[NicolaL]

.....that is the question!

Hi all

Smudgey has taken to barking at the side of our house when either our neighbours are around in their garden or if someone is around in the street outside. He generally only does this if he is out there on his own but will be ok if we are with him. Is he just trying to protect us?

Should we tell him off for barking? A colleague of mine thinks that they should bark as we would thank him if it was an intruder or something.....and my mum always liked her dog to bark if someone came to the door (though I'm not too keen there!) as she spent a lot of time on her own in the house at that time.

And Smudge has such a deep bark too! He sounds pretty scary! Would appreciate your views on this......just to gather as evidence when our neighbours ask for our eviction order!

All the best,
Nic
X

 

[Rebel1]

hi nic
max has always been very vocal since he was tiny. he has different types of barks for things. theres the happy yappy when hes playing, gentle little woofs when he wants out, and the real deep throaty one when hes not sure about some thing or someone he doesnt know. if its someone walking past he will bark at them and then run in and sit by my side. if its someone coming to the gate he will sit there and bark untill i go out to see them. if i tell him good boy nice man/woman then the tail wags start. if its canvasers and i dont say anything he will stay by my side and keep giving the odd growl
i dont tell him off for barking as i know he is protecting me and living alone it makes me feel more secure plus he normally stops as soon as i tell him. if some one does make it as far as the front door he normally barks once and the puts his paws up on the glass. as hes nearly as tall as me when he stands up ive had quite a few people leg it before ive even opened the door :lol: (another good way to get rid of salesmen)

 

[bradleysmum]

Hi Nic,

I'm glad you have bought this subject up, as we too, have been experiencing the same barky bark with Brad. He will bark at anyone who walks by whilst he is sat outside the motorhome, usually just the one bark but like you & Jane have said, it's a really deep bark, if you didn't see where it was coming from it would make you jump! It makes us jump sometimes, when it's really quiet and you're relaxing, and all of a sudden along comes this big loud bark. 8O

It's knowing what to do though. At the moment, we do tell Brad 'no' but like you said Nic, is this the right thing to do?

In most cases i'm sure he is just protecting us, but other times - especially if the people walking by have a dog, i think he's does it to get some attention.

I'd be interested to hear the replies, i'm glad it's not just Brad with the barky bark! :?

Julie

 

[branwen]

I let Dylan bark for a certain amount of time,being on my own most of the time, while Ian works away and having woods right behind the house it is very handy,he does have a huge bark,and like Max, will lunge at the window or front door and does get rid of the salesmen,usually its kids that set him off and as the kids round here are short on manners and good behaviour he's allowed to bark just long enough to scare them off,the neighbours have said they dont mind him barking as they like the idea of him telling them someone is around,

 

[Cristina]

Ben barks if someone knocks on the door but he has never barked in the garden unless he wants his toys.

I think as long as it doesn't go on and on the I would prefer my dog to bark. As lynne says it is a way of feeling more secure and aware of who is about, and also if someone does decide to come in your garden gate they know what to expect when they do....lol

 

[clairiscrazy]

hiya i let all 3 of my dogs bark when they want to but like lynne+cris i dont let them bark for ages as it would get on my nerves let alone other ppls..lol.

they only bark if they hear a intruder or another dog goes past or they just bark at ppl to let them know that they live here and no-one is aloud in...

they are protecting there territory and im very happy about that and they stop barking on command (well most of the time..lol)