anniebellshafe Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 Last night my husband and I stayed the night at my parents house with Zeppelin (he has been to my parents and stayed the night several times). Due to home renovations we had to sleep in the living room so I slept on a mattress on the floor next to zeppelins bed. My dad came out to make coffee in the morning and when he came around the corner to where we were Zeppelin got up and started barking his head off with his tail straight out at my dad. It woke me up right away and it took about 15 seconds of me and my dad saying his name before he stopped. He does sleep startle but has always stopped when he's awake and realizes who it is, but this was different he was definitely awake and conscious. He is usually very comfortable with my parents. My question is was this him protecting me? He never barks when someone knocks on the door... Or could this have been a sleep startle? It was just very strange and a little scary as it seemed that he was in attack mode and would have lunged if my dad came any closer. After he realized who it was he just laid back down and acted normal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3greytjoys Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 Probably a combination of Zeppelin's fear, feeling vulnerable and threatened, attempting self-protection, his automatic reaction to being startled awake, not realizing where he was right away, and not recognizing the advancing, potentially threatening scary man. A good thing to do in that situation is stop (the perceived threat) immediately. Then slowly back up or turn slightly sideways from the dog while avoiding direct eye contact. (Direct eye contact is threatening in dog language.) The threatening person should leave the room until the dog feels relaxed, calm and secure. Typically, Greyhounds aren't considered protection or guard dogs but some may become more watchful than others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mansbestfriend Posted March 14, 2016 Share Posted March 14, 2016 This was him protecting himself, against a perceived threat. Out of routine, unfamiliar situation in a 'strange' environment, startled by a 'stranger', stress spikes through the roof. Speaking of dogs in general, this is a situation when dogs bite. Stay safe. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anniebellshafe Posted March 20, 2016 Author Share Posted March 20, 2016 Yes he definitely would have bitten if my dad went any further, luckily he came out of it and realized where we were. We will just wait for renovations to be done before we stay the night again so we can stay in a room with a door where no one can sneak up on him! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.