hit a small and fast-moving target, until it’s right upon you? Does the timing of the shot have to be just perfect?
But the high price doesn’t surprise me at all. When a person has a gazillion dollars, $230,000 is just chump change.
[Hat tip: Instapundit.]
From tomorrow’s headlines:
“Julia, the wonder dog, will be missed by all who knew her. Her untimely death at the hands of a lawnmower was tragic and unnecessary, although predictable. Witness say that she saw a rabbit and gave chase allowing the gardener driving the lawnmower no time to react to the dog’s presence until it was too late.
It was related that she had engaged in this type of high risk behavior before and seemed indifferent to the dangers it presented. “
No intruder would take a risk to tresspass if he knew that a trained dog is inside. And if this were a surprize to him, his chances to kill the dog are zero. Dogs can react almost 10 times faster than humans. They need not think before, only to do the drill.
I recall a Cops show once where a police dog lunged at a very muscular suspect. The guy grabbed the dog by the throat and nearly killed him. So no, they aren’t the be all when they run into humans who are armed or are decent fighters themselves that know a dog’s vulnerabilities.
And i hope he chews the corners off of at least $230,000 worth of furniture. 🙂
Or is it inherently difficult to hit a small and fast-moving target, until it’s right upon you?
Dogs move in a straight line so they aren’t particularly hard to shoot. What makes them dangerous to armed opponents is their ability to enter melee range without hesitation. If they are trained to tear off the hand or bite the arm with the gun, then they will be more effective once they enter melee range.
It is very hard for people to shoot the ground at a moving target that has closed within 15 feet. Humans with knives can take out gun armed opponents within 15 feet with a straight out charge, and chances are good they either won’t be hit or they can still keep on going after being hit.
The various different firing stances, hip shooting, required to fire at point blank range isn’t particularly popular. Almost all criminals and many LEOs don’t know it.
In terms of deterrence, yes, it would deter an armed person. Since most criminals have a gun to use as intimidation to overpower and intimidate, not kill, home owners. Their primary goal is economic, not personal. If there is a chance they will have to deal with melee charging dogs, on top of the homeowners bringing down the thunder with shotguns and pistol fire, there just isn’t enough reward in the house to justify the risk.
Now if it was a kidnapping, SWAT raid, or personal vendetta, then it would be different. SWAT would go in, shoot the dog, and be all happy sappy. Until they realized they got the wrong address, at least. SWAT teams have one person, called logistics, who does terrain sketches, tactical sketches, and scopes out the target area to plan the team’s entry and options. Most SWAT teams now a days have training so poor in their shooters, their logistics is about on the level of a high school burger flipper.
Trained dogs do not move in stright line if the opponent is armed. They know how to avoid bullets, at least well-trained. And they read human body language much better than humans read dog body language, and faster. We can not enter into their OOED loop, but they can enter ours.
Humans with knives can take out gun armed opponents within 15 feet with a straight out charge, and chances are good they either won’t be hit or they can still keep on going after being hit.
I got a solution to that: short-barrelled 12 gauge. With shot shells, not slugs.
Good for dogs and snakes, too.
No, not if the prep is a professional, cold blooded killer. The dog will likely get shot. They work best when they are a part of a security detail that also includes armed guards who are not afraid to shoot.
interestingly enough, the breeders do not discuss this, no doubt because their clients with such resources do not want them to. Many security teams have more than one dog, and some trainers/breeders specialize in getting multi-dog teams tether, which, given the drive of these animals, is not a easy task.
But, as some have said, the vast majority of perps will be deterred. They will not protect you from determined killers. (BTW, most special forces training includes training in dealing with dogs. They are not as hard to kill as one might think.)
What amazes me are the prices. I was in the market a while ago–just about 5 years ago a good trained dog was like 7k to10k (though they might not be top level Shutzhund champions). 70K was WAY out there. I have never before heard of a 230k one. These must be extraordinary dogs that can be used by people with no experience at all and who can have the bond quickly transfered.
They are not kidding about the on/off switch: they will instantaneously stand down when order too. Then they are just very nice pet dogs. It s really something to see. (there are a lot of Shutxhund clips on youtube should you care to see what competitions look like,
Note that for a working GSD, their prime working life is abut over at 8 or 9 years old, though some may last longer (I have heard f a Marine Military War Dog on duty at 10.) The average love expectancy of a GSD is 10 to 12 years.
They have trained home ‘guard’ dogs available from Germany for much less than 230K, I believe. I’ve seen their ads in some of the Dog mags. Even adding in some additional training, I find the price tag pretty shocking.
While you can disable/kill a dog by grabbing their throats, it would be hard to do if the dog was trained to avoid that situation. My stepdad has always trained his dogs (Germ Sheps) in a game he calls ‘watch the other hand’. He comes at them with one hand threateningly, and then uses the other hand to smack/grab at them. You’d be surprised how quickly they learn!
I would also think that dogs, like people, can be shot and keep coming.
Finally, looking at it from an intruder’s POV, police and security may be hesitant to shoot at an intruder for a variety of reasons, and an armed homeowner might have to waste a second or two making sure a loved one wouldn’t get hit if the aim wasn’t sure, but…. dogs will have no second thoughts about attacking. You stand a chance with people, but not dogs.
They should have named her “Stay.”
Oh, and I should add that they are absolutely save with children. They will let them get away with anything. This too is amazing. I actually think that their protection of kids is what is best abut them.
Most jerk that will harm children will not mess with a dog.
We had a flurry of breakins in our town several years ago and we went through the whole “get them to go to someone else’s house routine”, but skipped the dog.
Meanwhile, down the street, a house with one of those big german shepherds as a security investment. Their house was one of the last to be robbed, but the dog didn’t help. He was killed with an axe from their garage.
It’s a whole lot easier and less costly to make yourself look more difficult to a criminal than buying a 230K security dog. And yes, if deterrance doesn’t work (or would not work given the circumstances) the dog can be a lot more easily dispatched than most people think.
There are easier ways to kill a dog in “Hand to Paw” combat than going for their throats. Think backbone.
Remember that real threats do not come from single actors but teams.
Still, most evil doers will have nether the training nor the inclination.
Most intruders are not trained with small arms. Even if they are, shooting paper targets is a lot different than shooting a moving, snarling bundle of mad muscle with fangs bared. Also most intruders would avoid a dwelling if they knew there was a dog inside.
My Black Lab on the other hand would lick any intruder to death.
The high price paid for the dog reminds me of a story.
When I was a kid, a close friend of the family and a hunting friend of my dad, Bill, paid $5000 for a registered bluetick coonhound with an impeccable pedigree. The talk of the town was that Bill, a self employed bricklayer who was not rich by any standard, had paid such a large sum of money for a dog. But the dog was more than a pet, it was an investment. I think the idea was that through a combination of collecting breeding fees because the dog came from such a fine pedigree, together with selling coon pelts from the hunts, then Bill expected that over the course of the dog’s life he could easily recover the cost he paid for the dog and eventually make a profit.
I don’t remember the cause of death, but only a couple of years into the enterprise the dog died.
What I do remember, though, is my dad telling my mom over the dinner table that Bill broke down and cried the day the dog died. Until then, I didn’t know grown men cried at the death of a dog. And I never knew if he cried out of grief for the loss of a pet, or if he was upset that he wasn’t going to recover his investment.
Why Scott, one of the few times men cry are over dogs.
Men cry for the loss of those they love. There are only a couple of handful of people one loves more than one’s dog.
I think this is one of those situational questions and it all depends upon the abilities (training) of the human and distance. If the distance is short and the human is surprised by the charging dog; advantage dog. If the distance opens up and the human is armed (pick your weapon wisely) and is expecting some sort of confrontation; advantage human. If more than one highly trained dog is involved; advantage dogs. If 2 or more humans are involved; advantage humans. And so it goes. For real peace of mind the owners of this $230,000 dog should buy one or two more. 😉
I expect the ‘dogs ain’t so hot’ posters have never faced an onrushing >100lb Schutzie with bared fangs in the dark. ‘Easy to kill’ is brave talk, best found in fiction.
daniel, are you the ‘Daniel from Brookline’? If the housebreakers killed that dog with an axe, they knew it was there; they did their homework, all the more scary. You don’t say if they were ever apprehended, And I suspect your town, Brookline or not, makes it hard for good guys to own defensive handguns.
well don, this is just not so, provided that the people have the right training, equipment and experience and are prepared.
A real pro is going to scope things out and know all about the dog before they begin. That pro will not be working alone either. You do not think our SOCOM people do not go up against security teams that have dogs on them?
hattip:
I understand that now. But you have to remember I was a kid who had never seen my dad cry before.
So hearing my dad tell my mom that Bill had cried when the dog died was sort of a shock.
Then there is the possibility of a cat.
Many years ago a burglar broke into a home (in Texas if memory serves) only to encounter the family’s pet ocelot. The police found a trail of blood from the place the encounter first took place to the point the burglar exited. I believe it was a window.
Scott: got it. Sorry. Did not mean to sound didactic.
For my case, I grew up in farm country where there where lots, and I mean LOTS, of working dogs (herders and hunters, not many guard dogs). Now that I look back on it, dogs (and barn cats and horses), where a very large part of our working and family life, though at the time it did not seem that unusual.
As a young boy, you get used to dogs dying every year. I cried and cried over each and every one of them, even if they were the neighbors. I remember digging graves for them with my father or my uncles, the lot of us weeping as we shoveled the dirt. Those men where tough has nails too. Nothing quite like a good dog. Shoot, I would cry when they killed livestock I knew and loved. I would make a terrible farmer, I guess.
I often think that if our leaders had dogs and to tend to their own dogs themselves, the world might be a better place. Then again, Putin lves his dogs. Well…ts a thought.
tough AS nails, I mean
I couldn’t trust a man who doesn’t at least tear up at the loss of a pet.
Interesting that there have been a lot of posts recently about Congressman Weiner, who has been compared to an attack dog. No we have an article on a real attack dog, not just a metaphorical attack dog.
I’ve only had my adopted American Bulldog “Molly” for about a year and half, and I know for sure I’ll bawl like a baby when she goes.
A trained dog is kind of like having a knife: it’ll work great unless they’re prepared to deal with it. It freaks out most people. It’s a deterrent that doesn’t work so well if they’re large, prepared and violent minded.
Two dogs are probably a better idea, since a dog pack is the scariest thing I can think of that doesn’t involve human intelligence. (Yes, I’m including wolf packs, although the wolves that are raised by humans are probably just as scary if they pack up, and I consider wolf/dog mixes to be feral dogs. Ditto coydogs, or any other exotic mix.)
I do know I’d rather have a trained dog than pepper spray, since I know a dog physically attacking will slow someone down even if they’re use to it, while drugs, luck or long term exposure makes pepper spray not work. Much rather have a gun than either option, and much much rather have my husband with a gun while I’m on the phone with the police that are just down the road…..
(Since someone ALWAYS claims that pepper sprays are failproof: Ask folks about the Navy “Confidence Chamber,” or the guys who do the certifications for military/police grade pepper spray. Some people are immune off the bat–lucky guy my husband qualled for security detail with, multiple sprays, even got a fresh can and he wasn’t bothered– and all of the guys who ran the chambers when I went through boot camp were utterly immune. You put on gas masks, file in, they stand there and he puts some pellets on a little heater thing and talk to you for ten fifteen minutes while the room fills with smoke and the gas masks work. You think that it can’t be so bad, he’s standing right by the incense thing and is
talkingyelling perfectly fine. Then you take your mask off and try to say your name or answer a question before you run out. Then you are in a world of hurt for at least an hour, if you’re lucky enough to not be physically ill. When I later asked one of the guys how he could stand it, he said it only took a week or so of several exposures a day, and that it didn’t wear off much.)Two weeks ago we had to have our 6 month old puppy put to down. My twin grandsons ( 14 ) and I all shed a few tears up over that. That was a sweet little dog.
I read an interview with a burglar. He said he wasn’t afraid of a dog, but he was very afraid of two dogs. Man vs dog is better for the man, but let trwo or more dogs act as a pack and it is a very different situation.
Parker: in the article, the owner says he has six dogs, and usually takes a couple with him in his car when he goes out.
Ruger GP100 357 Magnum (4″barrel) and consistent practice.