Does anyone have a stupid dog, that is almost useless?

[gotime242]

Hey all,

After reading much about HD situations, and how dogs can be an important aspect as far as "notification"...i come to realize that my dog is absolutely useless. I recently moved into a small house with my girlfriend who has a great dane that is a little on the slow side, but she is absolutely in love with him.

I have a job that gets me home late some nights, and every @!%&#$ night i come to the door...open it, set down my stuff, make a bunch of noise and walk into the bedroom where she and the mut are sound aslpeed. What the heck!!! WAKE UP DOG, i could of been breaking in to rob the place OR kill my g/f or myself.

There was an occasion where we were watching TV and i heard the back porch door open, as i briskly grabbed my FNP-9 and light as i was SURE there was someone on the back porche, i realize........Yup....there he is all 120 lbs of huge great dane with a super deep/loud bark not doing anything, i dont even think he was completely asleep yet.

Anyway, just wanted to see if there was anyone else out there as frustrated as i with this scenario.

Thank you.

 

[armoredman]

But what a loveable face!
I have two old dogs who bark, one young little dog who barks LOUD, and on dog who barks whenever anyone else does. They go NUTS when someone opens a door, or sets the alarm off.

 

[rantingredneck]

I had a Jack Russell Terrier once who was absolutely insane. Actually it belonged to my ex-wife, who was also absolutely insane. I no longer have the dog or the wife.

The dog would do laps around the living room for no apparent purpose.

The ex-wife, well that's a whole 'nother story and most of it wouldn't be THR material

 

[RyanM]

On the bright side, that dog will never wake you up because he saw a racoon, and you'll never have to worry about the neighbors complaining about all the barking, or worse, secretly harboring a grudge and pulling passive-aggressive crap. And it also sounds like you don't have to worry about him mauling an even stupider kid that decides to take a shortcut through the yard with the gigantic dog.

I'd take a laid-back dog over an excitable, yappy one any day.

 

[Avenger]

Great Danes aren't exactly the best dog for guarding things. They are generally pleasant and gentle, very friendly and secure. "Amiable" is the best description I've heard. They seem to think that just because they are BIG, nobody is gonna mess with them, and this does seem to be a strategy that works for THEM, which isn't necessarily useful from a human perspective.

I've always thought that the best alert dogs are small, insecure, and hungry. Buy a Peke, toss it out in the cold, ignore it except for chuckin' a rock at it once in a while, starve it, and you'll have a dog that'll keep your house safe. It might be just until the burglar manages to steal some earmuffs somewhere else, but still....

 

[Huckle2]

Don't be too rough on the dog. Most likely he knows it's you before you ever get out of the car! When my son lived at home, our dog heard him when he pulled in the sub-division. He always got real excited and greeted him at the door barking, jumping on him, just glad to see him. Maybe your girl friends dog does not....oh...never mind.

 

[COMPNOR]

Why does his lack of reaction make him stupid? Because he doesn't do what you want? Because he's not trained for protection?

Not all dogs get excited about every little thing. Or maybe even big things. Course, people are the same way.

If you want a dog to increase your home security, perhaps you should look for something else.

And I'll second the small dogs. I've got two, and it doesn't take much to set them off.

 

[orionengnr]

Does anyone have a stupid dog, that is almost useless?

Yeah, my next door neighbor had one. Since it's getting old, he got himself another, so now he has two

Those dogs only barks at three things:
Anything,
Everything, and
Nothing at all.

24/7/365

Thankfully, my four dogs ignore the moron-dogs next door, and only bark if there is someone actually in the yard, at the door, etc...so I don't have to listen to them yapping.

Don't take this personally, but a wise friend of mine has long said that there are no bad dogs, only bad dog owners....

 

[Bigdtc]

Dont Be to hard on the dog. I have a Dane myself and live in semi-rural area.She seems to know who belongs and who does not insinctively. She does not react to just any noise but seems to know when she needs to and she is a heavy sleeper too! Would'nt trade her for anything She is friendly to people who visit and is very defensive of all of us. ( I have 2 kids)

 

[conw]

There are lots of errors in your thinking. I recently got into reading a book by Cesar Milan, "the dog whisperer," and he has a lot of wisdom about this kind of thing.

First of all, dogs are companions, not servants, and definitely not people...simply because the dog doesn't react how you would react, or expect him to react, doesn't mean he is stupid.

Second, people constantly project things like "personality traits" or "emotions" (laziness, sorriness, etc) onto dogs, but in reality dogs all experience reality in relatively the same way. If you want to change something you don't like about them it takes a certain amount of work but can be done.

Namely, someone in the household will be "dominant" as far as the dog is concerned, and if all your GF ever does is pet him and tell him "Good doggie," he probably thinks he's in charge. The best way to correct this is to work on discipline, which doesn't mean punishment but rather correction. You have to figure out how to get him to do what you want to do, and what mainly helps with that is believing you are in charge and not him. You need to stand square-shouldered, chest out, head high and talk in a deep in-control voice.

If he has been good-natured thus far he should take to your leadership role just fine. You should always be the first one out the door if he wants to go out, and you should not let him beg for food or jump on people. He should always ask you for permission before getting food or leaving the house, and you should be calm but assertive at all times.

Okay, so the best way to establish this dynamic - which will result in what Mr. Milan calls "calm-assertive dominance" and therefore make the dog more protective if you want him to be - is to exercise him every day, perhaps twice every day, by walking him.

50% exercise - 25% discipline - 25% affection
IN THAT ORDER

So that means you walk him for 45 minutes, work on his discpline for 20 minutes or so (it's okay to do this during the walk - just prevent him from leading you on the leash [he ought to walk beside or behind you], sniffing flowers, and the like. He should sit when you want him to and so on), and then "reward" him with food, petting, and affection for 20 minutes. Most people make the mistake of just giving their dogs affection and very little exercise or discipline, which makes the dog feel like it's in control.

Once you establish all this I'd say the best way to work on the protectiveness would be to have a friend come up to the window, door, whatever and start banging. Plan ahead for this. The dog should at the very least perk up and be alert, and you should encourage this. You should act like something bad is happening, which should make the dog react even more. Reward this behavior.

Any time you give a dog affection, you are rewarding something it has done. Nourish and encourage the protectiveness with "practice drills," planned ahead with a friend...

Think about getting the book too, it rocks. "Cesar's Way."

 

[conw]

Don't take this personally, but a wise friend of mine has long said that there are no bad dogs, only bad dog owners....

Exactly. Every dog I have ever known that "barked at everything" had owners that were very anxious and couldn't control it. When you try to comfort a dog by saying "Good doggie, stop barking," you're encouraging/nourishing what it's already done.

It's simple: if the dog is doing something "bad" that you don't want to do, withhold affection and command it to stop. Do not give it affection until it stops! When it stops, give it a LITTLE affection and go about business as usual.

 

[herohog]

I have a retired racing Greyhound. She's turning 10 in April. She's fast. Real fast. She sleeps... a lot. That's it. If you are a dog or human, you are 100% safe. Any other small furry creature, you are prey. Totally worthless otherwise. Even if you are her prey, you get no warning, no barking. There's a black streak, teeth, and its all over. Nap time. I wouldn't trade her for the world.

 

[Geno]

I too suspect it's simply that the dog has identified you as friend. That is the precise reason I don't like for others to befriend our dogs, especially people who are just temporarily in the home. Other than family or long-term friends, I prefer my dog view everyone as suspect.

 

[Valkman]

I got a pooch down at the rescue place just because I work in my shop at night and anyone could've suprised me. Thrasher doesn't let anyone come near without barking!

I think all dogs are great, but some ar way more laid back than others.

 

[Guns and more]

Looks like an attack dog. Any trouble and he has an attack!

 

[qwert65]

All dogs are different some are useless some aren't Dogs behave certain ways based on their poinyt of view as has already been said he might recognize you and go back to sleep. also he might just not care about the house but be very protective of your GF remember he can't think 3 guys with guns are coming gotta wake the homeowner. but if someone attacks you/or your gf he might attack.

I myself am a proponent of large dogs assuming the owner can handle them for their very real deterrant factor most burgulars don't want to deal with a large dog(or any dog for that matter) so sometimes his mere prescence may be benifical where a alet chuahua is not

 

[Cosmoline]

The best ones in my experience are working line bitches. They have better protective instincts than the males.

 

[Titan6]

Great Danes aren't exactly the best dog for guarding things. They are generally pleasant and gentle, very friendly and secure. "Amiable" is the best description I've heard. They seem to think that just because they are BIG, nobody is gonna mess with them, and this does seem to be a strategy that works for THEM, which isn't necessarily useful from a human perspective.

Exactly- Danes are big goobers and do not make good guard dogs but they have an imitimidating look to them. So while he may not make a good intruder detection system he might make for a good show of force. -If you can keep him from licking the bad guy to death that is.

Just about any dog can be trained with enough effort, but you have to determine if it is worth it...

 

[qwert65]

Great danes have had a lot of aggressiveness bred out of them they were orgionally bred to hunt boar

 

[loneviking]

Great Dane's can be great protection dogs IF you buy from the right breeder. Several years ago a burglar in Lake Arrowhead, CA made the mistake of burglarizing a home one weekend. Two days later, when the homeowners came home, they found a burglar cornered, very hungry and thirsty in their kitchen with their big Great Dane standing guard over the kitchen. The Great Dane would not let the guy leave and the dog meant business.

I have a Doberman that I woudn't trade for the world. She has a different bark for folks she knows and folks she doesn't. Dobies are very agile, fast and can be very aggressive.

Any idea how your Great Dane reacts when strangers come around? Any barking or growling? Does he alert at all? And how old is he?

 

[elsullo]

I Vote for the Dog!

You think he is sound asleep, but he has probably already checked you out---from a block away---IN HIS SLEEP!

I have witnessed dogs hearing the distinctive engine of their owner's car from blocks away. I have witnessed dogs smelling their owners walking in from even farther. And I have witnessed dogs aroused from their deep sleep and hyper-alerted by only some smell on the wind that I never noticed.

Dogs are vigilant even when asleep. Aside from the obvious personality signiature of your car engine, brakes, and suspension, they follow your progress as you approach. They can recognize the peculiar rhythm of your footfalls, the exact jingle notes of your keys, the distinct sound of your weight on the floor framing. They sleep with one ear open and one nostril awake. And look dead doing it!

You might ask a friend, as a "joke", to impersonate you with a different vehicle and keyring, and see if he gets a different response from your useless dog!.........................elsullo

 

[herohog]

Wanda, my greyhound, sleeps with her eyes open. It creeps us out! She also dreams a lot and "talks" in her sleep. Kinda freaky to hear her growling and sort of barking and seeing her feet just a going as she's laying on her bed there.

 

[gotime242]

Wow, more replies than i was expecting.

Dont get me wrong, i love the dog too i guess. I go out and play in the yard with em', and wrestle and stuff...but i would just like to know that when im off at work late and my g/f is home alone she has something that at least will bark...even once...anything.

Im not looking for an attack dog....just one that wakes up

 

[Loomis]

You're right. The dog is useless. But it's not his fault. He has poor hearing.

This is my hunch anyway. I've had dogs with bad hearing before. It sucks. It makes them useless as a guard dog.

 

[Robby]

Well some dogs only become protective when there is a possible threat! Ours is a loveable thing, but if the wife screams out, or someone tries to get in the house she does not know she goes in full defensive mode.

We were gone once, the house alarm went off ( I set it wrong). The deputy sheriff, who was here when I got home, said "No one could be in that house, every window and door I looked into she was there, and trying to get to me, and she was not happy". I opened the door, and she allowed him to pet her, after she saw us with the LE.

She also knows the sound of my MIL's car, and does not even get concerned when she comes in the driveway. Now if the driveway alarm is on, she will not rest until I look to make sure no one is coming in.