Chessies are protective and that’s not a bad thing. Protectiveness is a breed characteristic of the Chesapeake Bay Retriever. They will not go looking for trouble but they are ever watchful for threats to their people.
As young dogs and throughout their lives we teach our dogs that they do not always need to protect us because we have it covered. We teach them that they can just be dogs and not always on alert. They are fine with this arrangement when hubby is around, but when he is not, they become very watchful and protective. They take their perceived job very seriously.
When hubby spent several days in the hospital last month, I had no qualms about being alone in the house because I knew our Chessies had my back.
They became alert and protective, but each dog was protective in a slightly different way.
To look at Thunder, you would never know that anything was different about him. But do not be fooled. He is always watching and ready.
Storm’s protectiveness, on the other hand, is always on display. She is always watching and listening for anything amiss.
After dark I have been taking the dogs outside to do their business on lead in the yard. I worry about skunks. I do not need to deal with a skunked dog on top of everything else. But I digress.
Normally when Storm knows hubby is in the house she does her business pretty quickly. But when he is not home, she is constantly looking around. No kidding–her head swings from one side to the other peering into the darkness looking for threats. I think if she could swivel it all the way around, she would. She does not even consider doing her business until she feels comfortable that we were both safe.
Freighter is a blend of Thunder and Storm. He is not normally a barker unless he thinks there is a reason for it. When the weather is nice, I open the front door to let fresh air into the house. We have a full view screen on the front door. Normally Freighter pays little attention to what is going on outside; however, while hubby was gone he felt compelled to stand watch over not only our porch, but the front sidewalk and street as far as he could see. Any person or car entering this space was met with a string of barks from Freighter. I am not quite sure what Freighter thought he could do about a passing car. I ended up closing the door. 🙂
Are your dogs protective? How do they watch for threats?
Easy is protective, but like always he overacts… if we are alone outside in the evening he is like glue…not really a good idea to write pee-mails next to me >:O)
Love your new look!!! Of course because lime green is my favorite color! I love that the chessies are protective by nature. I’m not afraid either with them by my side.
We also protect Mom, usually it starts with a growl when we sense trouble, and then it moves on to howling of more than one dog.
Weims are apparently a bit protective too but so far my puppy (8 months) hasn’t shown it. That’s fine with me but of course it’s not a bad thing if he does start to be more “on alert.” My older Lab mix Ace will occasionally growl at night when someone passes us. It’s rare, but it must be when he senses something about that particular person or the way they move slightly differently. If I’m a little tense or alert without even realizing it, I’m sure that also triggers him. I’m glad he growls on occasion. He is also very “on guard” when we’re out camping. I doubt he would ever follow through with an actual bite, but he does take his job seriously of keeping track of us and watching out. He alerts us if anyone approaches.
Also, I shared this post in my newsletter this week. I thought it was an interesting post!
My Rodger is VERY protective. We suspect that, beyond his natural instincts, it was something he learned in his first 6 years when he lived with his other family (possibly part of his hunting training, not sure). This usually works for our living situation because we are in a high-crime and under-served area where many neighbors have been burglarized (so far not us, thank goodness). The only time we have a problem is on our walks there are occasionally off-leash dogs that approach. He has never bit (literally all bark and no bite), but has been bitten in these situations which we feel so guilty for and we try our best to avoid. My husband works nights and we had an attempted forced entry once, the fact that I could get Rodger to bark aggressively on command saved my sanity and luckily the sheriff arrived before they gained entry. He might be a little crazy barking at every cat going by, but he seems to feel like its his job so I allow it. PS/Any constructive feedback is welcome, having a Chessie as a first dog has been a formidable challenge at times.
As I said the protectiveness was bred into Chessies long long ago when the breed was being developed. It sounds like you have done a good job training your dog. As for off leash dogs charging, we have that issue too. I know some people carry pepper spray for that reason. I honestly think my dogs would not just sit there and take it and that worries me a lot. Dog fights are a scary terrible thing. Sometimes I take a stick and the spray.
Luke is very protective, and I love that. Hubby works late one night a week and I feel so much safer being home alone. Both he and Cricket will bark at everything, sometimes too much though. Our old house was off the street, but here at the new house we’re right on the street, so cars going by is new for them (we don’t get a lot though). They’re getting some better as time goes on, but we really only discourage it if it goes on and on. I want them to let us know when a car pulls in the driveway.
Barley sounds like a hellhound any time the door bell rings (in real life or on tv) or someone knocks on the door. It’s a little ridiculous–when the mail carrier rings the bell to leave a package, Barley loses her mind, but when we see her out on the sidewalk in the neighborhood, Barley is sure they should be best friends. I don’t mind the chaos too much, though, especially since a neighbor had a break-in earlier this week!
I heard a story about rotties, which I don’t know is true… A woman had two rotties a male and a female. Someone was trying to break in to her house. The male went outside to protect/guard. The female stood over the woman in bed! As in, you’re going to have to go through me! Apparently the burger left…
I like walking with Otto. We have a lot of homeless in our area, and he looks intimidating, even though he’s a big goofball…
They make a great team, don’t they? I love how they all have a different role and strategy, but all three are watching over you and the homestead. Haley’s always on alert and will bark if anything is out of the ordinary, which is really nice. Her only fault is, she’s not at all wary about greeting any skunks that wander into the yard too, haha!
My dogs rarely have reason to be protective. Rodrigo and Sydney are friendly with everyone, but no one has threatened them. Scout and Zoey, on the other hand, don’t allow anyone too close to us when we’re on walks unless I know them.