Good dog, bad neighbor! I bet he knocks or rings the bell next time...

 

I think that's good, protective behavior!

Once the plumber went out to get his tools and let himself in, and my dog was the same way.
Growling, followed plumber into the kitchen, and we had to leash him because after that, every time the plumber walked by he would lunge and bark and growl at him.

I think that in their mind, a person crosses the line from "Guest" to "Intruder" when they are not greeted at the door by the pack leader (us).

 

Sorry but this breed is anything but a gentle giant outside of their people and pack. Your dog did exactly what it is made to do. I agree with a previous poster, I expect that my dog would respect who I welcome in the house. I desire and applaud the idea of my dog being more alert and potentially aggressive when someone I have not welcomed decides to come in my home.

 

Sounds to me like he did a really good job alerting you to this person entering your house without you inviting them in. Good control that he stood down when you instructed him.

I'd be very uncomfortable with a neighbour entering my home without expressed permission. Good that your dog has your back.

 

What a moron. He walks in uninvited then blames it on Snowy ! Duh
Good for you for staying calm and explaining if he acts like an intruder ...he can expect the dog to treat him like one.

 

I always wonder what Trinity would do, her usual behavior when someone rings bell is just that .. goes to the door and barks. No clue what she would do if she was out roaming in the house and a stranger just walks in.

 

I am not a German Shepherd, otherwise I'd be a huge sensation since I am typing this response, but I would be equally "ferocious" if a neighbor simply walked into my house. Your dog did well, your neighbor needs more training and socialization.

 

Good judgement from the dog. Hope the neighbor learned his lesson.

 

Your boy did great. Hope you praised him for a fine job. Give that boy a steak.

 

Good Dog! Treats for Snowy tonight!

 

Half the job is the stand up, the other half is the stand down. Well done.

 

Bad neighbour. Good dog.

Very rude of your neighbour to enter your home without knocking.

 

Good job done big boy 👏 👏 👏

 

I was at home but had been going in and out of the garden all day and so I'd left the front door unlocked.

A neighbor who does not understand manners or boundaries decided to open my door without knocking or ringing my doorbell.

My 16 month old white GSD male sprung up and gave a deep, menacing growl I've never heard before. I ran to the door to see my dog at a stand-off with the neighbor, where the guy looked absolutely terrified and did not move a muscle until I told my dog to stand down.

This neighbor has come over before, but in the past, he rang the doorbell. In that situation, my dog would run to the door barking and I'd tell him to sit. Once he was in a sit, I'd open the door. No problems. If anything, I thought my dog was too friendly because most of the time he greets visitors with friendliness and a wagging tail.

The neighbor was upset with me and made a comment about my dog. I told him, "Don't open my door without knocking or ringing the doorbell and being given permission to come in. That lets Snowy know you are a welcome guest and not an intruder."

Most of the time, my dog is a big, friendly, goofy guy. He is gentle with the cat and with my mom and friendly with the neighbor kid who mows my lawn. The neighbor kid loves him, in fact. When we go on walks, if people ask to pet him, he allows it. He doesn't enjoy it but he shows no aggression. He is generally good-natured if sometimes rambunctious.

So I was totally stunned at how quickly he went from my laid back gentle giant to a ferocious creature.

Dogs really feels the energy of humans... Sometimes even people doesn't see the right picture of a person, but dogs definitely will! That's why I love them so much, you can't fake a dog, dog can fake (prank) you any time by getting "sick" so you would stay home... so smart animals!🥰

 

Unless your neighbor has some kind of mental deficiency or condition where he can’t tell right from wrong, this is just creepy. And then he criticized your dog?

 

Well of course! The dog got in the way of the neighbor’s foul plans and pointed out how he was in the wrong.

 

PS
You have a 16 month old dog that's able to snarl and stare down the neighbor/intruder....time to stop thinking of him as or referring to him as a "puppy" for both your sakes

 

You are right, it's just that most of the time he acts like a sweet goofy puppy. This was a good reminder that he's a GSD.

 

Your neighbor can think whatever he wants but I assure you that he will never barge in on you unannounced or uninvited again. You have a good dog. End of story.

 

thank you!!! I agree. He is a good dog and the neighbor now understands boundaries much better.

 

Yes! That is exactly what he should do in that context. Good for him!

Years ago I was similarly surprised by a stray GSD girl I adopted. She was probably ~1 yr when she moved in, and was about 18 mos old when we were both startled by the sound of my landlady’s violent, abusive boyfriend putting a key in my front door lock to let himself in. (We’d had words earlier that day, and I think he was coming to teach me a lesson.) My girl, usually ridiculously, goofily, excessively friendly to most humans, turned into the scariest, most menacing creature I’d ever seen in my life as she put herself between me and the intruder. He stood there on the threshold for a good long minute, staring at her as she grew louder and scarier, then he suddenly withdrew, slamming the door shut hard as he left. He tried to get my landlady to evict me, but he never did try to enter my home again.

I still miss that girl. You have a very good dog.

 

Yes! That is exactly what he should do in that context. Good for him!

Years ago I was similarly surprised by a stray GSD girl I adopted. She was probably ~1 yr when she moved in, and was about 18 mos old when we were both startled by the sound of my landlady’s violent, abusive boyfriend putting a key in my front door lock to let himself in. (We’d had words earlier that day, and I think he was coming to teach me a lesson.) My girl, usually ridiculously, goofily, excessively friendly to most humans, turned into the scariest, most menacing creature I’d ever seen in my life as she put herself between me and the intruder. He stood there on the threshold for a good long minute, staring at her as she grew louder and scarier, then he suddenly withdrew, slamming the door shut hard as he left. He tried to get my landlady to evict me, but he never did try to enter my home again.

I still miss that girl. You have a very good dog.

I am so glad you adopted that stray! She sounds like a wonderful dog.

one of the saddest things is that our dogs are with us for so short a time.

 

No one had ever tried my door uninvited. I'm scary enough, never mind two German Shepherds in front of me

 

OMG, that made me laugh!

 

WE adopted an adult GSD X. We lived a long way from my family and it was like a year before my father came to visit so the dog had never met him. I had been stung by hornets and was having an allergic reaction and was in the bathroom running cold water on my stings when my father showed up. My young step daughter let my father in but the dog didn't know him and I heard quite a racket. I ran down the hall and found my father in the living room against the wall with the dog staring him down with a warning bark if he tried to move. I called the dog off, calmed him down and then told him the phrase he knew to go greet our guest which he did with a wagging tail- he was typically a very social dog but in that instance I was not on top of things in the house, my young daughter let in a man that my dog thought was a stranger and he was not going to let my father move until I said it was ok. What if some bad person had talked their way in past a kid while I was unavailable? I felt my dog was spot on. I was grateful to have a dog like that around. He detained him perfectly without touching him. When I told him it was fine he was friendly for the duration of the time my father was in the house.

 

Awesome!