NugginFutz Wrote:Pretty generalized assessment. My dawg raises Caine whenever anyone hits the driveway or walks past the house, whether it knows them or not. Interestingly, I can tell from the tone of the barking if they are welcome guests or UPS, etc. Each pooch has its own temperament, and I understand why you cannot rely on just any dog for protection. I've had some that were more of a slipping hazard from peeing the floor, than anything to do with their teeth. Long and short of it is if you want a dog the eats intruders, it's gotta be trained, as bwaites says.
+1 to temperament
I don't intend for my dogs to in any way take the place of me with a firearm in the security of my home and my loved ones. Their intended role is to bark loud and look scary. They are D**N good at that! Truth be told if you'll rub their heads they're big teddy bears.
That being said, it's very true that dogs will take on the personality of their owners, and I'm very protective of my loved ones, especially the women in my life. I've had Gunny(the brindle) since he was 5 weeks old(now 5 years). I honestly never knew if I'd be able to rely on him to protect the family, until a year ago.
While I was in the kitchen getting ready to have friends over for a fight, he was in the living room with my girlfriend(ex now), who he's quite fond of. A good friend of mine(6'4" 250lbs all muscle) who had never meet him came walking into the house through the living room. The dog wasn't having any of it. He got between him and the gf, if he had made the wrong move the dog would of torn through him. I've seen my dog pissed and in skirmishes with other dogs(dogs will be dogs), but I'd never seen him that intense. It took over an hour to get him calmed down again.
Needless to say I don't worry about security of my loved ones when the brindle is there. The verdict is still out on the fawn, I've had him less than a year. However, he is the scarier one when someone initially comes to the house.
Sneaky I just read your post. In the situation above a steak would of done nothing for you. If I hadn't been involved, my buddy would of lost his jugular.
"Those who sacrifice liberty for security, deserve neither." Benjamin Franklin