What would your mastiff do?...

[Sabrina]

...if a stranger walked into your home without being let in?

This weekend, i got a chace to learn when a girlfriend of mine who had never met Dino forgot I had dogs and opened my front door without knocking.

I was in the garage doing laundry. I knew she was going to stopped by, but the door was unlocked and she opened it forgetting about my 145 corso on the other side.

Dino used his body to push her out the door with a low growl. Once they got outside, he stayed seated under her, growling and barking, but he did not charge her, attack her, or bite her.

Once I realized what was happening, I cam running and told Dino to down. My terrified friend ran in the house. Dino broke his down to follow her, but cautiously, without growling or barking this time. I downed him again, put his lead on, and removed him from the room to let my friend breathe.

This is a cautionary tale. While I am so proud of Dino for the way he guarded our home without biting my friend, this could've been a lot worse. Our dogs are a liability, and everyone in our lives needs to be aware of the type of dog we possess to prevent things like this from happening...Also, keep your front door locked!
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[chris410]

Impressive response, you are correct that owners do need to be responsible for dogs. If I were you I would be extremely proud of your dog (and I'm sure you are), you can't ask for much more. Hats off to Dino!

 

[sleewell]

agreed, i'm not sure what yogi would do which kinda scares me too. he hasnt shown any real aggression at all in fact quite the opposite to date but given that particular situation its really hard to say exactly what he would do. the problem i have is that he just doesnt really know his size and demands to sniff and check everything and everyone out which can be a problem given his size and how determined he can be around new dogs. he really never expects any dog to be anything but friendly like himself, he always acts surprised when other dogs show aggression, he justs is so happy go lucky it catches him off guard but the way he runs up to meet new dogs i can see how they react that way with that large of a dog coming up to meet them.

without a doubt i know that he would protect me and the house at all costs but to what extent i dont know as i havent ever been broken into or even been in a real bad situation yet. i feel like they have this instinct to know exactly when there is something wrong or if its just a new person at the door. they can tell by your demeanor and attitude, but when you are not there i have no idea how they think and act.

 

[Cody]

We have a huge window beside our front door and the house is an open concept, so the chance of someone coming in without being spotted first is slim to none, unless on another level or in the yard, then she is with me. Aurora takes her "job" of guarding very seriously. Even parents, I run a child care in my home, will not enter the house until I am at the door and the dogs are in a sit stay. But of course keeping the door locked is a must here. Our Boxer can open all doors, unless dead bolted, and children are wily.
It is our responsibility to keep our dogs and others safe.

 

[boxer1200]

You could not have asked for a better response from Dino, I love hearing stories like this about corso’s . Well done Dino cleaver boy, but yes friends and others need to be made aware these dogs aren’t labs.

 

[Maggie]

Dino did a great job...he protected his home without attacking. Recently, my son came in from college with a friend of his, Garrett. Garrett came in behind my son and Maggie my mastiff kept him confined to the entrance of our house. I was in the family room and came into the room when I heard them enter the house and greeted Garrett. I told him to come on in to the family room and to my suprise Maggie wouldn't let him past her until I told her it was okay. She was not aggressive at all..she just used her body to block him from coming further into the house.

 

[Gemsmom]

What an awesome dog Sabrina!! I have no idea what Gemma would do.. which isn't good. I have never seen aggression from her, always the opposite. But.. this is a great reminder of potential situations. Hats off to your dog

 

[Ripsmom]

well, I have an EM and she will wag her tail and in doggie body language say "hey come on in...got any food?" but my dane...not so welcoming

 

[lilliesmomma]

I'm having the same issues with Lillie. She barks when someone comes in but usually one of the other dogs get her started. She walks up to them and they will put their hand down for her to smell and she barks and at the same time she is barking her front feet come off the floor like she is jumping up at them, not on them. If they jerk their hand back or jump she barks more, as they walk past her she follows them smelling them the whole way.

 

[J-Varns]

Im quite sure my pup would lick someone to death before growling or barking, she seems to only bark at the vacuum or someone who smokes, which i find very weird

 

[Lacey_Waddle]

Do EM do the same thing Dino did?

 

[Sabrina]

In many cases, no, i doubt it....but I know there are lines of EM that are still bred for protection, so I guess it depends on the lines

 

[FilaAngel]

Being that i own a Fila... I don't think they would get very far. I always keep my doors locked and windows shut, And the people who do come over know about My dog and River knows them (but hes still not trusted alone with them).

 

[dogman#1]

Yea, if someone came in to my house w/o me knowing beforehand so I could lock the dog up I would be hiring a cleaning party to come in after the paramedics left, no ifs, ands, or buts to it.

 

[ElJayBee]

Eisha, my SAB, will likely bite. i've had two VERY close calls. thankfully i was able to get a handle on her before any damage was done. first time a friend whom eisha hadn't met tried to just walk in the front door and eisha charged her. the girl managed to get the door closed enough to keep it between her and eisha, but eisha had her face and leg out trying to get to her, growling and such, and the girl had all her weight against the door until i got there and told eisha it was OK. then she was fine and let her in. another time one of my friends just walked in my back door while i was standing in the kitchen with eisha and eisha went berserk, so i grabbed her collar and just narrowly avoided her jaws snapping down on my stupid friend's outstretched hand. then i told eisha it was ok and made my friend take her hat off and stand still, and things were fine after a thorough sniff-down. i dont know what she'd do if i wasnt at home, but my pest control guy who sprays every month always calls me the night before he plans to come just to let me know that i need to put eisha in her crate. he says she tries to come thru the window at him, which at first i wasnt sure i believed, until one day i forgot to put her up. he called me from his truck. and i came home to see my window bowing out where she was hitting it.... thankfully it has inner braces between the panes. i've also seen her hit the fence with all her weight and force and bite at it when a stranger walked by too close. so, yeah, i feel pretty confident that she would bite, but i haven't ever had it tested.

 

[northernmastiff]

I think your dog did really well. I'm sure it was scary for your friend but imagine if that had been someone coming in to hurt you. Dino did his job. We used to have an American Staffordshire Terrier cross and he showed me twice what he would do to a person who just walked in. The first time, a salesman knocked on my door and I just said come in since I was expecting a friend and I was busy with something. My staffie just stared at him all intense and then started peeing right there in the hallway. I was so embarrassed but he wouldn't stop staring, his body was rigid and he kept peeing until the guy (who seemed as embarrassed as me) left the house. Then he stopped, and looked at me like, "I done good, no." The second time a friend came through the patio door one night. We didn't know he was coming and he thought he would prove that Zodian wasn't much of a guard dog. As soon as the door slid open, Zodian let out a low warning growl, jumped over the back of the couch and was at the door barking and growling. Luckily my friend got the door closed before he could get to him. So it was either fight or pee for Zodian. Geeze, I miss that dog. Don't have a mastiff yet, but my lab has a great bark, really deep and sounds so much bigger than he is, but that is all he is, bark with no bite.

 

[Fixer]

My 6 month old Tibetan Mastiff, Reilly, has started lunging & nipping at a couple people. I have a lot of people over, including 30+ at a bbq 2 weeks ago, and he was fantastic. This week, he took a lunge at the calf of a plumber (his 2nd day visiting) - my best guess is he moved too fast to the kitchen without me and Reilly didn't like that. No damage, seemed to be just his puppy play biting. Today, as a painter was leaving the gate with me right there, Reilly lunged at his knee, ripping his jeans and leaving a couple teeth punctures. I paid for the jeans (and showed him the vaccination receipts), and called him back later in the day to make sure he was okay (neosporin and he says it'll be fine).

I'll be reviving the crate training and keeping him on leash when anyone visits now, I got so used to him being as well behaved as my 6 yr old sweetheart Djouli that I let him have too much freedom. That stops now, but also taking any advice on training the puppies to follow my lead if I am there.

 

[tink77]

My EM would eat them a live, if they came in the house with out us meeting them at the door. If we are in the yard with him and someone comes up to pet him or talk to us he is OK with that. But to come in without us knowing he would most likely attack them. I am OK with that there have been a lot home invasion in my city and people have died. This why I got him so when I am not home he is there with my wife and girls. Plus I have always loved mastiffs.

 

[thabean12]

I have an 8 month old Fila and she has shown alot of protective behavior about the same as your pup did. However she is still very much a puppy and is unsure and will hide behind me at times but continue to bark and wont let new people near me. But Dino sounds like a GREAT dog =)

 

[sunbear]

Hats off to Dino!!

I am not so sure my 13 month old EMs would behave the same. So far, they only protect us from random wildlife. Any person stopping by is with one of us. Moose (male) would probably lick them to death, but scare with his sheer size. Nike (female) would be the proctor. She would probably bark and strike fear from her size, but love from her sweet face. My pups are on the larger size of EMs, nice and tall.