I never thought about it until I started checking out this site. Whenever there is a noise outside, or the doorbell rings, my Australian Cattle Dog goes ballistic. I often then yell at her "Shut up!" or "Quit barking!'
Well no more. Thats her job and I have been trying to deter it, shame on me.
So tonight I will be working drills with my dog, good girl when she aleerts me of something, and then teach her to relax when I control the situation.
I know its been discussed a million times, but a dog is a great set of ears and a great alarm system. Don't take it for granted like I have been.
I think of Home Defense in "Layers." My first layer is a beagle and a border collie/Lab mix that sleep on the front porch. They both go ballistic when any strangers show up after dark. Second layer is strong doors and windows. third layer is ADT alarm. Last layer is Mossberg 500A and cell phone. Dogs are the best "early warning" you can have. Proximity alarms cannot differentiate between "friendly" and "threat" but dogs know for sure who doesn't belong in yard!
Certain Dogs are an incredible first line of defense.
I have usually had Labs, but am thinking of getting a Great Pyr when the two we have are gone.
This breed is fearless, as are most LGD's
Here is a first hand account from a family in Ontario CA, whose PYR charged a large black bear in defense of their 5 children in their yard, the 12 yr. old whom the bear was mere steps away from, unbeknownst to all but the dog.
Here is a short paragraph from their 7 accounts of what happened .
Eight Degrees of Observation: A Pyr-spective
Our 4 year old female Great Pyrenees received minor injuries when she challenged a bear at the cottage on Wednesday August 4th. According to my family, who witnessed the scene; “FRANK” bravely defended the family and property; and eventually chased the bear off.
I was not present at the time; arriving home about 15 minutes after it was all over. I found all five kids, plus their grandparents out on the deck, surrounding Frank. Everyone started talking at once and I was bombarded with many versions of the incident. I never really got the entire story… until now.
Here are all 7 accounts provided by each witness when they were asked to describe what they saw… plus the final word, from Frank herself.
My wife sleeps during the day because she works nights. It makes me feel better knowing that we have 3 dogs watching out for her, 2 red minature pinchers, and a black and tan full size doby. If the door bell rings or the door opens and they don't know you I feel sorry for whoever it is because if for some reason they get past the dogs they will have a woman who knows how to handle a 45acp.:smile:
We just lost our last home defender this last December. Our greyhound would let anyone in...and has.... Our mixed breed we just lost (50% cattle dog 50% who the heck knows), weighing only about 55 lbs, pinned a stranger in our yard about 4 years ago. I was extremely pregnant at the time and doing some work in our basement. I hear our mixed girl going CRAZY in the back yard. I ignored it at first as it was right when school was getting out and she always went nuts about the kids walking home. Five minutes later (I was super involved in what I was doing) I realized she was STILL going nuts. So I finally got up to make sure there were no kids tormenting her (had been a problem in the past). I look out our back door and she's not on the street side of the fence....she's on the neighbor side....and there's a guy there. A BIG guy. A 6'2" (at least) 250lbs (at least!) muscle bound crew cut guy!!! My little 55lbs mutt has him PINNED up against our fence....hackles raised, teeth barred...barking/snarling her fool head off. My greyhound.....dancing around the guy rubbing up against him going "pet me! pet me!". The guys hands are straight up above his head like he's being held up at a bank, and he's pressed as tight against the fence as he can get. I stepped out our back door, went to the porch door and poked my head out. I yell, "Can I help you?" The guy yells, "Call your dog off!!!!!" I yell back, "No!....what are you doing in my yard?!" He explains (in a scared out of his mind manner) that he had come into the yard to fix the fence between our house and his girlfriend (the neighbors) house. A wind storm had made the fence lean a little the week before, nothing to really worry about, and we hadn't gotten around to fixing it yet. So I finally say, "Ok Shasta, that's enough, come here...." and my good good girl immediately stops barking and snarling and walks away from the guy to come by me. I smile and say, "Next time you may want to ring the doorbell before you enter someones yard, most dogs aren't as friendly as mine."
We've got a pup coming in July to take the job of our old defender over. I've hated being without a reliable dog this long, I cant wait till the pup is old enough to do his job. The greyhound is worthless except for being a love bug....
Thanks. Bandog never crossed my mind. No wonder I couldn't place him. Plus most of the bandogs I've seen have all had their ears cropped, which gives them a different look.
Nice pair.
You are fortunate that dogs don't really know what the yelling of "Shut up!" or "Quit barking!' actually means in English. :biggrin2:
As far as they are concerned....when you yell something like that...they think that you are just the Alpha Dog pack leader joining in on their barking and that the sound of "Shut Up!" is actually your human sounding form of barking. :yup:
GREAT that you are working with your dog now. It's worth the effort & may just save your life one of these days.
You are fortunate that dogs don't really know what the yelling of "Shut up!" or "Quit barking!' actually means in English. :biggrin2:
As far as they are concerned....when you yell something like that...they think that you are just the Alpha Dog pack leader joining in on their barking and that the sound of "Shut Up!" is actually your human sounding form of barking. :yup: They are truly best friends.
It might be the fact that my two "girlz" are giant breed Newfoundlands, but they DO understand when I tell them to be quiet. The older of the pair, MISS AMERICA aka Missy, loves to bark at the animals on TV and she knows the difference between live action and animation. When the horses in a western (or the cattle) are out of the scene and she's barking, I just look at her and say, "No those are people, the horses are gone!" And she stops. For some reason she really hates camels. When the "Mummy" movies are on (Brendan Frasier, not the original) she goes nuts and even snarls at the tv screen at those camels. When we first got her (10 years ago in Jan 2012) and she was always barking at the TV we determined it was because she wanted a puppy of her own. So when she was 5 we got her another newfy from the same breeder in Texas. We named the new one MISS LIBERTY aka Libby. Missy kept looking at us during the whole trip home from Texas (we drove from Miami and I carried the whole way, it was glorious) as if to say: "Daddy are you crazy? What on earth made you think I wanted to share you guys with THAT?" But Libby has been very good for her. By staying playful, she's kept Missy young. Still, now when Missy barks at the TV screen we remind her that was the way she got Libby and she quiets down. A lot of folks think that Newfies have an IQ level equivalent to about a 5 yr old human. I'd have to agree. They are truly gentle and courageous, too. I'd hate to be the goblin that tried to hurt my wife ("MOMMY" to the girls) when they were around.
Smart dog. So do I. - A camel spit saliva in my left eye one day (years ago) & I got this horrific and painful infection that almost seriously and permanently damaged that eye.
Before I purchased my first firearm I was sitting in my living room watching TV at about 2am one night. Without warning my Blue Heeler lept up from my side and went berzerk. Barking and growling at the door. I opened the inner door to see what she was barking at. As soon as the door was opened she jumped on her hind legs and pushed the screen door open with her front paws and took off running. Then I saw why. There was a 17-18 year old looking kid standing right in my front yard about 5 feet from my door. I don't know what he was planning on doing in my yard, but I do know that when he saw my baby knock the screen door open he decided it wasn't worth it.
This is my first line if defense. Didn't teach him a thing but he gives a low growl when he hears people pull up outside, a few short barks (meanest, loudest bark I have heard from a dog) if someone knocks or rings the doorbell, then he will come get us after assessing if they are still trying to enter, and calms immediately upon command. He's definitely the smartest dog I have ever owned. He picks up a new trick in about 3-5 tries. I feel bad for anyone if they still try to intrude after that because if he doesn't stop them, I certainly will but I doubt he wouldn't take care of business himself. Now the only thing to teach him is how to get me a beer like the dog from Shooter. :danceban:
If you have a dog that is kept outdoor never totally rely on it to warn you of strangers. While someone may be a stranger to you he may be your dogs best buddy. The guy that talks to him and brings him treats every night while you are asleep.
Here is our "baby". She has hit 70 lbs and has a bark that will scare the bejesus out of you. If you ring our doorbell, she slams the front door with her body. I really dont know what she would do if someone tried to enter the home unannounced other than bark at them. While laying in the den with me, if she picks her head up and stares outside, know someone is moving around whether it is a neighbor or a kid walking by. If she hears the noise again, cover your ears.
Show me a forum member that isn't a dog lover and I'll show you a three-dollar bill. My two lap dogs are plenty loud enough to alert me of anything near the house.
Great Pyr, here. 150lbs of the hairiest, laziest dog you could ever encounter. That is, until someone tried to enter the wrong motel room one night. If you took "Missy," or "Liberty," and colored them white, you would get an idea. Loves his cats, though. When we get the laser toys out, for the cats, Jeep just lays on the floor and lets the cats run right over him. He is actually Jeep III
My Wife does the same thing to our little rattie.... I counter it with praise and say good girl. She love it and so do I... I can't tell ya how many times I knew someone was at my front door long before the doorbell or a knock ever sounded. Heck it's better than radar; well maybe not that good, but better than my ears can muster anyway.
Mercedes on the left is slowing down, but Mickey on the right is only about 5 and very vocal. We won't be without at least one German Shedder, er Shepherd.
Since this thread started, I found and got my white GS. Her mother is 90 lbs and father is 120 lbs. She's 5 mo's old and as tall as I am when she stands up..... with big paws that makes her thump thump thump thru the kitchen. A real sweetheart. But, she has a bark that would wake the dead..... and that's when she wants to play. We'll see how this all goes.
My little winnie does her best to be tough, but even her toys get the best of her....
She likes to flip her toys in the air and this one got lost on the way back down..
Louie, good luck getting past him without waking me up!
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Defensive Carry
5.4M posts
117.5K members
Since 2004
A forum community dedicated to defensive firearm owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about everyday carry, optics, holsters, gunsmithing, styles, reviews, accessories, classifieds, and more!