What Would Your Dog Do?

[Blackdogs]

Out of general interest:

What breed do you have and what do you think they would do if a stranger entered your yard/house unnanounced while you were out? Would their behaviour be different if they were alone and not with your other dogs?

How do you think your dog/s would behave if an unwelcome visitor entered your home while you were home?

How do you think they would behave if this person became physically confrontational with you?

Of course, we can only guess unless the situation has arisen in the past, but I would be interested to know how people think their chosen breed would behave.

[Staffyluv]

Best guess based solely on his current responses when someone comes to the door or yard or when we see someone unknown to him.

Ziggy is a staffy cross, he looks more like an Amstaff than a Stafford and weighs just shy of 27kg, so he a decent sized boy..

If I was out and someone came in the yard, to date this has happened once and he barked at them causing my neighbour to come out and see what was going on. It was a client dropping stuff off. They couldn't get into the yard but they were trying to put a box of stuff over the gate into the yard. I have padlocks on all gates into my yard.

Zig is pretty non-confrontational and chooses to bark from a distance. In all honesty, if someone ran toward him, I think he would run away.

If someone unwelcome came into the house?

The kid and a mate came home late one night and my bedroom door was open. Zig was off the bed and charging down the hall, barking his head off. Scared the hell out of the boys and the kid said he didn't think Zig was going to stop coming until he put the light and and Zig realised who it was. If he had been a stranger I think Zig would still have made a lot of threaten noise.. But that is all.

I am not sure Zig has it in him to 'attack'. I think he is most definitely all bark, but that bark is pretty convincing and he is a decent sized dog.. I would hope that would be enough to deter anyone. In saying that, I keep an aluminium baseball bat very handy and I will protect myself.

Zig has been put in his place a few times by other dogs and he rolls over or runs away. People yelling tend to frighten him as well.

I can't really know what he would do but his personality is really quite soft for a boof head.

[Diva]

What breed do you have

Borzoi

and what do you think they would do if a stranger entered your yard/house unnanounced while you were out? Would their behaviour be different if they were alone and not with your other dogs?

Nothing much, maybe go up and say hello. No difference whether alone or not. My Borzoi are not territorial or worried about visitors. You do get the odd exception who guards. Not my current lot, unless it was late at night when they would bark, and it is quite a distinctive sounding bark in that situation. It would depend on the visitor though, some behaviours and age groups more likely to make them alarm bark than others and they are very observant of body language.

How do you think your dog/s would behave if an unwelcome visitor entered your home while you were home?

During daytime, nothing, unless I gave some clear indication the visitor was unwelcome. Someone just walking in normally wouldn't bother them, I would need to act worried or upset or the person give off bad vibes.

In the middle of the night and if I was asleep, alarm bark for sure, and probably some growling from one of them.

How do you think they would behave if this person became physically confrontational with you?

Bark, from one, and general upsetness from the other. If it was serious, quite possibly bite. A lot would depend on how I acted. I only have girls atm which also makes a difference, the males I have had were much more obviously protective. But even the girls are braver than they look and I think they would have a go in a serious situation. How much pressure they could take before backing off I really don't know. But I certainly wouldn't take on two adult Borzoi protecting their owner, they could do a lot of damage if they felt the need.

Edited April 21, 2013 by Diva

[trinabean]

I have a Boxer who, up until this week, I thought would welcome anyone into our yard/home. Apparently not. He was barking/growling/ carrying on like a porkchop at 4:30am Tuesday morning. Precisely the time that I later found out several neighbours were burgled, all while they slept.

I only have 1 dog, so can't answer the second question.

As to how he would react if an unwelcome visitor entered the house while I was home, judging by his normal reaction to strangers coming to the door, he always races to the door ahead of me, and tries to stand between me and the door. This of course, is awkward if I want to welcome the person in, but I don't mind him appearing 'protective' if it's not someone I would invite in. I think he would attempt to 'block' an intruder. And he would jump up on them. Lord knows, it's been a long road to teach him not to jump on invited guests, let alone uninvited ones!

As to how he would react if someone became physically confrontational with me, I can only guess. When faced with frightening situations/ noises etc, his reaction is not normally fearful (he seems to quite enjoy watching the fireworks with me that happen nearby throughout summer). He doesn't back down from things, he is usually curious and sticks his nose in. So, I *think* he would try to get between the aggressor and myself. I truly don't know if he'd bite them though, as he's never bitten or snapped at a person yet.

Edited April 22, 2013 by trinabean

[becks]

I have mini and giant schnauzers, the minis are great for alerting about trouble, the giants are the ones ready to act. My old girl certainly wouldn;t back down to a stranger coming into the house (if left to her own decision), the younger one is all european breeding with a dash of working stock, so she is one who certainly has the breed characteristics of guarding and protection.

I;m pretty sure if trouble broke out, at least a couple of the minis will also join in to protect me.

Growing up we had a cocker who was a great guard dog and would also go ballistic is there was a stranger in the house - esp the tv repair man who got bailed up in the corner behind the tv and the window cleaner never learned to stop letting himself around the back of the house without letting us know first, but at least he has a bucket to protect himself!

[Rascalmyshadow]

Answering the questions based on the poodles since we've had the breed so long.

I know they are exceptional guard dogs, especially the standards.

My female standard would not let any stranger into the house even if we were there, the male was fine if we were there but would bite if anyone entered without us.

The two we have now are better, my old mini will only snap if frightened she has a great temperament, she will alert bark.

Our new toy picks and choses who he likes and I believe he would bite if someone entered unsupervised.

Edited too add: we also have 3 little x breeds that I think would happily let a stranger in.

Edited April 21, 2013 by Rascalmyshadow

[Simply Grand]

I wonder often wonder about this.

I think if I wasn't there they would all bark at someone trying to get in, if they did actually get in Riley (Sheltie) would try to run away, Saxon (toy poodle x malt) would threaten quite seriously but wouldn't actually make contact and would do his best to stay out of reach. Quinn (Aussie Shepherd) would probably react based on the person and their "vibe", if they were confident and friendly with her she'd probably welcome them, if they were gave off a bad vibe I think she would also bark and threaten, I don't think she would attack though. I don't think there would be a huge difference if they were on their own as opposed to together, maybe Saxon and perhaps Riley, would be more confident if Quinn was with them.

If I was there I think their first reaction would be excitement, they'd bark and run around to get me to come see the exciting visitor, however the older Quinn gets (she's 16 months now) the more I think she would actually physically try to protect me if someone attacked me. I also suspect the other two would try to help if she attacked first.

Quinn is very balanced and controlled as far as 'non-friendly' behaviour goes but the more I see her interact with other dogs and with people the more I suspect she's actually a tough little thing (not that little, 22kg-ish). Hopefully she's never put to the test though.

[DakotaJ]

Since my dog is a Golden Retriever most people will already know what I am going to say. They are notoriously friendly dogs. However Meeka will bark if someone opens the gate to the front yard. She does have a very deep bark and people who can't see her are often intimidated.

If someone entered the house I am sure she would bark because she was frightened, whether a thief was frightened by that is hard to say. If we were at home that would at least alert us. I don't know how she would react if we were personally in danger but there is a similar thread running in a GR forum I subscribe to and many GR owners in that thread have said that even though their dogs are very placid normally, if they are threatened their dogs have reacted aggressively and protected them. The general feeling is that they will protect "their people" .

We chose a GR knowing they were pretty useless guard dogs but saying that she is a big dog and I still feel safer having her along on a walk in the dark than I ever would have felt without her

[mel_]

My overly friendly Cavalier will greet any stranger with open paws and I'm sure he would do the same if nobody were home. I'm not too sure what he'd do if there was a physical confrontation going on but hopefully that won't ever happen for me to find out!

[Kirislin]

I'd rather not say, I dont want to invite any stranger who's reading this to come along and try.

[claireybell]

My cocker would bark like a looney but not go near the stranger. My beagle X would also bark like a looney but if a stranger in her yard went near her she would most likely bite them.

If a dog came into the yard the cocker would try and play with it even if it was aggressive. The beagle X would lose it and get very aggressive.

My beagle X is not an aggressive dog BUT she is ver territorial. She won't allow anyone or any dog near our young son unless I've told her its ok first

[tdierikx]

If you are game enough to keep on coming in after my 4 have "greeted" you in their own fashion... then I'm not going to be held responsible for what happens next...

If I invite you in, then that's another story as far as the dogs are concerned - but most people don't think that 30kg+ dogs are supposed to be lap dogs.

T.

[mixeduppup]

They'd be bitten I think, as I have a maremma and he doesn't take kindly to people just walking in unless I say it's ok. I have no doubt that if someone tried to enter my yard ignoring the barking the maremma would at least be very serious about them getting out and perhaps one of my kelpies would ankle them in back-up. That's why we lock the gate when we're not home.

Edited April 21, 2013 by mixeduppup

[MsKatie]

OUt of my 2 I think the kelpie would be the most likely to react - this would then set off the bloodhound and even if it was just barking the fact that he is not a barker would probably alert people.

On an aside my personal trainer just adopted 2 older great danes and we have to put them in the house when we train if the training involves boxing or kicking in any form as the male thinks we are fighting and wants to protect my pt.

[dee lee]

Since my dog is a Golden Retriever most people will already know what I am going to say. They are notoriously friendly dogs. However Meeka will bark if someone opens the gate to the front yard. She does have a very deep bark and people who can't see her are often intimidated.

If someone entered the house I am sure she would bark because she was frightened, whether a thief was frightened by that is hard to say. If we were at home that would at least alert us. I don't know how she would react if we were personally in danger but there is a similar thread running in a GR forum I subscribe to and many GR owners in that thread have said that even though their dogs are very placid normally, if they are threatened their dogs have reacted aggressively and protected them. The general feeling is that they will protect "their people" .

We chose a GR knowing they were pretty useless guard dogs but saying that she is a big dog and I still feel safer having her along on a walk in the dark than I ever would have felt without her

My Goldie is a great watch dog. She goes nuts if she is home alone & someone comes to the door, & she sounds like she means business. Hard to say if she'd actually do anything though.

The postie obviously thinks she would- he is terrified of her despite all my attempts to help them make friends! :laugh:

Out & about, she did go through a phase of occasionally protecting me. Guys with hats bother her in particular & she would rush them with a loud WOOF. I've trained her not to do it anymore, but I do think that she might try and have a go if I was being physically attacked.

I feel safe having her with me walking & at home, she is a great deterrent regardless.

Oh, & if I hear her barking, I always go check- she has twice alerted me to situations outside & never barks at night without good reason (except in thunderstorms!! Aargh!)

Edited April 21, 2013 by dee lee

[HazyWal]

My two greyhounds would welcome an axe murderer into the house

[Ons]

I'd arranged for the first visit that I be at home when the dog washer came, however she had to come early and was just finishing up when I arrived home. I couldn't believe that the dogs let her in the yard and then let her take them out to be washed. :laugh: At that time I had 3 dogs, my two golden retrievers and a coolie.

But I guess it was the backyard and I was not in the equation.

I think that my oldest coolie would be extremely protective of myself. He has done a quiet growl at people when I have been walking him at night time. Completely under control. He would act the same whether the others were there or not although I think that he would be very protective of my female golden retriever and coolie. I would not trust him with anyone physically confronting me. In fact when he growled at people he was 100% under control but I did not stop him doing it as at that time I was living alone.

Onslow my large golden retriever surprised me once when my niece turned up very late at night. I let him out the front with me and his hackles were up and he was growling until Lissy said "hello Onslow it's me, Lissy", immediately the tail started wagging and he bounded up to her.

Matilda-Rose another golden would be hopeless, she would look at the others for protection.

Latte another coolie would protect me if she saw the others doing so. She, like a lot of coolies, can be a bit shy and she would assess the situation before going in.

The griffons would be utterly hopeless :laugh:

[DeltaCharlie]

What breed do you have and what do you think they would do if a stranger entered your yard/house unnanounced while you were out? Would their behaviour be different if they were alone and not with your other dogs?

Border Collies. I will only comment on my 3, the rest are Tailwags.

Delta and Charlie love absolutely everyone and everything. When I lived in Sydney my house was burgled, a few big duffle bags worth of stuff stolen, including the desktop computer and laptop. They accessed my house through the backyard (where my dogs had free-range), climbed in through the kitchen window, and then left via the back door. Knowing my dogs they probably greeted them with kisses, showed them where the computer was, and Charlie probably would have continually dropped a tennis ball at their feet the whole time.

Whip on the other hand comes across as incredibly protective, but its mostly driven by fear and insecurity as we so rarely have anyone visit he just hasn't been exposed to it. I was on the toilet once when I heard him alert barking in the yard. Knowing we had visitors I rushed out there but he had already tried to have a nip at the heels as they tried to access the house via the back door (still not sure why they didn't come in through the front door or why they ignored this dog barking at them with his hackles raised). All our dogs are crated inside when we are not at home, but given the chance I don't believe he would allow anyone into the house. Out in public he has no fear of strangers and no desire to protect the car or our belongings.

How do you think your dog/s would behave if an unwelcome visitor entered your home while you were home? How do you think they would behave if this person became physically confrontational with you?

Interestingly enough, my over-the-top friendly, we-love-everybody dogs Delta and Charlie showed me a different side one night. I had an old uni friend visiting from Melbourne and he had come for dinner. The dogs had been loving on him all night and playing with him while we had dinner and drinks. It got quite late and I told him he may as well stay the night rather than heading off, and he slept in the spare bedroom. At about 2am he opened my bedroom door with one express, unwanted purpose. Both dogs instantly moved on top of me and all I could hear was their growling and see the whites of their teeth. Even when they knew who it was they didn't let up until he closed the door again and went back to bed. I think if I was once again put in a position that caused my heart to start racing or if I was to feel scared at all out on a walk, I would think they would behave similarly. Something I never would have believed until that night.

Whip, I would feel perfectly safe walking down a dark alley at night with :) He is great with others and loves attention in public and at agility trials etc, but I don't think he would hesitate to protect me if the need arose.

[GomezAkita]

The simple answer is my two are Akita's

They are very friendly and affectionate and love getting pats from anyone, but when push comes to shove Akita's are natural fearless guardians.

An intruder may get in, however they are likely to call the police themselves to get rescued from my two.

[Little Gifts]

I used to wonder about this too. I had a mother and son SBT foster failures when I first moved into my current house back in 2000. In the summer at the end of that year 3 men broke into my house while I was in the back room with the dogs watching tv. We'd had a big day out and the dogs were comatose. Suddenly they jumped up and ran to the front of the house making barking noises I have never heard before. On instinct I followed them then realised someone was in the house, grabbed the phone and ran out into the back yard. The front screen door was open and window flyscreens had been ripped out in 3 parts of the house. The dogs chased those 3 men from my house (one fell from a two storey window and broke his ankle) then returned immediately to my side in the backyard. They never ran outside or chased them across the lawn or up the street. Nor did they bite them. Just got them out of the house and returned to protect me.

Those two have passed on from old age but my sister's dog (husky/shep cross) is considered and encouraged to be our guard dog now. She remains on guard with strangers, looking to us for confirmation they are ok. I don't have any doubts she would scare someone off if either she had a bad feeling about them or we expressed concern in their presence. My SBT girl would throw herself at anyone for a cuddle but if she sensed I was scared or upset I'm pretty sure she would act protectively towards me as she is very in tune with how I feel. As for our pei girl, she would give off her deep barks whilst hiding behind the other dogs or me! :D