My dog went full cry at 4:30 this morning.

[Scott Tschirhart]

He is not prone to such things and he really lit things up.

I come out without a stitch of clothes but with a pistol in my paw.

Turns out that my wife hung a Halloween decoration on the front porch and the wind came up to blow it around in an admittedly suspicious fashion. That little 10 pounds of terrier was convinced that we were in great danger.

I took down the decoration and got that dog a square of cheese.

Good boy!

[Pat C]

I mis my terrier mix ,he passed back in February was 18 years old. We had him for over 17 and was like loosing a child .
He was same an excellent watch dog .

[Bill in Oregon]

[GunnyMack]

I would have let him tear that decoration to shreds !
Good pup ya got Scott.

[JimT]

I understand. We have 2 dogs that are the Early Warning System.

[COSteve]

We also have 2, Riley a Terrier - Maltese mix who's smart as a whip and is our 'Guard Puppy' and Parker who's a Silky and Terrier mix who's our strong lovable one. Both are great alarms as we really don't need a doorbell with them around.

They do like to give the deer and elk a hard time when one comes in the back yard though. I've seen Riley, all 10.5 lbs of him, chase an 800 lb bull elk out of the yard. Parker usually watches his brother and barks from afar.

We don't let them chase the wildlife if we see one before we let them out because they could turn and charge the little guys and injure or kill them with ease but sometimes they are out of site under our walk-out deck.

[AmBraCol]

One time, when Biscuit was a pup, she went downstairs and immediately went ballistic. She'd never seen such a dangerous thing as a pineapple with the crown still on it before! Another time it was my motorcycle helmet that I'd left on the car. It's amazing how they can spot things that are out of place/unusual and give you warning. What I find even MORE interesting is how they read people. A fellow moved into our neighborhood to live with his girlfriend, a young woman we met last year. Turns out he's a real creep, or so goes the rumor. Our Blackie dog saw him the day before yesterday as he was walking through the park, and she growled. Blackie doesn't growl at people, but she growled about him. He's definitely one I keep an eye on now.

[Ysabel Kid]

Our brother and sister weiner dogs, Ruger and Remi, make quite a racket if anything approaches the front door. Good dogs.

I'm about ready to take a 12 gauge to blast my neighbor's Halloween decoration. It is a witch, and cackles non-stop all day and all night. Fortunately I don't hear it inside, but outside it is more than annoying.

[2ndovc]

Cute!

We have three Terriers right now, mostly by accident, but I wouldn't change a thing. The Jack Russell, Rat Terrier and Dachshund/ Chihuahua mix are the best alarm system I've ever had. My wife puts up tons of decorations every year, but none of them make any actual sounds, but once in awhile, something may blow over. I'll get a little woof or two, roving patrol and then back to sleep.
I still miss the giant WOOF! from our Great Dane and she would scare the heck out of anyone, but I've really become attached to these little guys.

Our Lab mix is about to hit 15 and not doing well. She won't be with us much longer.

The big debate in the house lately is another Dane or another pure bread Black Lab. Either way, it's going to be another big dog.

jb

[marlinman93]

Great story Scott!
We have guard cats here. Not a sound usually, but they got nuts standing up on the back of the couch and pawing on the window glass anytime they see a person, or critter outside!

[Bill in Oregon]

Just realized that Brian/Piller is missing from this conversation and he's got a bunch of dogs. Hope he is OK.

[Grizz]

saw a few Chihuahuas in Mx. the ranch dogs are aloof and don't cozy up to gringos. there are still buildings that have the dog trot around the house where the chihuahuas patrol and are very effective alarms. I was told that those dogs more or less lived up there. most of the dogs I saw there were flea and tick infested, scabbed from scrapes, and living on what fell off of tables. The actual guard dogs lived in a big fenced in run and seemed well cared for.

[Paladin]

I live out a bit and tend to want a larger dog. The photo is of WALDO (the large 120-pound Rhodesian Ridgeback) with his new replacement. The pup MAX is a Belgian Malinois/German Shepard mix who weighs 7.5 pounds (4 months ago) in the photo and should get to 100 pounds. Waldo is 10 and should be around long enough to pass on some great traits and they get along great. Waldo has kept me alive a few times pushing me away from a rattlesnake on my porch (I don't hear so well). Waking me up to say there was something outside my tent in Alaska (quietly so as to not upset the Grizzly). He has bitten 6 people all of whom needed it to enforce my security and almost ate a Kalifornia fruit inspector who jumped up on the running boards of my truck and stuck the upper half of his body in the passenger window when he woke Waldo up. Lots of stories from the last 10 years that only a dog could be responsible for. The video is from this week and Max is 35 pounds.

[Grizz]

Fantastic! That looks like some SERIOUS software :)

He has bitten 6 people all of whom needed it

.
I had a dog who loved to fight with dogs. He also bit a few people, but with good reasons. . . best boat dog I've ever known.
.

Gobi.png

.
He trusted 2 human beings in everything, the rest he was indifferent about, if he wasn't messed with. His story could make a good size read if someone knew how to write . . . yellow eyes, water dog, around 60 pounds, I saw him take down a Weimaraner, pin it flat on it's back with a full throat hold. Sheesh. He was just having fun! Saw him do the same thing with a porcupine . . . looong story.

grizz

[samsi]

I come out without a stitch of clothes but with a pistol in my paw.

There's a disturbing image just in time for Halloween!

[2ndovc]

Paladin / Grizz,

Exactly the reason for the debate I'm having, mostly with myself. My Dane put herself between us an dangerous animal multiple times.
The two, most potentially dangerous were a black bear and her cub, that I didn't even know was there until she went full on defensive mode. I was packing a .45-70 but it was hanging from a sling on my shoulder. The bear heard the growls and took off at the great, big deep barking.
The second time, my wife and I were out for a walk here in town. I had Lucy and Bubbles had our Jack Russel, when out of nowhere, a Doberman came charging, full speed focused in on the JR like a laser. Lucy darned near pulled me off my feet, jumped and landed square in front of the Doberman about a second away from ripping it's throat out. I was just about to clear leather when some bimbo starts screaming at me to get off her "property" ( we were on the city sidewalk). I told her she had about ten seconds to get control of her dog or I would. She did, screaming at me the entire time. At least until she saw I still had my pistol in my hand.
Turned out, that dog had been a problem for several weeks and it wasn't more than a few days later that owner was evicted.

jb

[samsi]

saw a few Chihuahuas in Mx. the ranch dogs are aloof and don't cozy up to gringos. there are still buildings that have the dog trot around the house where the chihuahuas patrol and are very effective alarms. I was told that those dogs more or less lived up there. most of the dogs I saw there were flea and tick infested, scabbed from scrapes, and living on what fell off of tables. The actual guard dogs lived in a big fenced in run and seemed well cared for.

There appears to be a particular form of mongrel south of the border that seems so common it could actually be a breed but isn't. First time I saw one years ago I asked the guy I was with (who was not a Mexico novice) what kind of dog it was. His reply, "just a Mexican dog". Ok then...

[Scott Tschirhart]

I come out without a stitch of clothes but with a pistol in my paw.

There's a disturbing image just in time for Halloween!

Had not thought about it that way!