We had a discussion going in a forum I am a member of. The original post asked would a dog naturally protect its owner if there is a threat to the owner without any training? In this forum we are discussing personal protection and security dogs.

He tested a Rotty and its owner, by using stabbing motions at the dogs owner with a paint brush. The Rotty didn't protect  the owner

My responses were as follows:

I think one very important thing not mentioned here is 'intent'. Dogs do pick up on subtle changes in our body language and projected energies. In a training scenario the energies projected are 'completely' different to the intent of a real life threat by someone. So using training scenario's to test a dogs 'natural' ability can be somewhat flawed, and really inconclusive. A well balanced dog needs a reason to react. No matter how hard we in a training situation try to make it real..intent is totally different, and therefore so is what the dog is picking up from the 'aggressor' and handler.

Also a dog is not instinctively trying to protect its handler..it is protecting itself from an aggressive response within its space. Our dogs don't naturally think "I need to protect my Master" ..

... from my perspective..a dog doesn't think..it reacts... a big difference. I feel that a dog doesn't think about protecting its pack or members of the pack.. A dog protects itself, always. Survival instinct is 'self' survival, not pack survival. It looks like a dog is protecting its pack as it is usually within the pack that the dog reacts to protect itself.

(a member of the forum suggested that a dog has no need to protect its owner, if the owner is the dogs pack leader. The owner protects the dog, and therefore the dog only helps the owner)

I also do not believe that just because there is a 'pack leader' that the other dogs do not need to protect themselves. As remember dogs react to a threat..not think about reacting. So a dog is not going to sit back and think, I do not need to react instinctively because I have a pack leader. Fight or flight is self survival, not pack survival. In protection training we create triggers to switch on fight... we use a dogs natural self survival instincts to our advantage.

A 'pack leader' maintains balance within the pack..it doesn't protect the pack. It maintains balance by keeping the energy levels of the dogs at an acceptable level by reacting to aggressive or dominant behaviour with challenges. A pack leader doesn't really dictate rules to a pack, it just maintains stability within the pack. A pack leader only cares about its own survival, just like the rest of the dogs within the pack, only care about their own survival.

An alpha dog doesn't challenge' for' pack leadership, it challenges to keep control of its space and breeding rights. It just happens that the alpha is genetically stronger than the other dogs within the pack, and therefore wins challenges from other dogs within the pack. Therefore keeping all the dogs within its space in a more calmer and balanced state. I do not for one minute believe that a dog fights for leadership of a pack..but for its own survival within the pack...

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So no, I do not believe a dog will instinctively protect its owner. It will only protect itself, if it feels threatened, by either fight or flight instinct.

A dog that shows aggressive behaviour towards people that are not threatening the dog is almost always a dog that is very insecure, and is using aggressive energy to keep a perceived threat away from its space. The main reason for this response from a dog is due to the dogs owners unknowingly rewarding and reinforcing assertive behaviour in their dog, and a dog that is genetically too weak for its perceived position within its pack (family).

Using an aggressive response is also learned behaviour. The aggressive response satisfies the dogs survival instinct because most people back off from an aggressive response. Hence an insecure and stressed leader, that is trying to protect its position and space within the pack in a way that works for it.

So anyone that has a dog that shows aggression towards people is not a dog that is instinctively protecting you.. It is a dog trying to protect itself, and is usually stressed.