When did your DDB start guarding?

[eoj89]

When did everyone else's DDB start to show that they're guarding the house/protecting everyone? Murphy in 6 m/o in 2 weeks or so and he's started already. He will walk around the house with his shoulders raised and his head low, looking out the window every now and again, and he has begun to bark whenever he hears a knock on the door. We don't mind him barking. He has also started to try and get involved in protecting one side of two people in the house being a bit rough with each other. He will come to my defense and start barking when he feels like he needs to sort it out himself, haha!

When did your Dogue/s start to do this?

Also, anyone agree with this? Dogue de Bordeaux @ www.bordeauxdogs.de

Joe.

 

[NYDDB]

The description in that article is spot on, in my opinion...definitely written by someone who has been owned by Dogues!

My DDB is guardy, but silent. He simply doesn't bark, unless really provoked by a challenging dog, usually through a fence. But even that is rare.

With Mateo, it's all physical: he will rush the door if the doorbell rings, trying to put himself between me and the person on the other side of the door...until I tell him to stand back.

At night, he is more guardy, more watchful...but again, he will either stand (as if rooted to the ground) if he feels there is a threat, to let them pass us. Or, he will move to position himself in between myself and a perceived threat and just do "the stare."

But I think he is unusual in his silent ways...most other Dogues I know will bark to alert.

And he is a very social guy- he generally likes people and all the attention he gets.

 

[musicdeb]

Great info re: DDB.

This fits Titan. When I ask him to sit, he will sit but after a few second delay I can see him thinking and asking himself those questions below.

When told to sit, they know precisely what they are being asked to do, but before actually performing the task, they will ask themselves why? What is going on here that requires me to sit? Is there something that I am missing that could be more fun than sitting? What are the chances of me getting away without sitting? Is there any chance that I will be rewarded for sitting? This makes the Dogue the Bordeaux a challenging candidate to train and it does require patience and a clear view of who is the boss to get results. If you are looking for a dog to obey you, stay away from the Dogue the Bordeaux.

This also fits Titan. We can have staring contests and it's a tie as to who looks away first. hehehehehe

If they do not get their way, they can lie on the floor looking at you for hours with "seriously insulted" written on their face. Looking a person in the eyes at length is something dogs can not usually do. Dogue de Bordeaux can, and do.

This is absolutely Titan. If he does not know the person, he is not going to let them get near me especially a man. Titan will usually look at the new person to size them up, unless it's a man then game on. He will lunge at the man to let them know to stand back. We've worked really hard on the lunging and he's improving each and every day. Most men will not come near me because of Titan's size but a few have tried. Those brave ones quickly stopped when they say Titan lunge at them. However, he loves women and children.

By nature, Dogues de Bordeaux are suspicious of people they do not know, and they guard their home and masters fanatically. They never attack without reason though, and although they are often wrongly classified as fighting dogs, there has not been one instance of a Dogue de Bordeaux injuring a human being for no reason. People they do know are greeted with a dose of joy that no one will forget quickly.

 

[NYDDB]

And this:

"They are able to pull faces for every occasion like no other dog can. From sadness to joy, arrogance to humbleness, they will find the matching face, particularly when they want something. They will climb into your bed and pretend to fall asleep instantly in the hope that they will not be kicked out again. If they do not get their way, they can lie on the floor looking at you for hours with "seriously insulted" written on their face. Looking a person in the eyes at length is something dogs can not usually do. Dogue de Bordeaux can, and do."

Spot on. And they know exactly what they are doing with the faces they make. But, most times, I crack up and give in, LOL. The stare, too. I have never known a dog to master the stare like they do- and they will meet your eyes, with no threat...just to look, or communicate.

The whole site is really, really good when it comes to describing the behavior and traits of the DDB...very cool.

 

[RockstarDDB]

My first started his protection at abut 6 months . when i say guarding i mean snarling (ive never heard such a sound . like a demon) and rearing on his hind legs at the mail man and people wearing hats anyone that seemed strange except children. he was always very gentle and tip toe'd around toddlers. On the leash he was extremely guarded at night. by 10 months i literally had to hold him and physically try to drag him to the ground . by 13 months we had to use a spike pincher to walk him and 12 weeks of obedience . He was a doll with children and people if invited in the house. he would play with other dogs of his leash . the minute you put him on a lead it was a crap shoot of what you would get.

He stayed that way until about 3 years then he settled he would have his moments but was much better with consistency. He was never much for affection would find any excuse to run out the front door and pee on everything and bark at cars.

My second is a much different dog . he is very confident , barks at the doorbell once or twice . if i wrestle with my boys he will bark and run over to try to break it up. he will get pissy if you come form behind un announced while on leash but nothing like my first. my guess is this dogue has a more confident trusting nature. he love playing with other dogs of any size. No cat aggression and is extremely affectionate . Will jump in bed in the morning and lick you until you wake up. On the leash he will pull and mark for the first 10 minutes of the walk . but on the whole far less of a rebel and very confident.

My current one was first to leave litter . he is also the largest at 10 months he is 130 pounds and he has been on all stage food and 40 % raw from 6 months he is not over fed , just a big boy. My first did not leave the mother until he was 13 or 14 weeks. he did not start socialization until he was about 4 months (I personaly believe this was the what created the insecurity in my first male) . My current one i started the first week i got him , a no no by vet standards )but my breeder and handler claim that this is the key. But i also believe dogues have their own personality traits and all of that is determined by bloodline. we took him out for halloween last night and he handled costumes and haunted houses with no barking lunging or any of the other things my first DDB would do.

Music Deb hit the general attitude of the DDB perfectly. they are stubborn for sure and like to deciede if they really need to do what your asking them. People think they are big dumb goof balls but they are extremely smart and manipulative lol. they will use the goofy look to take advantage of you all day long . but there is no way to completely break a DDB of his guard they will instinctively protect you no matter what. its the loyalty ,they will die for you if they have too. its been that way since the Roman empire.

 

[Masong11]

I wanted Apollo (my 14 month old ) to guard the house too, be careful what you wish for. Apollo is very aggressive with anyone who comes in the house. it has gotten so bad now that a couple days ago I had a friend come over that Apollo regularly sees at the dog park and I had to pick him up and carry him into the back yard because he was lunging and snapping at my friend. I plan on taking Apollo to a trainer to get this under control hopefully.

Apollo is great outside of the house, he never has issues. He will get attacked by other male dogs often and usually runs away unless the dog is the same age as him then it can get ugly.

 

[RockstarDDB]

I will add ,from what several people have told me . euro imports and the first generation off spring seem to have a higher guard instinct. EU likes the dogs sharp and retaining that quality. It requires a strong owner willing to be consistent. I do know that sexual maturity enhances these characteristics and requires almost a second round of socialization and training to get them to accept strangers for certain Dogues.

On a side note they are intuitive . My first always welcomed people in the house if i opened the front door and invited them. All but one person, a long time friend who has a reputation of being shall i say an A hole. he put him in a corner reared up and pinned him to the wall and would not let him move , any time he tried to move he snarled. The person involved was well aware of his personality issues and shortcomings .He attributed it to the dog knew he was an A hole .

 

[musicdeb]

I wanted Apollo (my 14 month old ) to guard the house too, be careful what you wish for. Apollo is very aggressive with anyone who comes in the house. it has gotten so bad now that a couple days ago I had a friend come over that Apollo regularly sees at the dog park and I had to pick him up and carry him into the back yard because he was lunging and snapping at my friend. I plan on taking Apollo to a trainer to get this under control hopefully.

Apollo is great outside of the house, he never has issues. He will get attacked by other male dogs often and usually runs away unless the dog is the same age as him then it can get ugly.

Titan has to go into his crate when someone comes into the apartment. He fiercely guards the apartment.

 

[musicdeb]

I will add ,from what several people have told me . euro imports and the first generation off spring seem to have a higher guard instinct. EU likes the dogs sharp and retaining that quality. It requires a strong owner willing to be consistent. I do know that sexual maturity enhances these characteristics and requires almost a second round of socialization and training to get them to accept strangers for certain Dogues.

On a side note they are intuitive . My first always welcomed people in the house if i opened the front door and invited them. All but one person, a long time friend who has a reputation of being shall i say an A hole. he put him in a corner reared up and pinned him to the wall and would not let him move , any time he tried to move he snarled. The person involved was well aware of his personality issues and shortcomings .He attributed it to the dog knew he was an A hole .

I totally agree, maturity requires another round of socialization and training. I also believe training never ends, it's a lifetime commitment.

WOW on the pinning the guy to the wall. I could see Titan doing that but he never has done it. A holes deserve to be pinned to the wall.

 

[Masong11]

Titan has to go into his crate when someone comes into the apartment. He fiercely guards the apartment.

How is Titan out at dog parks and walks?

For Apollo its a night and day difference.

 

[musicdeb]

Titan does quite well on walks but we do not go to dog parks, we go to human parks. He only has issue if a man comes to close to us or tries to talk to me. He's improved so much since I first got him. Now I know his body language and know when he's going to lunge. I take control of the situation and prevents him from lunging.

 

[eoj89]

Murphy's dad is European and so far he seems to be great. He's really social with everyone generally and we couldn't be happier with his temperament. He's great with my 76-year-old Grandma too who is arthritic and partially blind, I've never seen a calmer puppy around someone although her GSD isn't particularly a fan of him which is a shame because I hoped they'd be great friends.

On the plus side, he's finally starting to give in and listen to us during recall. He was misbehaving last night whilst I was upstairs, I come down and called him to me and he ran straight for me, finally! Just a week and a day short of 6 months too.

He's not too bad guarding the house, but we'll need it too as it draws closer to Christmas as we get scumbags round here - they tried to get into our house through the front door at about 03:00am on 23rd December last year and luckily our (sort of) neighbour's human aggressive dog got them going. Our pup is well known in the area now too so I doubt it will happen again.

 

[musicdeb]

Titan was born in Germany and that's all I know of his heritage.

 

[eoj89]

Titan was born in Germany and that's all I know of his heritage.

Personally, I think Germany produces the best dogs in the world. I would love a German dog and it's a goal of mine to import a DDR line GSD from Germany in a few years.

 

[RockstarDDB]

I hope i didn't imply EU has aggressive dogs .eastern Eu has thee finest DDB there are. Most of the show kennels here in the US started with imports and most still continue importing into their program. My current is a second generation from EU and is a far more stable temperament. Then my first who was several generations American. I also think most of the issues my first had were my mistakes i made . But there are very distinct differences that i attribute to his breeding.

 

[NYDDB]

Interesting about the imports.

Mateo's dam is from Hungary, from a really nice line; his sire is from England. My question is what about Dogues from their country of origin, France?

I just noticed that my breeder imported a pup from France, to hopefully use in her breeding program. I am curious to see how he turns out...

 

[RockstarDDB]

Interesting about the imports.

Mateo's dam is from Hungary, from a really nice line; his sire is from England. My question is what about Dogues from their country of origin, France?

I just noticed that my breeder imported a pup from France, to hopefully use in her breeding program. I am curious to see how he turns out...

France Really is the bordeaux origin. During WWII the nazi's destroyed most of them and the kennel owners were put to death ( i don't know the reason ). I know eastern EU is very keen on the breed and produce great Dogues. Holland , Czec, Netherlands , Belgium ,France . England has a outstanding kennel as well. A lot of these EU kennels will not sell their top of the litters though, they make sure to keep them close most of the time. As do the top american Breeders like to keep the top of their best litters close.

They will import top picks from breedings to American kennels they have relationships with. But at the end of the day they care greatly about the breed.

 

[musicdeb]

I believe Titan's issues are environmental not genetic. His past owner kept him in a closed off room in his crate for 10-12 hours a day with no socialization, no training and hit him when he did not listen to his commands. Sad case... I've had Titan 2 1/2 years and he's improved greatly than when I first got him.

I love hearing about breeders who breed for the betterment of the breed. So many people want to breed for no other reason than to make money and do not care if the lot is healthy or not.

 

[helga]

Hello all,

I have a question in regards to the guarding. My DDB girl is turning 9 months now. She has been always alert since she was a puppy if i stay longer than 10 min in one spot. It is now getting worse, not with everybody but with people who seem suspicious especially at night. On the other hand she is extremely polite on the verge of anxious when passing by people on the street (giving the a lot of space etc). Now I am starting to wonder if she is behaving like this because she is starting to become anxious??? I am so worried.
She is extremely well socialized with other dogs and people i talk to in a friendly way. I know it is also connected to the breed but my Tosa, Laika,.. etc were/are only aggressive if the other person is showing signs of confrontation with me. Hope you can help me or give me advice.
Thanks.

 

[musicdeb]

helga, it could be fear which she is about the age to be in another fear stage. Be diligent and continue to bring her to sit when she goes into guard mode. Learn her body language so you know she's about to go into the guardian mode. Turn around or move away from the person/dog/object causing her to become afraid.

One bit of advice I was given when I first started training with Titan with his lunging, check your fear and anxiety at the door when you're with you pup. She can feel your fear and anxiety and she believes you're in danger and this is why she goes into guardian mode. When you are fearful or anxious, stop walking with her. Stand tall, shoulders back and take some deep breaths. When are you are no longer fearful or anxious, continue walking.