A dog that respects their owner will naturally defend them. This is achieved through the maintaining of a clear hierarchy between the dog and the owner. This is sometimes seen by how some dogs might hump the leg of a female owner. Although cute, it displays that the dog believes he has certain dominance over the owner, and therefore has the right to hump her leg. Bull dogs, specifically, are more prone to being vicious, which is why people tend to use them as guard dogs. But this can be also looked upon as your own life being put at risk with a vicious animal in your company. Pit bulls have been known to turn on their owners. For this reason, if you are considering having a pit bull as a guard dog, professional training is definitely required to make sure a proper owner-animal relationship is established between you and your pet. Any good and loyal pet will mimic their owner's every move, so when training the dog, you have to be very confident of what you are setting out to do, otherwise you will not build a strong bond of confidence with your dog. Proper obedience training is the best way forward, establishing a verbal command between you and your pet - this is done by action and reward. Have treats ready, so that when the dog does something right, you can reward them with a treat. This way, the positive feelings from treats are linked with the action and command. The intonation of the words can also affect the reaction from the dog. For example, some commands are better said in a very low whisper, to draw the dog's attention to the command more. This way, the tonality may indicate fear or worry from the owner.
