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Anyone else's golden fancy themself as a guard dog?

1K views 19 replies 18 participants last post by  Sienna's Mom 
#1 ·
Postman Roo isn't bothered about, because he knows he comes 6 days a week and roughly what time, he expects him. But if someone different comes round, and he doesn't recognise their shape through the door, he will sort of mutter a growl under his breath almost, with a half whine sort of thing attached on the end! We have a porch, and some people ignore the knocker on the front and step into the porch and knock on that door. Roo is just the other side of it asleep at the bottom of the stairs or something, and will bark if they knock on that door because people don't tend to do it.

I don't think its so much 'this is my house why are you trying to get into it' more of a 'hey someone's at the door and I don't know who it is, come look!', because often its my boyfriend and I'll let him in and Roo is really excited to see him, doesn't give him a once over or anything, he just seems to know if we let someone in, they are OK and worth getting excited about!

I'm quite a nervy person/have panic attacks and Roo was pretty darned sure there was someone at the door just now. We were shut in the kitchen as I was cooking some food, and he trotted to the kitchen door and barked at it, then growled/whined under his breath. I told him to come and be quiet and he looked from me to the door and back, did a whine and came and sat at my feet. I'm upstairs now and he's just let out two low barks, he's not usually thought someone was there when they aren't, anyone's golden tend to get it wrong?! Our neighbour has been known to prowl a bit and I'm quite unnerved!! He also jumped at the worktop to look out the kitchen window, there was food on there and he didn't go for that, he just wanted to look out the window, so I didn't tell him off I just pretended not to see. I definitely wasn't a 'lets see what's on here' or anything, more like he was genuinely trying to look out.

Anyway, anyone else's golden try to be a guard dog? Is it bad that he acts this way? Does your dog ever get it badly wrong?
 
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#2 ·
we are not the most organized & Bridger would like to change that.

He growls if we park the cars in different spots outside; leave rug shampooer, lawn mower, etc out.

He gets upset at statues -- but now is down to only the lst statue he sees of the day


his "guarding" make us laugh -- sometimes takes us awhile to figure out what's worth growling about
 
#4 ·
Bailey will bark if she hears the squirrels running on the fence outside, or if she hears a dog walking by... basically at anything. Your dog may have heard a strange noise, and reacted the same way he does if someone is at the door...it might just be his "check it out mom - something different is going on!!"

Bailey is our "tough girl" but bring out the vacuum or dehumidifier and she runs for the hills :D
 
#5 ·
Oh yeah, my Riley is a big, bad watchdog. LOL - or at least, he thinks he is! I don't think it's his nature - more a matter of Gunner (our GSD) teaching him to raise hell when someone knocks on the door. It's funny though - Gunner will bark if he sees someone simply walking down the sidewalk. Riley saves it until someone actually comes up to the house.

He's not too fond of the neighbor guy, either. When he sees him through the fence, he usually gives him an earful and it's not just a 'Hey, someone's over there'... it's more of a 'Don't come near my yard/Back off' type of bark.

I always put his leash on when someone new comes into the house, until I see how he's going to react to them. When we're out and about, he's fine. If anything, he's shy with new people, but at home it's a different story. He can act a bit protective. I'm pretty sure it's just an act, but I don't take chances! lol.
 
#8 ·
Fergus has a wonderful "someones at the door" bark it comes from down deep and I just love the sound. It has chased away more than one solicitor.

The only other time I have heard this bark was when someone had left their stroller at the park, he didn't know what to think of it and approached it very cautiously.


Dave
 
#9 ·
Ruby is our guard dog. We don't even need our burglar alarm. Her bark would scare anyone out of here quickly. I dread the night when trash cans come out. The minute we walk outside, she goes nuts. You think there was a body standing in one of them. She has a very deep, seething bark. You would think foam was coming out of her mouth. She even scares me sometimes.

Vicky, mom to Ruby-20 months
 
#11 ·
Kirby guards us from our one neighbor, for some reason Jeff is the only one she barks at. He can be in his driveway, on his deck, pulling out of his driveway and she barks. We lilve on a cul-de-sac and she sees everyone in the front. The kids congregate in the circle or common area and nothing, Jeff walks to his shed and bark bark bark.

They both go crazy when someone comes to the door but no barking or growling, just drooling!! :)
 
#16 ·
Kirby guards us from our one neighbor, for some reason Jeff is the only one she barks at. He can be in his driveway, on his deck, pulling out of his driveway and she barks. We lilve on a cul-de-sac and she sees everyone in the front. The kids congregate in the circle or common area and nothing, Jeff walks to his shed and bark bark bark.
Maybe she senses something in him that she just doesn't like?
I've learned to trust my dogs. I've found that if they genuinely dislike someone, there's usually a pretty good reason.
 
#12 ·
I worked with a chinese crested powder puff that would go after plastic coyotes
 
#14 ·
Lucky will growl if something...or someone is "skulking" around. I find it comforting. Night time is when he gets this way. In the daytime, he'd treat a burgler like long lost family.

I actually encourage this "watchful" behavior by sitting by Lucky when he's growling...trying to see what he see's. He will look at me and then look out there like "see it?" Sometimes its a stray dog, and sometimes its a person walking down the street.
 
#15 ·
Promise thinks her mission in life is to protect me ( which is good). she isn't at all mean an she doesn't have aggressive issues, she will be so happy to meet anyone, when people come over and the door is open she is the first thing out the door. but, if a stranger gets to close to me, she will bark at them, once on a walk a complete stranger came up to us, I was instantly on alert, and I think Promise could sense it, cause she started barking at the guy before he was within 5 feet, she was at my side, but she moved out in front of me, and kept herself inbetween us. ( ive seen the guy around town and he does drugs ALOT). its funny when I'm arguing with one of my sisters, or even just having a nice debate with family, if someone raises their vioce at me Promise will get up, run over to me and give them a series of barks ( it sounds like she is going "roorooroo" or something).
I know if their was ever a really dangerous situation, she probably couldn't really protect me, but you never know.
 
#19 · (Edited)
Both Comet and Sadie will let me know if a leaf blows by the wrong way:) My two are much more in-tune to their surroundings and smells than I am. I think they know alot faster if they think something is out of whack.

In the winter time there was quite a big icicle in my backyard, Sadie would inch her way closer and then back away and barked like crazy. I thought it was so funny! Take a couple of steps forward, back away.

If I let someone in the house there whole body wiggles just not there tale to greet them no matter who it is!
 
#20 ·
Sienna looks out our low front window and growl barks at anything that moves, though one time it was a paper bag left by the garbage man in the middle of the cul de sac LOL.

It can be pretty annoying in that many times it is our neighbors around the culdesac whom she LOVES, heck, she barks her head off when we come home- but that is excitement. We also live at the end of a short street that connects to one that becomes a walking trail... so many dogs with owners trot by.

It is definitely a "this is my house" kinda thing as she never does it out and about. Only sometimes in the backyard, as the trail runs behind our house.

The one thing I do LOVE is many times it becomes this growley sound from the back of her throat and it changes as she moves her jowls around, almost like she is talking. :p:
 
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