Some guard dogs you are. What a sorry lot!
Mine scared a tow truck driver to death the other day. A guy with mechanical problems had ditched his truck in my driveway. When the tow truck got there, I went down to see if he needed help. Buck went with me, and suddenly started running full tilt down the driveway.
The driver climbed up on top of his truck to get away. The dog tore right past him without a second look, and sprinted after a squirrel on the other side of the road.
20 comments:
Sounds like Buck has some potential as an investigative, political journalist for one of the major media concerns.
Our girl makes a lot of noise, which in itself would likely be effective in most cases, but I think she'd react similarly to the Shepard. When I was a kid, we had a Shepard who was the perfect guard dog. She was a natural too- almost a maternal instinct type of thing for her over my brothers and me and the other two dogs. Once, our little dog who roamed the neighborhood came running back to our house, chased by a dog from up the street right onto our porch. Dad just opened the door and out our Shepard went, chasing him off, and by the time they reached the street, she had him on his back and Dad had to call her off. The other dog never did that again. She also seemed to have an uncanny knack to be able to tell it was relatives coming to visit, even if she'd never met them before, not barking at their approach, and accepting them in without a fuss. Great dog, she was.
I have to wonder how much what the dogs are able to sense about the intruder affects their reactions?
Dogs are quite good at reading people and are more likely to attack if they sense fear/anger.
I never wanted any of our family dogs to protect us. When you have children and live in a neighborhood, the last thing you want is an aggressive dog who challenges anyone who comes onto the property.
One of our neighbors had a German shepherd who was quite aggressive. Only dog I can remember being afraid of - even after many years, that dog never did become friendly. To me, that's not a dog I'd want around my house.
We had Lhasa Apsos for many years. And while hardly threatening, they were quick to raise an alarm if strangers came by. But that's in character for the breed.
I think in general, the barking of dogs will scare off the average burglar. If the burglar is willing to press home after that, yeah, I don't think too many average dogs are going to actually stand their ground.
My husband's late good friend was a UPS driver who never met a dog that wasn't his friend. He was bitten only once, by a dog that had been chained up; there was more slack in the chain than he realized, so the dog was able to get to him as he approached the door with a package.
Our dogs will bark at anyone who approaches the house, which is a nice thing to know when you're asleep, but the burglar would have to have supremely bad dog skills not to be able calm them down and make friends with them once inside.
Well, really, that's the point. Dogs are a warning mechanism. Horses are like that too: they're very sensitive to possible dangers.
Sorting out those dangers, though, that's going to be on you. :)
My dogs always barked at strangers. While still living in Arkansas, if I wasn't home, they were in the backyard, and I crated them overnight (they never would let me know if they needed to go out if I was asleep...), but they would bark if they heard anything out of the ordinary. Of course, before I bought my house and was living with my roommate, one would have had to get through the dogs (mine two and their parents) just to get to the front door with the way my roommate had the landlord install the fence, long before I even went there for my first visit. Since it was a slightly unsavory neighborhood, that always gave me comfort, especially when I was "home alone".
I've got a Lab. He'd show the bad guys where all the good stuff is.
My old, blind Malmute loves to bark at every fart in the breeze...she just has no idea what she's barking at. Her *guide* dog, the doofy, teenage Doberman makes sure that no bumble bee lives to continue their scourge of the planet, and we've nicknamed the new German Shepherd puppy "Leaf Bane" -- for no leaf, attached or not, stands a chance against her fiercely fierce fierceness....and puppy teeth.
If ever we come under attach of leaf-bearing bumble bees, we're good.
Anything or anyone else?
Not so much.
0>;~}
We, well Walkin' Boss, had a Malamute when we first met.
She was a great dog, but she was not much for barking. Chewing on strangers who made the mistake to venture into her territory? Oh yeah... Breaking out of her area when the mood to go swim in the river moved her? Indeed. Especially when the weather was too warm.
Other than that, or maybe in addition to those character attributes, she really was a great animal. Very intelligent too. Much more intelligent than the individuals who ignored the Beware of Dog signs posted all around her fenced in area.
I grew up with a cocker spaniel who made a good alarm dog--no one could enter our property without Cinder raising a loud, vociferous ruckus. Any burglar paying attention, though, would recognize her yelling Hello. Nonetheless, the noise would have awakened us, were we home.
Still, I'd hate to put some of those smaller dogs into the box of being expected, through training, to actively try to protect the property or persons on it. That dog would likely just get maimed by a determined burglar--especially one working a large-lot residential neighborhood or rural area, where the burglar would have some expectation of the dog's noise not bringing any human response from the neighbors.
On the other hand, I used to have a sociopathic cat (I just had to put him down from a cancer infestation a couple of weeks ago). He could be quite vicious if he got angry. But my two-year-old grandson was incapable of angrifying this cat. Dennis was the picture of patience and tolerance. Once he even butted my grandson (which he did when he wanted pets) so hard he knocked the boy over. The cat's chagrin over the boy's tears was palpable.
Eric Hines
It's hard to lose such a cat.
It's always hard to lose a cat, but it helps if you tie them in a pillowcase first.
"It's always hard to lose a cat"
Tell me about it. I always figured they were endowed with some sort of homing pigeon from Hades GPS...
*snort*
The VES did not like that at all, Grim.
I, however, laughed my ass off.
heh
0>;~}
There are those who grieve over the loss of a pet. Then there are those who ridicule the pet, and by extension, the grieving owner. Gentlemanly behavior, indeed.
Mark me down as lacking a sense of humor.
With that, I'll take my leave of the Hall.
Eric Hines
Mr. Hines,
I extend my sincere apology. It was not my intent to ridicule the loss of your pet, your grief, or you.
Walkin' Boss has three indoor cats and one outdoor cat. From the years of trying to co-exist with the indoor cats I can honestly say that were it not for my love for Walkin' Boss, we would have none, but the outdoor cat. She is a creature that is in tune with and knows her place in the grand scheme. For that reason, she has my respect. From that perspective do I generalize about cats.
Regardless, I am sincerely sorry for adding to your grief.
Mr. Hines,
You have my sincere apology. I just skimmed your comment, and I thought it said 'a couple of years ago.' If I had realized it was a fresh wound, I would not have made the joke.
Truly, I was trying to get Tex's goat. I simply didn't realize that you were still grieving. Please forgive me.
Please accept my apology as well. Having had to make the decision to relieve a loyal friend of their misery, I understand well the pain of that loss, and I am truly sorry to have added to that pain.
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