{"id":28592,"date":"2020-09-15T16:11:00","date_gmt":"2020-09-15T15:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/?p=28592"},"modified":"2025-06-21T17:13:57","modified_gmt":"2025-06-21T16:13:57","slug":"are-labradors-protective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/are-labradors-protective\/","title":{"rendered":"Loval Vs Protective &#8211; Will Your Lab Leap To Your Defence?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Labrador Retrievers are not typically considered temperamentally protective in the same way that traditionally defensive dog breeds are. They may try to protect their household from things they view as a threat. But to the open-hearted Lab, not many encounters fall into the category of threatening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of course there is much individual variation within the breed, so it&#8217;s entirely possible that your Lab will not fit neatly into the descriptions you&#8217;ll find below. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"#protective\">Are Labs protective of humans?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#guard\">Protection vs guarding instincts.<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#train\">Labrador protection training.<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#intruders\">Are Labs protective against intruders?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Although they are more likely to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/how-to-stop-your-dog-growling-over-food\/\">defend their dinner<\/a> than their humans, this isn&#8217;t always the case. Today I&#8217;ll take a look at Labradors\u2019 protective instincts, and whether they can ever be harnessed to make them good guard dogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Softest Barking Labrador \u2764\ufe0f\" width=\"720\" height=\"405\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/O7VGAO3Lpgo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"protective\">What Do We Mean By Protective?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>To answer the question are Labradors protective fully, it helps to clarify what we mean by protective behavior in dogs. Dogs are a social species &#8211; their wild ancestors lived together in family groups. Large, strong members of the family would protect weak or vulnerable members (such as infants and pregnant or nursing females) against threats from opportunistic predators. Protecting each other was good for survival, because a larger family has more hunters to find food, more females to bear the next generation, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In our homes, domestic dogs are likely to identify the humans and other dogs that they live with as members of their family. So they may try to protect them against things they perceive as a threat, such as unfamiliar visitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Are All Dogs Protective?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>All breeds of dog are capable of protective behavior. Young puppies aren\u2019t protective &#8211; from a survival point of view, they are the protectee, not the protector! Protective behaviors usually start during adolescence, as a dog reaches social maturity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspca.org\/pet-care\/dog-care\/common-dog-behavior-issues\/aggression\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">no evidence of a difference<\/a> in protective behavior between male and female dogs. But a female dog who has never shown protective aggression in the past may suddenly do so while she is rearing a litter of puppies. Likewise, dogs of either sex might display increase protective behavior if a new baby joins your household.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Are-Labradors-Protective-LS-tall.jpg\" alt=\"are labradors protective\" class=\"wp-image-28594\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Are-Labradors-Protective-LS-tall.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Are-Labradors-Protective-LS-tall-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Are-Labradors-Protective-LS-tall-280x420.jpg 280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Protection Vs Possession<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>An easy mistake to make is confusing protective behavior with possessive behavior. Many dogs, including Labs, guard resources which they perceive as having a high value. And sometimes dogs protecting their family are mistakenly described as resource guarding them. However, some vets <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dvm360.com\/view\/resource-guarding-are-veterinarians-lost-interspecies-translation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">are concerned about including humans in the list of things which can be resource guarded<\/a>. Because possessive aggression and protective aggression are two different things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Possessive aggression (resource guarding) is how a dog keeps something desirable to themselves. And protective aggression is how they try to prevent \u201cone of their own\u201d being harmed. Which means a Labrador which resource guards isn\u2019t necessarily protective as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Meet Winston! Amherst Police Department&#039;s new comfort dog\" width=\"720\" height=\"405\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/1vUS9M7Y6Gk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"guard\">Do Labradors Protect Their Owners?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Labradors are not widely regarded as strong candidates for human-protection roles. In fact some evidence, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/abs\/pii\/S0168159110000699\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">such as this Dutch study<\/a>, indicates that Labradors are more likely to be protective of their home or territory than their owner. This is not necessarily a bad thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Excessive protection of their owner is <a href=\"https:\/\/europepmc.org\/article\/med\/8077144\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">one of the most common behavior problems reported by dog owners<\/a>. And it can be time consuming and frustrating to overcome, not to mention expensive in trainer and behaviorist fees. But to understand why Labs aren\u2019t very protective, it helps to understand what motivates a dog to behave protectively in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How Protective Aggression Works<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Controlled protective behavior in dogs is actually very difficult to teach. Most dogs which perform successfully in guardian roles actually come from breeds which have <a href=\"https:\/\/science.sciencemag.org\/content\/304\/5674\/1160\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a hereditary instinct to behave protectively hardwired into them<\/a>. Such breeds include German Shepherd Dogs and the Mastiff breeds. Their protective instincts are closely linked to an innate mistrust of unfamiliar people, animals and things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In practice, when people train GSDs and Mastiff to work as livestock guardians, they do it by encouraging their puppy to form strong social bonds with their herd at a young age, through careful socialization. As they mature, their handler also rewards them for being attentive to the whereabouts of their herd, and what\u2019s going around them. Finally, behaving protectively of the herd follows as a natural combination of being bonded and attentive to them, and wary of everything else &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/ir.library.oregonstate.edu\/downloads\/wm117p22r\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">it doesn\u2019t need to be taught<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"train\">Can You Train A Lab To Be Protective?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>On the other hand, Labradors don\u2019t have the same wariness of unfamiliar things written into their DNA. Genetically, they are very distinct from the traditional guardian breeds in this respect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A Labrador will easily complete the first part of training &#8211; forming social bonds with their family or some other animals. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/labrador-temperament\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">friendly Lab<\/a> excels at this! They can also be taught attentiveness, by rewarding it with positive reinforcement techniques. But they are less likely to instinctively distrust unfamiliar people or intruders. So they don\u2019t perceive anything to protect against. In fact they\u2019ll probably just try and say hello!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Labradors are also less likely to react protectively against things which they do perceive as a threat. For example, they may respond fearfully instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"intruder\">Will Labs Attack Intruders?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Just because they\u2019re generally receptive to meeting new people, doesn\u2019t mean that all Labradors are guaranteed to be happy around everyone they meet. Even placid dogs can be wary of new people in their home if they weren\u2019t socialized well as a puppy. Or have had bad experiences with intruders in the past, or if they are startled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A Labrador may react then aggressively to an intruder either because some protective instincts within them have been triggered, or because they are frightened. However, aggression should always be a dog\u2019s last resort. Before they attack, dogs perform several behaviors to communicate that they\u2019re uncomfortable about someone\u2019s presence. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspca.org\/pet-care\/dog-care\/common-dog-behavior-issues\/aggression\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Including<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>adopting a tense standing position<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>baring their teeth<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>growling<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>snarling<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>barking<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>snapping their teeth<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>and lunging without making contact.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>But they might skip some of these signals if they have been punished for them in the past. Or the intruder ignores them and presses ahead quicker than they are comfortable with. Which is why it\u2019s important to never punish a growl or other sign that your dog is uncomfortable. And never pressure them into an interaction they \u201cshould\u201d be happy with \u201cbecause they\u2019re a Lab\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Protective behavior in dogs is largely instinctive, and not easily taught. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/labrador-retriever\/\">Labrador Retrievers <\/a>are not one of the cluster of closely related <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/best-guard-dogs\/\">dog breeds associated with strong protective instincts<\/a>. However, they are loving and loyal dogs, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/how-much-should-my-labrador-weigh\/\">given their size<\/a>, it\u2019s likely that you\u2019ll feel safe just for having one nearby anyway!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Are Labradors Loyal?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes! Protective behavior in dogs is largely a reflection of how dogs feel about unfamiliar people and animals. It\u2019s not a reflection of how they feel about you. So even a Labrador completely devoid of protective instincts can be completely loving and unswervingly loyal to their owner.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Labrador Retrievers are not typically considered temperamentally protective in the same way that traditionally defensive dog breeds are. They may try to protect their household from things they view as a threat. But to the open-hearted Lab, not many encounters fall into the category of threatening. Of course there is much individual variation within the&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":28593,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[221],"class_list":["post-28592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-faq","tag-fetch"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Are Labradors Protective - Will Your Lab Leap To Your Defence?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Lots of people want to know: are Labradors protective? We examine protective instincts in dogs, and whether they apply to Labs.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/are-labradors-protective\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Are Labradors Protective - Will Your Lab Leap To Your Defence?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Lots of people want to know: are Labradors protective? We examine protective instincts in dogs, and whether they apply to Labs.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/are-labradors-protective\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Labrador Site\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/theLabradorSite\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-09-15T15:11:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-06-21T16:13:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Are-Labradors-Protective-LS-long.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"696\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"377\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sarah Holloway\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sarah Holloway\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/are-labradors-protective\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/are-labradors-protective\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Sarah Holloway\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2719c3cf077498128292faf14902e3a6\"},\"headline\":\"Loval Vs Protective &#8211; Will Your Lab Leap To Your Defence?\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-09-15T15:11:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-21T16:13:57+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/are-labradors-protective\/\"},\"wordCount\":1201,\"commentCount\":1,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/are-labradors-protective\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Are-Labradors-Protective-LS-long.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"fetch\"],\"articleSection\":[\"FAQ and help\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/are-labradors-protective\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/are-labradors-protective\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/are-labradors-protective\/\",\"name\":\"Are Labradors Protective - Will Your Lab Leap To Your Defence?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/are-labradors-protective\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/are-labradors-protective\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Are-Labradors-Protective-LS-long.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-09-15T15:11:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-21T16:13:57+00:00\",\"description\":\"Lots of people want to know: are Labradors protective? We examine protective instincts in dogs, and whether they apply to Labs.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/are-labradors-protective\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/are-labradors-protective\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/are-labradors-protective\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Are-Labradors-Protective-LS-long.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Are-Labradors-Protective-LS-long.jpg\",\"width\":696,\"height\":377,\"caption\":\"are labradors protective\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/are-labradors-protective\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Loval Vs Protective &#8211; Will Your Lab Leap To Your Defence?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/\",\"name\":\"The Labrador Site\",\"description\":\"All about Labrador Retrievers\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"The Labrador Site\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/cropped-Labrador-Site-Dogsnet-Family-Logo2.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/cropped-Labrador-Site-Dogsnet-Family-Logo2.png\",\"width\":200,\"height\":200,\"caption\":\"The Labrador Site\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/theLabradorSite\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2719c3cf077498128292faf14902e3a6\",\"name\":\"Sarah Holloway\",\"description\":\"Sarah Holloway holds a bachelors degree in Zoology and has a special interest in animal behavior and communication\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/author\/sarah-holloway\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Are Labradors Protective - Will Your Lab Leap To Your Defence?","description":"Lots of people want to know: are Labradors protective? We examine protective instincts in dogs, and whether they apply to Labs.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/are-labradors-protective\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Are Labradors Protective - Will Your Lab Leap To Your Defence?","og_description":"Lots of people want to know: are Labradors protective? We examine protective instincts in dogs, and whether they apply to Labs.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/are-labradors-protective\/","og_site_name":"The Labrador Site","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/theLabradorSite","article_published_time":"2020-09-15T15:11:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-06-21T16:13:57+00:00","og_image":[{"width":696,"height":377,"url":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Are-Labradors-Protective-LS-long.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Sarah Holloway","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Sarah Holloway","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/are-labradors-protective\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/are-labradors-protective\/"},"author":{"name":"Sarah Holloway","@id":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2719c3cf077498128292faf14902e3a6"},"headline":"Loval Vs Protective &#8211; Will Your Lab Leap To Your Defence?","datePublished":"2020-09-15T15:11:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-21T16:13:57+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/are-labradors-protective\/"},"wordCount":1201,"commentCount":1,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/are-labradors-protective\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Are-Labradors-Protective-LS-long.jpg","keywords":["fetch"],"articleSection":["FAQ and help"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/are-labradors-protective\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/are-labradors-protective\/","url":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/are-labradors-protective\/","name":"Are Labradors Protective - Will Your Lab Leap To Your Defence?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/are-labradors-protective\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/are-labradors-protective\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Are-Labradors-Protective-LS-long.jpg","datePublished":"2020-09-15T15:11:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-21T16:13:57+00:00","description":"Lots of people want to know: are Labradors protective? We examine protective instincts in dogs, and whether they apply to Labs.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/are-labradors-protective\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/are-labradors-protective\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/are-labradors-protective\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Are-Labradors-Protective-LS-long.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Are-Labradors-Protective-LS-long.jpg","width":696,"height":377,"caption":"are labradors protective"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/are-labradors-protective\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Loval Vs Protective &#8211; Will Your Lab Leap To Your Defence?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/","name":"The Labrador Site","description":"All about Labrador Retrievers","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/#organization","name":"The Labrador Site","url":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/cropped-Labrador-Site-Dogsnet-Family-Logo2.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/cropped-Labrador-Site-Dogsnet-Family-Logo2.png","width":200,"height":200,"caption":"The Labrador Site"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/theLabradorSite"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2719c3cf077498128292faf14902e3a6","name":"Sarah Holloway","description":"Sarah Holloway holds a bachelors degree in Zoology and has a special interest in animal behavior and communication","url":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/author\/sarah-holloway\/"}]}},"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":21,"label":"FAQ and help"}],"post_tag":[{"value":221,"label":"fetch"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Are-Labradors-Protective-LS-long.jpg",696,377,false],"author_info":{"display_name":"Sarah Holloway","author_link":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/author\/sarah-holloway\/"},"comment_info":1,"category_info":[{"term_id":21,"name":"FAQ and help","slug":"faq","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":21,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":60,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":21,"category_count":60,"category_description":"","cat_name":"FAQ and help","category_nicename":"faq","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":[{"term_id":221,"name":"fetch","slug":"fetch","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":221,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":245,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28592"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28592"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28592\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42343,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28592\/revisions\/42343"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28593"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}