"Does Your Dog Bite?"

[NYDDB]

he is super protective at night.

Same here. Very different dog at night, after dark....super "guardy" and watchful. Which, to be honest, I don't really mind....

 

[TWW]

I not mind it so much as worry. when it is just her and him at night.

Same here. Very different dog at night, after dark....super "guardy" and watchful. Which, to be honest, I don't really mind....

 

[QY10]

We had the cable guy at our place this morning (J insists on cable even though I won't watch it). Angus was fine with the cable guy while I was in the room. I went into the bathroom to brush my teeth and all of a sudden all I can hear is Angus barking. I come out to see Angus in the guys space, barking ferociously and the guy frozen with fear saying, "Nice boy. Nice boy".

Note to self: don't leave strangers in the house unsupervised around Angus.


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[Siloh]

Same here. Very different dog at night, after dark....super "guardy" and watchful. Which, to be honest, I don't really mind....

Ditto X2! Hamlet has done this since he was just five months. Ever since I first saw this behavior at night, I decided not to correct him. Usually Hamlet just watches passers-by with intense focus, but in this case there were a few factors going on. A) he was already revved up seeing another unfamiliar man walking by the house very slowly and staring into my windows (as soon as the hound opened he hurried along--Annie sounds like a bigger hound). B) we were very close to my property and my mother-in-law's, so he seems to feel ownership that close. C) The man was quite close to us when we saw each other, when usually people see us a block down the road and cross the street at night. D) The man engaged with me by addressing me loudly.

El oh el, Q, "Nice boy..."

A few nights after this took place, my fianc* was taking Hamlet for his nighttime business, and neither of them saw a man who was walking by the house. The man saw B bend down near Ham's collar and grabbed the edge of the concrete wall across our street, asking repeatedly "Are you gonna set that dog loose?" Hamlet didn't even bark. The man informed B, after being assured he had no intentions of loosing Hamlet, that he was about to jump on top of the 5-7 (tiered) ft wall. Wth? Sometimes people make me wonder if there is a reason they are so jumpy when they're trolling around late at night...

Oh, fila owners. I wish I could have one. What magnificent protectors.

I bet Angus the EM would surprise you, Aussiegirl. I had a German shepherd who was totally friendly to everyone. We had a handyman who we had become friends with as a family. He was always at our house working and would usually stay for family dinners. My GSD LOVED this man.

One day we could not be home to let the man in and hid a key for him. Apparently he opened the door and my German shepherd went at him like a K-9 unit. He waited for hours in his van for us to get home and accompany him, and no problems!


"Nothing is neither good nor bad, but thinking makes it so."
Hamlet Prince of Denmark

 

[Lisa P]

I always say " he never has but there's always a first time for every thing"

 

[Bailey's Mom]

Reminds me of a story I heard years ago, a family that owned a large Doberman had to leave town for a few days. They had a dog door into the garden and they had a hatch-type affair at one door so a neighbour could insert the dog's food and water dishes. The dog was not neighbour friendly, hence this arrangement. After two days of swapping dishes with no problem, suddenly the food remained uneaten and the water untouched. The neighbour feared for the worst and asked for police to come with her to investigate. Upon opening the door they found the Dobbie stationed in front of the (thankfully) tall refrigerator and curled up on top was a crook begging for the police to save him. Good Dog!

 

[Siloh]

Reminds me of a story I heard years ago, a family that owned a large Doberman had to leave town for a few days. They had a dog door into the garden and they had a hatch-type affair at one door so a neighbour could insert the dog's food and water dishes. The dog was not neighbour friendly, hence this arrangement. After two days of swapping dishes with no problem, suddenly the food remained uneaten and the water untouched. The neighbour feared for the worst and asked for police to come with her to investigate. Upon opening the door they found the Dobbie stationed in front of the (thankfully) tall refrigerator and curled up on top was a crook begging for the police to save him. Good Dog!

I am laughing so hard! That's priceless! If I were the police or neighbors, I would have taken pictures!

I've always joked that if we came home to Hamlet similarly corralling someone, I would just go about my business for a couple hours before calling the cops to pick the poor soul up.


"Nothing is neither good nor bad, but thinking makes it so."
Hamlet Prince of Denmark

 

[cj-sharpy]

I have been so proud to have got the aggression out of max. I rescued him from a jailed drug dealer who's partner was going to have him put down. Being a dealers dog you can imagine how he was raised and trained. Nothing but aggression. He is now so soft and will happly let people pet him.

Saying that we were walking down an alley a week ago when I spotted a group of drunk lads. Normally I would just walk the other way but we were half way down and we'd been spotted. One lad shouted "oi pal, does your effing dog effing bite like?"
I was scared and max obviously picked up on this cos he was straight to the end of his lead. Not pulling or growling but he had his eyes on them and they knew it.
"Does he bite? Yeah he does, when he needs to" that made them take a step back and let us through.
As said, no one wants a nasty dog but why get a large dog that looks and acts the way a mastiff does if you want a lap dog.
Max is lovely but he has a job to do. Whether keeping me safe on a walk or making sure burglars don't get in.

 

[Siloh]

I'm glad you and Max keep each other safe!


"Nothing is neither good nor bad, but thinking makes it so."
Hamlet Prince of Denmark

 

[cj-sharpy]

"Does he bite? Yeah he does, when he needs to" that made them take a step back and let us through.

Just for info, as this post has been mentioned in another thread, he would NOT bite. He would stare intently and look a bit scary but he would NOT bite.

But I wasn't going to tell them that was I.

 

[Sharrielynne]

CJ, my apologies to you and Max. I misunderstood your post! I thought that you meant Max was full of aggression when you got him and had to retrain him If that had been the case you should not have trusted him to be off leash with an unknown dog. Since then you have posted that Max was leashed. So my sincere apologies to both of you.

 

[KristieD]

Odin has never attempted to bite anyone, ever.. But he puffs his coat up at strangers - no matter who it is - at night and does not take his eyes off them. No one has ever asked to pet him or even talked to us while walking him since he was around 4 months or so I think. They just give us a wide berth lol.

 

[Siloh]

Just for info, as this post has been mentioned in another thread, he would NOT bite. He would stare intently and look a bit scary but he would NOT bite.

But I wasn't going to tell them that was I.

I realize this response is all tied up in another thread's controversy, but I'ma go ahead and comment that my primary confusion at this question ("Does your dog bite?") is that, in my experience, EVERY dog can and will bite under the right circumstances.

If instead of asking, "Does your dog bite?" while high-tailing it across the street this man had charged me or tried to grab me, do I think Hamlet would have bitten him? Absolutely. I would frankly be disappointed if he couldn't properly address that situation. If I wanted a pug or a Maltese, I'd have one.


"Nothing is neither good nor bad, but thinking makes it so."
Hamlet Prince of Denmark

 

[DMikeM]

I totally disagree with the intent of this post.

Your guardian dogs should NOT bark and growl at a person that does not pose a threat. I have gone through this with Jade and when she was young she would bark at anyone that walked past our house, young kids and old people included. This is bad behavior and the dog needs to be taught that not all people are a threat. I do understand that dogs will know when a person is odd or a bit off and maybe an outright bad guy but to become agitated just because someone is on the same walkway as you is bad behavior.

I take my dogs on social walks every weekend in our village and since I live in a resort town it is packed with thousands of tourists all walking along the sidewalk and window shopping. There are always dozens of dogs being walked as well. If my dogs acted the way that Max did the shop owners would contact city management and have me banned from bringing them into town. I am approached by hundreds of people every time I take them to town and people respectfully ASK if they can pet them ask if they can hug or cuddle and I tell them they may pet either but no hugging Jade. We have been attacked by smaller untrained dogs dozens of times and my dogs are so well trained and have such perfect temperaments that I can call them off with no small dog fatalities or serious injuries.

If you want to know what true pride in your dog is. Be able to walk away from an aggressive snarling bully dog and have a dozen people follow you and tell you how well tempered your dogs are. Having your dog return the attack will only make you look like another big dog owner whose dog is just an extension of their own ego. They don't need to appear aggressive to be a protective guard dog.
Relaxing at the farmers market. Only about 300 people here.

 

[QY10]

WOW, Odi is getting big!

 

[DMikeM]

I will be posting recents in the BB forum shortly. He is far bigger than that shows.

 

[QY10]

Nice! I look forward to seeing them. Your BB's are both such good looking dogs.

 

[Mag-Pie]

Your guardian dogs should NOT bark and growl at a person that does not pose a threat. I have gone through this with Jade and when she was young she would bark at anyone that walked past our house, young kids and old people included. This is bad behavior and the dog needs to be taught that not all people are a threat. I do understand that dogs will know when a person is odd or a bit off and maybe an outright bad guy but to become agitated just because someone is on the same walkway as you is bad behavior.

I take my dogs on social walks every weekend in our village and since I live in a resort town it is packed with thousands of tourists all walking along the sidewalk and window shopping. There are always dozens of dogs being walked as well. If my dogs acted the way that Max did the shop owners would contact city management and have me banned from bringing them into town. I am approached by hundreds of people every time I take them to town and people respectfully ASK if they can pet them ask if they can hug or cuddle and I tell them they may pet either but no hugging Jade. We have been attacked by smaller untrained dogs dozens of times and my dogs are so well trained and have such perfect temperaments that I can call them off with no small dog fatalities or serious injuries.

If you want to know what true pride in your dog is. Be able to walk away from an aggressive snarling bully dog and have a dozen people follow you and tell you how well tempered your dogs are. Having your dog return the attack will only make you look like another big dog owner whose dog is just an extension of their own ego. They don't need to appear aggressive to be a protective guard dog.

100% agree. My CC is nonreactive with strangers up to 5 feet, which makes some people think he's "friendly" when he walk by, but once they come closer then that - it's game on. He will start growling, and stand tall, but as soon as I tell him to sit and relax he complies. However, strangers still can not pat him, since he HATES strangers getting in his personal space and will snap at their hand. The people he's familiar with can pat him without any problems. He's been charged by smaller snapping dogs a few times, and never attacked them. Also we had a pit bull encounter, and he remained non-reactive. He's been rehomed with me, so he's a "rescue" in a sense, and I only have had him for 5 months, so he is still a work in progress, but I work with him everyday. Hopefully with time and more training he will become more stable around non-threatening people.

 

[Siloh]

Mike, Hamlet is completely non-reactive during the day and well socialized. He hasn't reacted with anything but an intent gaze and an alert stance at night until this man.

I think I stated this before. I am suspicious of any unfamiliar person walking around at night in my highly residential neighborhood. There are a lot of serious drug problems around my area as well as a lot of theft. I was already rattled by the man coming past my house in such a lurking manner, and we were both startled by this guy (my neighborhood streets are almost always dead after 9PM except for some people who walk their dogs). If I had to profile this guy from dress and how he was walking, yeah, I was absolutely suspicious. I really don't think there is a problem with Hamlet barking or growling in this situation.

Dog or no dog, I would not have gotten within 7 ft of this man at that hour with all the neighbors asleep. I usually walk with a knife open at my side. That's how I am.

I have to say here, there may be a gap in worldview as well. I don't know you, so maybe I'm wrong, but maybe you've never been a victim of a violent crime? It changes your perception of supposedly benign situations. There was a time I couldn't take my trash out after 9pm due to anxiety. I could have told him to be quiet if I felt unthreatened at that moment, and I chose to let him bark.


"Nothing is neither good nor bad, but thinking makes it so."
Hamlet Prince of Denmark

 

[HayleyMarie]

I think when it comes to panzer it would have to be a very dangerous situation for him to bite. He would not see a drunk walking down the street and see him as a threat. I've taught panzer not to have a high reaction towards situations. Because that drunk on the street could be mistake for a person who is handi capped by the way they are walking. If the drunk man persued me in a threatening manner then yes, panzer may react. I want a dog I can trust in public, not a liability. He is also not allowed to bark and growl at people and cars walking past our house. Pan is a trusting dog and still very much has that puppy sensibility to him. He still has a lot of maturing to do. I also hope we are never put in a situation they he has to bite.