I have said before that Chessies can be protective of their people, places or things. Our Chessies do not go around looking for trouble. But if they perceive potential trouble, they will go into protection mode.
There is no mistaking when Storm is protecting. If someone she doesn’t know approaches she will sound the alarm by barking. For example, if we are somewhere and someone walks up to our truck, you would think Cujo was inside, (not really but she does make a good showing :)). She lets everyone know not to mess with her stuff.
Thunder is different. He is more laid back and doesn’t bark very often. When he goes into protection mode, I doubt people who don’t know him even realize it.
Last week was a good example. We were at a park training and it was very crowded. It is a good size park which means that you can spread out from other people. We ran some land marks on a large grassy area and were waiting to use the water. There were three people down by the water with four dogs off lead. It is usually not a good idea to throw bumpers in the water if there are other dogs off lead. All the dogs may want to go for the bumper and it is not very helpful for training. So we waited our turn to use the water.
We put Thunder in a “sit/stay” on the tailgate of our truck while we waited. Pretty soon one of the dogs, with person in tow, broke away from the group. The dog meandered around and eventually came within about ten feet of our truck. I don’t know if it was the dog or the woman, but Thunder started to get a little antsy and got up from his “sit”. We told him again to “sit” and he ignored that command came over and sat right next to me on the tailgate so that his side was touching mine. He didn’t growl, he didn’t bark. He just sat there and watched the two until the woman and her dog moved away. I doubt that woman had any idea.
That is Thunder’s style. If he perceives a threat he will put himself between us and whatever he thinks is a problem. He may be standing, or sitting, or even lying down. He will be perfectly quiet, but watching and ready.
Do your animals protect? How do you know?
I like Thunder’s style. I am a protective of my MOM as well. Not in an aggressive way, much like Thunder;s.
Blessings,
Goose
Beautiful photographs of your dogs! Simply stunning! Our two dogs definitely know who and what is supposed to be in the neighborhood and let us know, but some times I think that when one barks – the other one barks for the sake of joining in! LOL All in all, they are really protective of me if anything is near that they don’t like. They back up near me as if to stay close to Mommy to protect me.
Good boy Thunder and very handsome pictures. Storm looked good in her alarm mode also. Nellie is a big alarmer! She will reak havoic on our truck also. I am so blessed that Gambler got the no bark gene from his mom and I actually like it!
What a good boy. I always thought Flo would protect me but after a nasty incident with a guy when I was out walking she did not go into attack mode, even though he hit her with a bottle. Having said that, I was doing everything in my power to stay calm and I think that may have made a difference. If I was screaming or arcing up I think things may have turned out very differently for this chap. As for Elsie, she’s only just finding her bark and she’s still not sure what she should be barking at, which makes me laugh. I was speaking to a neighbour over the front gate at the weekend and she would bark and then run back a couple of steps, look at me or Flo and then test the waters again. Big scary Elsie! Snigger.
Dakota has the same style as Storm…he BARKS like crazy to protect us!
That just wonderful that Thunder wants to protect you. How charming. What a sweet boy. Have a terrific Tuesday.
Best wishes Molly
Oh, that is sweet the way Thunder protects you. Love it! Hugs and nose kisses Chancy and Mumsy
The safest I ever felt was with a friend’s Rottweiler. I was walking him, and a guy I didn’t like came running wildly up to me. Banzai didn’t bark or growl, he did like Thunder, always placing himself calmly between me and the person. The guy couldn’t even try to go in for a hug because the 100lb bulk of Banzai was so strategically placed.
My sister is a guard dog by breed, so she has been a big protector of mom and our house. I also learned right away that she protected me from other dogs. Now she is the mellow one but if I bark or squeal, she is right there to protect me and sometimes it scares mom because Katie can be nasty if she needs to be. Mom and I feel safe with her around and I do look out for us as well, but no one takes me seriously, something about the way I look.;) Glad your pups each watch out for you!
Doggy never barks when we are outdoors.
He’s very protective tho, we would stand between my legs pointing to whomever is coming or whatever he perceives as a threat.
I’ve learned to keep an eye on him because if a dog is running towards me (those jumpy dogs) he would charge. He’s done it twice, never gotten into a fight because he has a good recall, but that’s with me, if someone else is walking him he doesn’t pay attention to the recall.
Dogs like freighter and Doggy that don’t bark are more “dangerous” than dogs like Storm that sound the alarm.
Charley is a growler. I am thinking that maybe he is just anxious because everything is so new, but I am noticing that he growls at the same….everything (people, dogs, kids, etc) so maybe not so much anxiety. Finn will walk off with anyone with a treat or a smile, so I don’t know about her 🙂
Beautiful pics of both Storm and Thunder 🙂 Del is a mixture of Storm and Thunder when it comes to protecting. He’ll most likely bark and alert us of any danger, then come and get as close to us as he possiibly can. He sure makes us feel safe, even though we know he’s a big softy 🙂
Such stunning photos and especially the one of Thunder, I never really realized I never really got to see a close-up of Thunder’s gorgeous little face before!! He’s sooo handsome!!! Well, my Max has an altogether different protection style…run fast and sit behind Mom…that’s the signal for Ma to pay attention now! And if it’s a big threat…paw Mom’s back frantically and let out one bark!
Good boy, Thunder! I love your portrait photo. My Sephi, who passed away at the end of 2011, went into major protect mode when someone came into my apartment. I came home early sick and forgot to lock my door. In my half-sleep in the back bedroom, I heard my door open and a man’s voice. Sephi went ballistic. I’ve never heard her like that, ever. She never bothered with maintenance when they came into my apartment, even if she’d never met them before, and she rarely barked for any other reason. But this case was the exception. Needless to say, by the time I got out of bed the man was long gone.
Delilah is like Storm. Did you know you cannot pump your own gas in New Jersey? Yes, it’s quite challenging when the attendant approaches the side of the car, as you stated she does a good impersonation of Cujo. If you are entering her yard and she thinks you are a threat, she will charge you. Teeth barred, snarling and barking, it’s truly an amazing sight to behold, unless you are on the receiving end.
Sampson has only ever met one person he didn’t care for, that was a mean man on the beach in North Carolina, Sampson growled at him. Otherwise Sampson thinks everyone is his friend. I often joke if someone broke in Sampson would ask for belly rubs while the rest of us would be fighting the good fight. 🙂
I love Thunder’s approach, is the quiet ones you have to watch out for.
I think it’s great that they are both protective (it’s one of the qualities I love about my Leah) and it’s pretty awesome that Thunder puts himself in between you and the “threat.” Smart dog.
Hi Y’all,
Hawk is a terror if anyone knocks or rings the doorbell. He’s sent people in retreat off of our porch before I even arrive at the door. Trouble is, he’s always liked to charge the door and hit all four paws on it like a flyball dog. The door in the mountains is a glass panel and I’m afraid one day he’ll go through it! He stops and retreats to a sit wait as soon as I recall him, but I’m almost never quick enough to stop the initial charge. The noise he makes is deafening!
The female Chessie we had before Hawk was super obedient and almost never barked, though she growled. One time I let her onto the porch, not realizing someone was on it. She kept leaping straight up and barking in the poor woman’s face until I came to the rescue and told her it was okay. She then went into her normal reaction to visitors…lay down, watch and ignore. I much preferred her manner of handling situations.
BrownDog’s Human
I prefer Thunder’s quiet style, unfortunately I have a couple of Cujo’s too and they are rubbing off on the younger ones 😉 funny thing is they sound much worse than they are…lol
You have seen Cujo Storm a time or two…lol. She has mellowed…just a bit.
Our guys bark at people who are nervous around them and people who wear hats. When we were camping and people approached (5+ dogs), they didn’t raise much fuss with people who weren’t nervous, but did a fair amount of barking at those who approached nervously.