This question applies to all dogs,not just those with PPD training. I like the fact that Casja will alert when someone is at my door,but I know that she would basically give anyone the grand tour if they wanted to take something. So I don't feel 'safe',but don't feel 'unsafe' either if that makes sense.
Yes I feel safer, my son feels safer, & my husband feels better about us being home alone when he works nights. A dog (especially a big dog) is def a deterrent. When I had my old dog no one would go near us with him around (and he was very friendly). It's funny because kids loved him but you would see the fear of God in the parents eyes. I'm hoping my puppy will not only be a great pet but also be very protective of us & our property. But again I really think just the fact that you have a dog is a deterrent to people.
I honestly don't want my baby to make me feel safe. Why? Well, in case **** happens I do NOT want her to get hurt in any shape or form. She is family and I love her too much to see her sacrifice herself for some **** money bought objects.
Get a handgun, learn and properly train with certified trainers and keep them away from your children (if appropriate age, take em with you). My spouse does feel saver if I'm not home but still..
Part of the reason I like GSDs is the feeling of security it gives to have one by your side. Even if it is a false sense of security. A GSD is a good deterrent to all but the worst of people, I do believe.
When I was in college, I was homeless and living out of a broken-down van for a while. Since I spent the majority of my time alone, having a GSD was a livesaver. Possibly literally. I did all kinds of dumb things then, I used to walk and bike miles at night, alone, but I had my dog with me, so I felt safe. Nothing ever happened to me, I was never accosted, harassed or attacked, and I believe it was the presence of my dog.
All of a sudden I have found myself dogless, and being home alone at night feels strange. Used to be, whenever I heard a strange sound, or strange voices, I'd send a dog out to investigate first. Now I only have cats, and the best I can hope for is that they run for cover should a murderer break into my home!
my current one does big time my old gsd did not at all. So some do some don't. But I mean I would be more happy to walk with ANY gsd in a bad area rather than walk alone. Or any dog witht the scary looks like rottie or dobie. If i was walking by myself in an ally. I knew the dog was not the type to protect. I would way rather have them by side as we walked rather than do it alone by far. Even if i knew they would run. Id walk with a protection breed over other breeds also just because the image it might give out in a bad area. But at home by myself or in the yard only 1 gsd ever really made me feel safe but shes always tested and being trained also. I would feel even more safe with 2 than one, even if the second one was a scardy cat. If one is barking and ready for a fight the other is there standing beside it, would be a scary site for any person. lol
Yes, I hope that Cora never has to protect me but its nice having her. I am a runner and not only is she good company and helps me keep pace, but she keeps look out. If she smells or sees something that I may not she gets closer to me or taps my hands. Her default mode is to alter not to attack. I like this because I would not want her to be so protective that she jumps to attack first. But I will says the best things is when someone she hasn't met comes over to the house she will not stop barking until me or my husband let them in the house. Once their in she knows they're okay and goes into lick you to death mode.
I definitely do feel safer with Dakota, even though I don't know if he'd actually bite if I was attacked. I know he would at least "put on a show" so to speak, that would make you think twice.
My Pit Bull Alice... I'm pretty sure she'd like the guy while he was stabbing/hitting me.
I feel very safe. I don't like taking my dogs to Petsmart but I do it anyway just so I can watch all the people stay like three aisle away from me. Some grab their children and run, but most young children run right up to them and start playing with them and you can see the parents start to stress out.
If I have one more Petsmart employee look at my German shepherds and ask me what breed they are or if they can give them a treat at the checkout I'm going to scream! They get offended when you say No! It's for their own safety. Lol
There is no doubt we are safer with Dex & lexie. We live in a seculded area and the only time we ever had a problem was when we didn't have a dog. Dex & Lexie are our 3rd pair of Black German Shepherds. When my last Black male, Jet passed away, I swore I would never own another dog. I am not the crying type, but I cried for weeks, I just couldn't see putting myself and family through this ever again. As fate would have it we were broke into a little over a year ago, at the urging of my wife and daughter we got another Black male two days later. I have taken Dex to a level far above any of my other dogs as far as protection goes. I can take him anywhere off the lead and he is the perfect gentleman. He is a big baby and he loves everone but the Vet, yet at the mention of two words I can turn him into a serious threat that would scare the living snot out of any veteran dog person. There is no doubt in my mind that a burglar would have to kill kim to get into the house. Lexie is 6 months old, she may be more of a natural at protection work than Dex, I think it is a Czech thing. There is no doubt we are safer and our lives are much richer with them.
I felt immensely safe when we had Metro. There were three distinct instances where I am sure I would have been harmed in some way had I not had him there, and one of them I swear he would have broken through the car's front windshield to get to me if he had to. He was the greatest dog ever. Sabo...it's a toss up between "I dont know who you are, so Im going to bark" (though it's getting better with regard to neighborhood kids at the door) and "OMG inanimate object i've never seen, MUST kill it!"...LMAO
Loved Dexter's little story! Adorable. Poor little thing! At five months old, he didn't know WHAT he was going to do but he had it in his head that he should do SOMETHING... thank GOODNESS it was his family!
Van Buren, hilarious. I have friends who are afraid of dogs, to which I say, too bada, so sada -- this is THEIR house.
At 80 lbs and four years of age, Ceasar is imposing. When it's just us and he wants something, his whine is truly one of the most pathetic things you'll ever hear. Sissy. Weenie. etc.. His bark however... ahhhhhhhhh people hear it down the block and it IS something to behold.
Just now, as I was catching up on this post and reading, "early detection" one after another, his deafening bark boomed right behind me. I turned around to see a wild turkey walking down our driveway. He has several different alert barks. This was just "something is stirring" bark. At night if there's something out there he cannot see, it's a little bit more than that. There's a warning to his bark with increased alarm. He's not sure what is there but he's warning it. When a person or vehicle comes onto the property, there's his FULL ON ...WHO ARE YOU bark. It's very distinctive.
This dog that I adopted a year ago has managed to really shape my canine preferences quite a bit. I'm very very GS swayed.
This is my first time owning a GSD, she's still a young 6mth old pup.
However, prior to having a GSD I've lived non-stop with rottweilers over the past 15 years (having owned 4 and fostered more than a handful). No one steps into a home known to have trained rotties without an invite.
I managed to go two months without a dog in my house, before I picked up my girl GSD. I do still miss the security feeling of having a trained adult dog. Enjoying the pup factor as much as possible in the meantime.
My GSD makes me feel 100% safer. I am disabled and she checks on me all the time. I know if I fall or something happens she will be right there to help me if she can. Just knowing I am not going to lay somewhere for hours alone is very comforting. So yes mine does make me feel safer all the time and especially when I am home alone during the day.
Titan does mke me feel secure. We've never been in a situation where I need his "protection," thank goodness. However, when I have been in an uncomfortable position, like walking or running in the early morning by myself, when I'm home alone, when someone I dont' know comes to the door, etc., he always senses that and becomes very alert, very focused on me, and just very watchful.
I was once in a situation where I was home alone and Titan was going crazy at the back door because of something. Right or wrong, I let him out (6 ft privacy fenced in yard.) He chased whatever it was out of my yard and I watched him do a complete search of my 1/2 acre lot. Then We went out front and he searched the whole front yard and came back and sat right in front of me very alert. That solidified my faith in him.
He also isn't as comfortable with males as he is females, so that alone makes me feel a little better.
He's my "little" security guard and at the very least he is EXTREMELY intimidating and will make you think twice before approaching me or my property.
Yes! Very much so. I've been lucky that there hasnt really been any threats sent my way. But Ace and Ark will keep their senses alert for people who knock at our door and squirrels. I am clumsy so when I trip and fall, I'll usually yelp and that's enough to send em running.
max made me feel safe at home as a kid. dexter made me feel safe while alone in a strange place as a teen. ranger made me feel safe when i let my guard down. gustav and maggie made me untouchable and I left everything unlocked but this puppy does not do it for me yet.
IN time, he will make me feel safe when my daughter and son are walking with him in the forest and in town. Nobody will get out of line near them and their dog.
As an afterthought to the original question my shepherd does make me feel safer and more protected in addition to being concerned for my health and physical issues. She patrols the acreage we have set aside and fenced for them and she is definitely the undisputed Lord and Master of the yard. When a stranger or strange animal ventures too close she makes certain that they understand that inside of the fenced area is strictly off limits. That is about the only time she uses her "Big Dog" deep voice. Otherwise she uses her crisp bark to alert others to her presence. As long as I am home she will allow guests to come to the door without a threat, but if I am away at an appointment it is a different type of meeting all together. She is a pet me monster and demands attention and acknowledgement when we come home and she greets every guest with the expectation that they are going to pat her on the head and show her some affection. Then she is perfectly happy to go to her favorite spot and lay down so she can monitor the situation. Her spot is laying on the couch curled up next to me with her head either in my lap or up on the arm of the couch. When ever she is agitated I tell her "go get in your spot" and "calm down" and that is where she goes. If it is really busy and disquieting she will go to the bedroom and get on the dog bed and lay quietly till everything calms down a bit. Her training failure quark was a slow transition so her behavior is perfectly consistent with her dealing with her stress in a safer and more productive way than how she did before..
I live in the boonies. I like it out there. There are hardly ever any sherriff's on our road. And, while I have neighbors, I only know one set of them, and they are home only sometimes.
I have the dogs. All of us have guns. The neighbor I don't know has a frieking elephant gun he blows off over there. The neighbor I know has a gun for squirrels. Mine is just a shot gun, but a couple of times when the mangies sounded off, I went and got it and loaded it before going out there to find out why.
They have different barks for different issues. Like a stray cat doesn't get the same level and intensity as the Amish fellow who used to cut through to get to his timber lot. My dogs will bark at cars that pull into any of the three driveways, but it is just a "hey, how ya'all doing?" kind of bark. If someone gets out of the car in my driveway -- that is a different "Hey! who're You?!?" The Amish fellow driving his horse down the road, and his kids driving their ponies barely gets an honorable mention.
Mostly though, it's a quiet road.
And when it really matters is when I watch a scary movie at Mom's and then drive home. The house is NEVER empty or scary.
We live in the sticks ......no close neighbours.....no bad people around.....but the other day I was on my way to town and this guy was driving drunk......all over the road so I dobbed him in ......he could have killed someone. He must have been onto me though cause he was following me when I got to the police.
That night hubby wasn't home so I got to thinking about this guy.....small town ......he probably knows me. I felt safe though knowing Luther was here in the house......everyone knows we have a gsd.......and it makes us feel safer.:wub:
Ah yep! All their job entails is to make me aware. I have opposable thumbs and can use this
very very well. It does not take much skill as laser scopes tend to be a very "point and shoot" sort of undertaking. A .44 Mag also has a lot going for it, huge bullet, huge energy and semi-jacketed hollow-points do evil things to flesh. I feel secure. I sure do.
Not really, but I live in one of the safest towns in this country (literally). Nothing ever happens around here. I do clear the roads when I'm out walking them, but it's most just other people walking around minding their own business too.
We live in a townhouse with a gated courtyard, so there is the sound of the gate when someone enters the courtyard. Eva has quite often "perked up" and given "woofs" that are alerting. We allow her to go out and investigate whatever sound she heard (we can see that the gate is closed before we do so) and then tell her "Good job!" once she's assured herself (and us!) that everything is ok.
We have a "Beware of dog" sign on the gate and never get any drops in once they hear the huge barks she lets out!
Outside on walks when she sees someone approaching she stops, gets a locked posture, STARES, and on a few occasions her hackles rise (and you can't miss that they do). We are given a WIDE berth!
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