Whoa, LGD finally viewing humans as predators!

[Beekissed]

My dogs recognize even "safe" vehicles...they can distinguish the sounds of "their" people or even our infrequent visitors and won't bark more than a "Hey, Mom! We have company!" bark. Let those infrequent visitors come when we are not around and they get the full warning barks/behavior.

It is true about their level of intelligence. My dogs can even distinguish~I assume by the body language~who is in our "pack" of friends vs. someone who just came to deliver a load of wood and comes back to deliver another when we are not around. I even introduced our wood guy to my dog recently and they exchanged howdies....but he still treated him like a stranger when he delivered a load when we were not here. All reports were the wood guy was kind of scared to get down from his truck even though he knew the dog was contained in a wireless electric boundary.

These dogs pick up their behavior from our cues, our body language, our training. They are too big to just let them show unwarranted aggression, so I nip it in the bud if they bark too long or for the wrong reasons. This happens rarely but a young dog will try it on for size.

 

[dianneS]

I was really impressed with my boy yesterday. We had a visitor coming to look at a car for sale. Alex got very upset, barked at the fence, then calmed down and positioned himself inside the fence where he could see the garage door and the visitor's car!

That dog stayed there the whole time, he didn't move and he continued to watch the garage and the car, when the visitor emerged from the garage, the dog jumped up at the fence and gave some warning barks. He didn't leave his post until that visitor was gone! It was pretty impressive!

 

[carolinagirl]

I was really impressed with my boy yesterday. We had a visitor coming to look at a car for sale. Alex got very upset, barked at the fence, then calmed down and positioned himself inside the fence where he could see the garage door and the visitor's car!

That dog stayed there the whole time, he didn't move and he continued to watch the garage and the car, when the visitor emerged from the garage, the dog jumped up at the fence and gave some warning barks. He didn't leave his post until that visitor was gone! It was pretty impressive!

that's fantastic! How old is your dog now? I am looking forward to the day when my pups don't welcome all visitors with open arms! lol!

 

[redtailgal]

What a good dog!

and

You have received some good advice on here, too. I agree with what people are saying about the "Beware of Dog" and "Guard Dog" signs, it implies that you have a known biter, and if he were to get out and bite someone, you would face a harsher penalty. Just putting up a sign that there are dogs on the property does not infer there are biting dogs, just a warning for people that may be afraid or allergic to dogs.

The quivering, body posture, growling etc that you described...that describes a dog in hard protective mode. While it is a good trait for a guardian to have, you will need to train him to control himself, or you may end up with a dog that is dangerously aggressive. Teaching aggressive dogs control is my training specialty! I love seeing a dog learn how to use that aggression properly and for maximum effect, scaring the snot out of would be bad guys without even laying a tooth on them (unless its needed)

Your next step with him is easy. When you have a human visitor and your dog is reacting aggressively, calmly tell your visitor that you'll be with them in just a moment, and then take a minute or two to devote all your time on the dog. Tell the dog "WHAT A GOOD BOY!" If you are the treat giving type, give a treat or just pet the dog and praise him. When he settles, and is relatively quiet, he should be looking at the visitor and possibly quivering. At this point, say "Good boy, WATCH." IF the dog is WELL trained in "sit" or "laydown" ask them to do this now, but only if you are confident that they will do it, you do not want to correct behavior right now.

Now go back to your visitor.

If the dog resumes barking, give a quiet and quick "hush" if you need to gently help the dog quiet (no harsh corrections, lay your hand on his head or something). Once he is quiet again, wait for him to look at the visitor, and then give a "good boy, WATCH".

If the dog walks away before you are ready for him to, call him back. When he returns, keep an eye for him to look at the visitor and immediately give a "good boy, watch".

If the dog walks away and it is ok with you, say (loud enough for the dog to here) "Good boy! DANKA!" You dont have to use the word "DANKA", Make up your own word, "OK' "Leave" etc. I use strange words that people dont associate with trained dogs. FOr instance, "Danka" has been a release command, and "monkey butt" for attack.

These are not the words I use now with my mastiff. The point is for these words to not be easily guessed, so that a stranger can call the dog off, if the dog would listen.

 

[tressa27884]

I have a Border Collie who DOES NOT TOLERATE strangers. Because of that she was trained to have an amazing recall. When I call her to me she will immediately come and stand between my legs. She will continue to growl but will stop barking. I have no doubt she would bite somebody that crossed the threshold of my property, or tried to harm me or my children. It takes her a few days to warm up to house guests, but as long as they follow the rules of ignoring her until she chooses to befriend them, they can come and go as they please without fear of being bitten. She is not a warm, fuzzy, cuddly dog, even with me - but she is an AMAZING farm dog. She takes her job seriously. Leaves the chickens, goats and horses alone, will help me round them up and secure them when needed, and then comes in at night with the family. I still want an LGD, but must have a puppy so they will learn to tolerate (if not work with) each other.

 

[Robbin]

My Border Collie will lick you to death while you rob us blind. My Toli is that friendly if I'm there, close to and talking to the stranger. He also tolerates their pets. If I'm stand offish, so is he. If I'm not there, he barks, stands alert and watches like a hawk. At 140 you would be crazy to challenge him. I still don't think he would attack unless you threatened him. He allows people that drive up and act friendly and act like they know what they are doing to come and go under a watchful eye. IE the meter reader and gas delivery truck and ups truck. But Don't approach on foot, and for gods sake don't approach on foot in the dark. Nobody walks up to our house and they sure don't do it in the dark. I tried him once in the dark, to see how he would react when he thought I wasn't there. Not very smart, I managed to call him off before he reached me, he was roaring like a lion, all teeth and hair, and coming at a dead run. You really don't know what they are going to act like because it's tempered by your presence.

 

[Alibo]

My doberman is protective about stangers but i have trained her to "say hello" to people we trust. She goes up and sniffs their hands and is fine after because I have told her they are ok. However if I do not introduce her I can tell her to quiet but she will Not go off alert until they are gone. This makes me feel safer being alone on the property all day. A good dog will trust your signals and work with your body language it may just need to be a training technique for it to click.

 

[Alibo]

You have a doberman? Are they good with chickens and goats?

My Dobe is the best farm dog I could ask for. Always at heel, a huge mama to all my chickens and goats and listens wayy better than even my children! She is protective but never aggressive and ever watching. You can teach them anything and they want to do anything for you.

 

[Robbin]

My Dobe is the best farm dog I could ask for. Always at heel, a huge mama to all my chickens and goats and listens wayy better than even my children! She is protective but never aggressive and ever watching. You can teach them anything and they want to do anything for you. View attachment 10946

Love that Pic!

 

[Latestarter]

That is a very cute pic. Love dogs that love our kids. I have a LGD Toli/Pyr pup (right @ 8 mos old) who has not become protective yet. He's about 110 lbs right now & is a watcher. I'm thinking to get him a female Pyr that's a patroller some time next year. Hopefully they will form a team, and if all works out, I may allow them to breed.

I think I will get signs that simply say "guard dogs on premises" coupled with "Private Property - No trespassing" signs. Astounds me that you would need to put a sign up to tell people you don't want them coming on your property without permission/invite... Especially when the boundaries are fenced... Isn't that like a hint?