Lab question about aggression

I have a question especially for any lab owners. You have always been very helpful in answering my questions. Now I have one....that is not that important, but interesting as we have a 14 month old yellow field lab "Buster", the sweetest dog that ever walked the earth. Very similar to Duke"s dad's picture. The question is...would a lab like Buster ever become aggressive if he felt that members of our family were ever threatend or attacked? He barks rarely...only at like rustling in our yard or at shadows. He has never even growled. He will bark at a visitor to our front door only to want to jump on them & lick them to death. But do Labs ever become protective if needed.
Thanks.

 

This is a very general question, and hard to answer. Every dog is an individual - just like people. Just because a dog is of a certain breed does not mean he will automatically be friendly to everyone, or protective either. I've seen plenty of Labs that didn't have a single aggressive bone in their bodies, but I've also seen quite a few that were not trustworthy. I've seen Labs that were dangerous, and we had to have the owners muzzle them before they could be treated where I worked. Sounds as if your dog is pretty typical of most Labs. And no. . . I wouldn't count on him if you were to need a protector. Another breed would be a much better bet. If he's never growled at anyone and rarely barks then chances are he will remain this way, since he's already 14 months old. There is nothing wrong with that - but if you want a watch dog (a dog who will alert you to danger, or a stranger's presence) this is usually not the best breed to go with. Keep in mind though, that just his size alone would probably be enough to deter most people from trying to harm you or break into your home. Hope this helps.

 

As Seaecho said every dog is an individual, BUT I have to tell you, I had a whippet, (never seen an aggressive one in over 30 years), she loved everyone, loved other dogs and cats and I honestly didnt think she would be any good as any kind of a watchdog, she'd be more likely to lick someone to death, I'd never heard her growl in 12 years (I had her from a pup) but one night while I was sleeping she woke me up with a 'low growl', jumping on and off the bed.... someone was trying to break in to the house. She really surprized me, I dont know if she would have actually gone for the person or hid somewhere but at least I got a warning, who knows what would have happened if she had not woke me up.

 

I think it's really hard to predict what a dog would do if you were ever really threatened. Dogs know when people can't be trusted, I think. Hopefully you'll never have to find out!

 

he may never be protective, but his size will probably deter most people. I had a friend who was home one night when she thought she saw someone climbing over the fence in her backyard, she was about to do something when her lab barked (tail wagging, being very friendly). It scared the guy away, even though the dogs whole body was wriggling from teh excitement of a person. This same dog also nearly bit her dad because he was play-wrestling with my friend and got to rough. (Obviously, the dog was my friend's) But each individual dog is different, so I don't know.

 

I think a Lab would have to be trained to be a protection dog. Like other descriptions here Duke will bark and growl while wagging his tail. All a strange person would have to do I clap their hands and say "What a good boy" and Duke would be their friend for life. If a person did not realize that Duke was friendly then he would be very intimidating with his size and deep bark.
That said, I have no idea how he would react if anyone in his family were actually attacked.

 

Where I live we got our dogs to keep us safe from wild animals, my dog has chased moose away from me and i'm certain she'd do the same with strange people, but she is a very sweet dog, once she learns that a certain person is an ok person then she'll be friends for life.

 

I heard this one to many times on this thread... GRANTED dogs will be a good deterrent for a theif when you are home but if you are not home I would not count on just the presence of a dog to be a deterrent, no matter what size. I saw on the program "It Takes a Theif" where they broke into a house with two dogs...BIG dogs...a Rott cross and an APBT...NEITHER dog barked...BOTH dogs could care less who came in and took what... The theif had no qualms about coming in to visit the dogs either...saw them...and didn't hesitate to break in. This guy was after STUFF...not people or anything like that... My thought is that if a person was after something to do with YOU a dog is likely not going to deter unless the dog will actually bite...

After that show I re-evaluated My perspective and am glad to have more than just the Pits inside to protect the home... The Boerboels no doubt will bite an intruder and that's what will slow them down... If you seriously are worried about your wellbeing...enough to want your dog to protect you etc... I would opt for a different breed and another dog...BRED for guardian duties.

 

Being Protective and Aggressive are two different things.... Aggression is not something to strive for in any breed.... Plain outright aggression is a liability for anyone... taking action based on duty and confidence against something threatening home, property, or handler is Protection...not outright aggression...

Hope that made sense as well...