I Thought Greys Didn't Make Good Guarddogs

[sarabz]

I ran into one of our maintenance men this evening and he told me that he had tried to come in and fix our AC today.... and Bella growled at him! I'm sure it was fear-based, because she's not really big on strangers, but I was really surprised to hear that. When he came in later when I was here, she was perfectly fine and even approached him.

 

It's not really an issue - when we have anything that we need to have done, we can crate her or arrange to be around. I'm just concerned if there's some kind of emergency (e.g. burst pipe) and the crew HAS to come into the bedroom - then what?

 

Any suggestions?

 

UPDATE - he came back again, and I think this is the first time that Bella heard the door bell, as most people knock. She let out a growly woofy growl - sort of a grumble, woof, growl - one of the funniest noises I think I've ever heard.

Edited May 25, 2010 by sarabz

[Remolacha]

Fletcher didn't get the "greyhounds aren't guard dogs" memo either (he missed a lot of memos )

 

If I am home, I just go over and look out the window and say, "ok, thanks, I'm on it" and he usually seems satisfied. If I'm not home, I've been told he sounds very scary, and that's ok with me! Nobody comes in the house if I'm not there unless he's already met them (there are very few people I trust with a key)

[moofie]

Both my boys will bark when someone's at the door or if we've been out and they here that were home. Last week some young lads were being verbally abusive to the neighbours and upset by all the commotion Hector gave a very low aggressive sounding growl and bark certainly not his usual pitch. I've only heard it once before and then i didn't have a clue what he'd growled at as couldn't see anything, but it freaked me out enough to check the door was locked .

 

I personally wouldn't like someone the dogs didn't know coming in while i'm out and i'd worry that the dogs may get out accidentally. If Bella is food motivated perhaps a cookie would be enough to win her round, i wouldn't be surprised if that worked on my chow hounds but its hard to know how they will react in an unusual situation.

[Guest Bang_o_rama]

Bang RUSHES the door fiercely when the bell rings, practically out of her mind with her intent to savagely demand pets and rubs from the dastardly intruder....

~D~

[Guest Elwood]

My Holly will run to the door barking her head off any time someone knocks on my front door.

Once when she and I were out walking a young College Student was racing up the sidewalk in our direction on his way to the bus stop and as he got close Holly Showed him her teeth and gave off with a low very menacing growl that cause the poor kid to stop dead in his tracks lol.

I was never so proud of my girl for " protecting" her Papa.

She got extra treats that night.

[arandomchic]

To desensitize her, you could make sure that all visitors give her a treat upon entering your house. That way visitors equal yummy things, not scary things. Unless of course you don't mind the guard dog thing, which can be useful, too.

 

 

...her intent to savagely demand pets and rubs from the dastardly intruder....

 

[greysmom]

Oh yah! Mine will *bark* fiercely when someone comes to the door, so I really don't worry about someone breaking in - though if they *did* actually get in the house they'd be the ones getting mugged - for pets!

[Guest gecko_foot]

Bang RUSHES the door fiercely when the bell rings, practically out of her mind with her intent to savagely demand pets and rubs from the dastardly intruder....

~D~

 

Tumnus maintains his intimidating position....comatose on the floor...while the Mako, the feline protector of all things furry, investigates the intruder.

[Guest kydie]

The memo, didn't get to my house either , when I was told "Greys arn't big barkers" I thought great, I already have a nasty old chow that can manage that, have no worries here, my grey chimes in and many times starts the alarm,I am sure no one could get through the door here, with or without the chow

[racindog]

My soul mate Slim was in a greyhound body but he was far from a greyhound. I was shocked to see a "greyhound" so fearless and so aggressive. He was best described as like a military sentry(not scout) dog. He was actually dangerous and would occassionally try to attack-actually attack- people that he knew were "bad." He had great "sai" (martial arts term) and no one would dare mess with him. Most people that knew him were scared of him-even the vet. I always had to use TWO collars and leashes to make sure that he couldn't get away if one broke because it was a given that he would attack somebody if he got loose. And he wasn't easy to control-sometimes getting me down and literally dragging me toward someone he targeted. He would even -and did- bite me and my husband on more than one occassion(broke DH's tooth and chipped mine-he went for the face/throat)-but it was not meaness- it was just his personality. He meant no harm. We knew Slim was not to be trifled with and he did not like mushy stuff like kisses and hugs. In reality he loved us deeply and would have given his life for any of his family without a seconds hesitation. One time he fearlessly fended off a huge St. Bernard that weighed almost twice what he did when the dog came after me. Another time he fended off a burglary attempt. Needless to say they didn't get in and there was quite a bit of Slim's own blood slung around on the inside where he had violently hit the door going after the thugs that were trying to break in and where he destroyed an interior door that apparently was closed and had prevented him from "tracking" them as they fled. I never would have though he had the capacity to destroy something like that door but it was clear nothing could have deterred him from protecting his home. There was one other male greyhound in the house by the way and he was hiding in one of the bedrooms after literally having the poop scared out of him. I have seen police dogs not as vicious as Slim. I used to be a police officer(street cop) and later an ACO and I am not exaggerating. It truly was an amazing thing. Thats one of the things he taught me- how the dog is really a spirit that is in a body -like us- but they are are not the body. He was clearly wearing a greyhound earth body but his spirit-the real Slim- was anything but a greyhound. Before him I never would have thought it would have been genetically possible for a greyhound to be so aggressive. By the way I have read that the Chart Polski hounds- the Polish greyhounds- are rather protective. So I don't know. But Slim sure proved the old adage that you can't judge a book by its cover. He loved to fight(humans or occassional dogs)-he was clearly a warrior-and he did kind of enjoy being a "ba". He was all about protecting the "innocent" from the thugs and he seen no reason to exercise restraint when doing it. He was very noble but like with George Patton & Chesty Puller sometimes doing the right thing is scorned because of political correctness. He is still the love of my life.

Edited May 26, 2010 by racindog

[NevadasMom]

Trolley is just starting to growl at strange noises outside. Makes me happy.

[Guest jettcricket]

Dave and Duffy are great watch dogs as my grey angel Jett was. Jett was a timid boy so it was probably more of a fear bark, but it did keep strangers at bay!! Jett would stand on his hind legs and look at my bay window...he looked very menacing.....

[buddibear]

Standard Poodle rules the house. She has taught every foster grey how to bark at the door. She also gets the treats from bank tellers,fedx guys and meter readers!

[Guest kydie]

to racindog, what a greyt story My old chow is the boss here, and I have to watch her like a hawk, as I know she will take no guff, she loves kids, and lets them love on her, only kids, but your story makes my girl look mild thanks for sharing

[Guest Samantha]

Maddison just doesnt even move when theres a knock at the door, she's so laid back she's horizontal (literally!).

[Guest Wasserbuffel]

Jayne is of Bang's school of thought when people come through the door. She rushes and stands there wagging until we get her to back away. Until recently we would have to physically hold her back while she screamed at our guests to come pet her.

[Guest Lgyure85]

Yeah, Maddie has never met a person she didn't want to be her friend. The maintenance guy in our apartment complex had to go into our apartment to fix something the other day and he said Maddie wagged her tail the whole time he was in there. She does bark, however. More than our Boston Terrier. Who would have thought? (In her defense, our Boston hardly barks at all)

[Guest Bang_o_rama]

I sometimes wonder how Bang would react to a stranger who was actually hurting one of us. Anyone have such an experience with a normally "sai-less" hound?

~D~

[Guest sheila]

the only story I can relate is about my first grey Kiowa who was the biggest 85 lb wuss I ever knew. This hound once ran for his life when a herd of chihuahua puppies nipped at his heels at a dog park......

One day I had to be at work when some repairmen had to come in and my teenage DD let them in. K was fine with the hairy tattooed biker guy came in. However when the clean cut helper walked in K went on RED ALERT (according to my DD) His hackles were up and he was snarling at him. DD described it as a full teeth baring snarl. DD had to restrain K while they were there and said that K was quivering and growling the entire time. I honestly thought she was exaggerating because I had never seen anything close to this kind of behavior with K.

Later the second guy had to come back to finish up and by this time I was home. When I opened the door the guy jumped back with a look of alarm and said, 'Whoa! That dog doesn't like me.' However this time K really didn't show much reaction to him. I really think that K sensed that there was something 'off' about this guy, but relaxed when I (the BOSS OF THE UNIVERSE) was home.

[Guest Tokolos]

Yeah, Sprinkles didn't get the "no guard dog" memo either. My mom came over a few weeks ago to let him out and he growled, barked, and snarled up a storm. My mom had to wait at the door for a good 10 minutes for him to calm down.

[greyhoundlady]

I have one of each! My female grey must think anyone coming to the house is there for her entertainment because she regally awaits on her 'throne' couch. No noise. Forget about my male grey - he scares everyone. He barks (very loudly), rushes the door, and from the look of him, would frighten anyone. Then after he is done, he looks at me as if to say "Is that okay?". Oh, do I love that boy.

[Guest FreddyGirl]

Freddy IS the alpha guard dog. Regardless of my being here, she announces people approaching the property. This gets 2 of the other 3 barking too. Works for me, being alone in the house, I definately appreciate her.

[Guest 2greygirls]

Stretch is a guard dog, he will growl, raise his kacles and generally sound/ look intimidating ( at about 90 punds he's pretty scary, plus he seriously has the scariest bark I have ever heard. EVER)..when strangers approach me at night..and they are men, even worse if they have hats on , or their face is somehow obscured. He has good sense of peoplewho are " off".. Bonnie will attack for pets and bacon... He will also fealress guard me from loud trucks/street sweepers or motorcycles ...Bonnie is a watch dog and sounds the alert when she hears out of place noises, Stretch will then analyze the alarm , and decide if he has to get off the couch to kick some butt. They work well together. I figure they will alert me so that I have time to get the real guard dog out..My CZ SP-01 Shadow, or my trusty friends Smith and Wesson.

Edited June 1, 2010 by 2greygirls

[Guest GreyFan09]

Comet is typically the most friendly dog to everyone and he will bark at the doorbell like he's protecting the house, but would happily accept pets from anyone who came through the door. Sigh.

 

However, a few weeks ago we took him with us to an outdoor Mustang car show on a Saturday morning. We spent the day with friends walking around the show looking at all the cars and talking to people. As usual, lots of people came up to us and wanted to pet Comet and ask questions about Greyhounds. Comet loved all the attention and pets from both kids and adults. After a while we went and sat down in the shade under a tree to take a break and let Comet get a drink of water and a rest. After sitting there talking with my friends Dad for a while, a (kind of strange) man came up to us and started asking questions about cars, then he approached closer and wanted to pet Comet. As soon as he started to come close, Comet's lips curled up showing his teeth, and then he let out a loud deep growl and bark, of which I've never heard before, and quite frankly surprised me. The guy stopped in his tracks and he backed up a bit. I had a firm hold on Comet's leash and told the him not to touch the dog (which I don't think I had to tell him). The guy made some remark like "boy, that's one mean dog" or something similar, then said a few other things about cars then walked off. Comet continued growling at him the whole time he was there and also while he walked away, until he was well out of sight.

 

After the guy left, my buddy's Dad looked at me and said "wow, that man was kind of strange, and your dog really knew it." After that, Comet was back to his normal goofy-self and happy when anyone else stopped by to visit him. There was definately something not right about this guy and he totally picked up on it. From now on, I will always trust his intitution about people.

[Guest Bang_o_rama]

I think Bang can detect and would protect us from zombies, vampires and other forms of The Undead. Also plastic bags, string on sticks used to mark gardens and umbrellas opening.

Criminals, not so much.

~D~