Dogs Provide Security

[ppine]

I have three dogs and I am in love with all of them. Last week a sow and cub showed up in the yard. Turning the dogs out clears the yard. They tend to make some noise and they are fearless in a pack.

I take naps in the woods and my Border Collie is in charge of security.
Anyone approaches the house and they let us know.
Same when sleeping in a tent or in the open.
First line of defense.
Our motto is "no one is sneaking up on us."

[tomkatb]

I feel the same. You would be nuts to enter a home with a big dog. Noise. Alarm.

In studies they have found in more than 90% of incidents it is a rare dog that will bite an intruder unless trained to do so.

Few are “guard” dogs.

[BarabooBob]

We call our dog our "dog bell." He makes more noise than any alarm that I have heard. He also is the intruder's early warning, because the next noise he will hear upon entering my home will be a whole lot louder and more dangerous.

[CNYCamper]

I'm going to be reading these comments to our two Bostons. They're good at protecting us from the mailman, but once they are down for the night, it's like they are in a coma.
True story: about 25 years ago we had an intruder about 3:00 am. My wife heard our bedroom door open and thought it was our son who then entered and then left our bathroom and the bedroom (our bedroom is on its own floor). She woke me up and told me she was going to check on our son. She went down the stairs and within seconds yelled up that there was a guy in our oldest daughter's bedroom. I flew down the stairs while pulling on my pants.
I'm 6'1" and this guy, mid-twenties, had me by a couple inches. Got between him and daughter's bed and told him he had to leave while he insisted he was supposed to be there. Managed to get him down to the main floor and out the door and called 911. Town, County and State police were at the house within minutes and quickly nabbed the perp.
My point is that we owned a 6 month old Dalmation who didn't make a peep until the police showed up. Then he barked like crazy. Before all the commotion, my youngest daughter had peeked out her door and saw the guy sitting on our stairs petting the dog!

[cboss]

That would be our Vizsla, Kaylee. She loves to have visitors. Especially if they have 'cookies".

SECURITY....

[NMWildcat]

I love dogs. I hate yappers. They might provide security by barking, but I don't know if it is worth the annoyance of them yapping at everything. We have several RV friends that travel with dogs. The little ones seem to be the yappiest (is that a word?) and I don't enjoy RVing with their owners because of that.
My last dog was an australian shepard and blue heeler mix. Very loyal to one person. She rarely barked and was friendly until someone she didn't know touched me. But no warning bark.....

[cboss]

Originally Posted by NMWildcat

I love dogs. I hate yappers. They might provide security by barking, but I don't know if it is worth the annoyance of them yapping at everything. We have several RV friends that travel with dogs. The little ones seem to be the yappiest (is that a word?) and I don't enjoy RVing with their owners because of that.
My last dog was an australian shepard and blue heeler mix. Very loyal to one person. She rarely barked and was friendly until someone she didn't know touched me. But no warning bark.....

I call them YappHounds, and hate them also!

[Oaklevel]

This was a few years back a couple of guys came up to the house after running out of gas.......... our yellow lab Chelsie (RIP) went crazy............. she kept them occupied until the police arrived and took the guys away.

Come to find out they did run out of gas after breaking into the local conveniance store.

[Reverse_snowbird]

I miss my boxers.
We had 4 of them... one at a time... over the years and they were definitely a 'personal protection' dog. They were fun loving and goofy until they perceived a threat, then they put themselves between the threat and their person. They defended all family members. Their growl was enough of a deterrent. The last one died shortly before we retired and started traveling.

Now we have our daughter's cocker spaniel who only barks at people in uniform and the opossum who visits occasionally.

[joshuajim]

Two dogs back we had a Golden that when we were sitting at the camp fire at night she would always lay behind us facing away. Guarding i would guess.

[tomkatb]

We just obtained a young Airedale, Montgomery.

The second week the lady who cleans for us walked into the house. We leave the door open for her.

Well, Monty drew a line. He stood there all #12 pounds of him growling and barking when she came in. Between us.

Most folks do not know this breed was one of the first police/army dogs.

It is in their blood to protect.

[ppine]

Breed matters.
Airedales are the King of the Terriers. They are fearless protectors and used to lead hounds in the pursuit of bears and lions.
Herding dogs bond strongly with with their humans and are protective. After 8 years I am still socializing my Border Collie. She has radar for people with bad intent.

My brother was recently walking his dog near home in OR a pit bull/ Lab cross. A bear crossed their path. My brother was stunned by his dog's reaction, of being calm, alert and ready to attack. It made me realize there are three kinds of dogs when it comes to a threat. The first kind you protect, the second kind protects you and with the third kind you feel sorry for the bear.

No one is sneaking up on us. It is a great comfort to me.

[TitanMike]

Years ago I had two german shepherds, one after the other. Both decided for themselves who needed protecting. Kids first, wife next, me last. If either of the dogs sensed a threat it was growl first, bare teeth next. Luckily the "threats" got the message and left; either on two or four legs.

[jdkbrooks]

As long as the don't start barking every time someone sneezes

[dallasrules]

I have a German Shepherd also. He is a service dog. He is very calm and quiet, but he watches everything all the time. He constantly makes decisions about situations. He will bark if there is something he thinks I need to pay attention to. I have learned one thing from my years with him. ALWAYS trust the dog.

[Jim S JR]

They may be nice, but don't mess around and enter without my permission.

The guy on the bottom is 1/2 great Pyrenees and 1/2 lab. Heis the one most to look out for.

[Rockwoods]

Dogs are a liability. I have a security system with camera, instant alarm, video and voice commands. Plus I don't have to feed it!!!

[vickyr]

I had an intruder coming through a window. My dalmation laid down under the window. I was so freaked out I was useless. I did have a pellet pistol. When he got his whole leg in the window Wiggles (my dog) jumped up and latched on. I don't know where she learned that maneuver I was impressed. I have since moved and have a CCW for more than a pellet pistol. This was years ago now I am a cranky old lady.

[JRHill02]

We have Catahoula Leopard dogs. A male and his two sisters who provide help when working livestock and, of course, security. They actually love visitors but have to be properly introduced - which includes smelling the visitor's breath. Seriously.

[Freetyme]

Originally Posted by NMWildcat

I love dogs. I hate yappers. They might provide security by barking, but I don't know if it is worth the annoyance of them yapping at everything. We have several RV friends that travel with dogs. The little ones seem to be the yappiest (is that a word?) and I don't enjoy RVing with their owners because of that.
My last dog was an australian shepard and blue heeler mix. Very loyal to one person. She rarely barked and was friendly until someone she didn't know touched me. But no warning bark.....

Same here. People with well trained dogs in campgrounds seldom has been an issue for us. Not that I've never been somewhat annoyed by a yapper. It's all on the owner. Leave your site, take your dog with if it's that way. I understand a loyal dog is naturally protective and that's ok. As for the security factor there are other ways.