Pawscessories is reader-supported. When you buy via links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no cost to you.
Learn more.
In order for a dog to be a good guard dog they need certain qualities. Schnauzers aren’t the biggest breed out there but do have rather loud barks. Would they make a good guard dog?
Do Schnauzers Make Good Guard Dogs:
Schnauzers have a long history of being helpful guard dogs. They were bred to guard their families as well as herd and protect cattle and other livestock. They’re a dog that has a strong desire to work which makes them one of the better breeds for guarding.
In this post you’ll discover the differences between guard dogs and personal protection dogs, what qualities make a schnauzer well equipped to be a guard dog as well as some helpful tips to help train your schnauzer to become a guard/personal protection dog.
The 5th quality we listed below is a schnauzer’s greatest asset as a guard dog!
Let’s jump right in.
Table of Contents
Differences Between a Guard Dog, Watch Dog & Personal Protection Dog
Guard dogs are ones who’ve been trained to protect and attack when commanded to do so. They’ve been specially trained to understand what a threat is and to follow an attack command to aid their handler in taking down a threat.
Watch dogs are trained to protect but focus mainly on using their bark to alarm potential threats and alert the people they’re protecting. Watch dogs typically aren’t trained to attack.
Personal protection dogs are family pets that also serve as protectors of their family. They’re naturally more loyal and protective breeds that are willing and able to defend their territory.
Guard dogs and personal protection dogs share similar qualities that make them excel at their jobs, it’s just a matter of what they’re trained to do.
Watch dogs don’t have to be particularly big in order to do their job well as many won’t typically be trained to attack.
Different Types Of Schnauzer Guard Dogs
Attack Guard Dogs
Attack guard dogs are trained to pursue and take down a target on command.
This type of behavior requires working closely with a trained handler who the dog respects and will listen to attack and stop commands.
Schnauzers are not typically the best for this type of guard dog work.
While they’re smart enough to be trained to obey more complex commands, their size limits their ability to do an attack guard dog’s job well.
Alarm Guard Dogs
Alarm guard dogs need to have loud, intimidating barks.
They use their loud bark to scare off potential threats as well as let the people they’re protecting know there’s a potential threat.
Dog’s that perform alarm guard dog duties aren’t typically trained to take further action like fighting off the threat.
Schnauzers are known for their loud bark. And regardless of being a medium sized dog their bark can be quite intimidating.
They also have great hearing and alertness that makes them a great option for an alarm guard dog.
Sentry Guard Dogs
Sentry guard dogs are trained to work without supervision within a fenced property.
For example, warehouses and shipyards.
Their responsibility as a sentry guard dog is to roam the facility and scare off or detain unauthorized trespassers.
Schnauzers could do well as a sentry guard dog but as a breed they prefer to have a handler.
Because they were bred to work on a farm they’ve evolved to work with someone as opposed to working exclusively solo.
5 Reasons Why Schnauzers Are Great Personal Protection Dogs
1) Naturally Protective
With schnauzers’ long history of guarding and herding, they’ve developed a natural protectiveness.
They were used and praised for protecting their family on farms and had the job of protecting as well as herding livestock and cattle.
In addition to this, they would protect their owners as they traveled to the market to exchange goods.
For these reasons, it’s instinctive for a schnauzer to want to protect.
They will often be protective without training.
However, with the job of personal protector there are some additional commands/training they should learn to do their job well.
But one thing they don’t need to learn is to be protective of their family/loved ones.
Related Reading: Are Schnauzers Protective? The Truth + 6 Reasons & 4 Tips
2) Strong Desire To Work
Because of their working background, schnauzers have an innate desire to work.
This is an important quality to have in a personal protection dog.
While many dogs can be taught to become great personal protection dogs, ones that have a strong desire to work are better suited for the job.
They get great pleasure from performing tasks for their owner/handler and often become destructive without enough tasks, a job or some form of purpose.
Other breeds can live happily so long as they’re getting belly rubs and cuddle time.
Which, don’t get me wrong, schnauzers enjoy these things as well, but you’d be hard pressed to find them slacking on the job.
They’re attentive and alert even when enjoying a bit of relaxation with their owner.
3) Intelligent & Trainable
A study done in the 1990s looked at 131 different breeds and ranked their intelligence.
And schnauzers placed 18th out of 131.
So it’s safe to say they’re above average in the intelligence department.
This means they’re able to learn new tricks and behaviors relatively quickly and enjoy learning more challenging tasks.
After they’ve learned the basics of sit, stay, and come, they’ll be excited to learn more complicated behaviors that’ll allow them to better protect their family.
4) Look & Sound Intimidating
Even though schnauzers may not be the biggest in terms of size.
After all, they typically only weigh between 30-50 pounds and stand 1 foot 6 inches tall on average.
But they still have an intimidating presence.
They stand tall with their chest out and have the beard of a viking.
And as previously mentioned, they have a deep, loud bark for their size that gives off the impression they’re bigger and stronger than their appearance lets on.
If they’re able to strike fear in any potential threats they’ve done their job well as a personal protection dog.
5) Fearless
In three words AKC describes schnauzers as smart, spirited and fearless dogs.
An absolute must have quality in any faithful personal protection dog.
No matter what potential threat comes their way, they don’t lose sight of their job.
Protect their family at all costs.
Whether it’s chasing off another animal or scaring off a potentially armed burglar, a schnauzer has limitless courage.
Tips On Training a Schnauzer To Be a Guard Dog
Start With Simple Obedience Commands
Everything starts with ensuring your schnauzer obeys simple commands.
They need to listen when you instruct them to sit, stay, come and lie down whenever you say these commands in any situation.
If your schnauzer doesn’t follow these simple commands it’s important to not move any further in training them to be a guard dog.
They need to understand and listen to these basic commands 100% of the time before you consider moving them to more advanced commands.
Socialization Is Important
Socialization is important for any dog, but even more so for a dog being trained for personal protection.
If they’re isolated at a young age, they’ll bark at any unfamiliar person they come in contact with, which isn’t beneficial.
They need to be able to tell the difference between a stranger that’s safe and one that’s a potential threat.
The more situations, people and places your schnauzer encounters during the age of 2-12 months, the better they’ll understand bad from good.
It also gives you the chance to help them become less nervous in certain situations and how to listen with many distractions present.
Teach Them The ‘Bark’ Command
First, teach them to bark by withholding a toy from them, then move to more realistic scenarios involving other people.
To train them how to bark on command Pethelpful has some simple steps you can follow:
Step 1: Have your dog stand in front of you.
Step 2: Take their favorite toy and hold it just outside their reach. Make sure they stay where they are.
Step 3: Tell them to “bark” or “speak” whichever command you prefer.
Step 4: As soon as they bark, give them their toy as well as treats/praise.
Step 5: Take a different toy and repeat the process.
Step 6: Repeat steps 1 through 4 twice a day with a range of different toys they love. After 10 days you should notice your schnauzer obeying your “speak” or “bark” command every time.
Teach Them To Stop/Back Off
Whenever teaching a dog to protect you it’s always just as important to teach them when to stop.
They must respect your commands and listen when you say “leave it”, “stop” or “enough”.
If they were successful in scaring off whoever appeared to be a potential threat, or have mistaken someone as a potential threat, they need to learn to listen to a stop command.
The key to having a great personal protection dog is that they listen to you at all times.
This ensures they’re able to do their job well while also keeping innocent people safe.
Final Thoughts
If you want your schnauzer to remain your pet, it’s not recommended to teach them how to attack.
This can change their personality as well as get them into situations where you could potentially be sued or they could be put down.
Schnauzers encompass many great qualities that make them well suited for personal protection and guarding in general.
Their only limiting quality is their size. But their intimidating bark and stature give them the presence of a strong, not to be messed with, dog.
Other posts you might find interesting:
Are Schnauzers Easy To Train? The Truth + Tips & Tricks
Are Schnauzers Protective? The Truth + 6 Reasons & 4 Tips
Do Schnauzers Have Bad Teeth? 6 Indicators + Helpful Tips
Citations:
Stanley Coren’s dog intelligence ranking
How to Train a Dog for Personal Protection
How to Manage Barking by Training Your Dog to Bark on Command