Security Issues

philsergeant

I wondered if any members had any stories to relay regarding the value and concerns relating to EBT's protective, and sometimes over-protective, characteristics. We all know that Bullies are very family and territory oriented, and we have personally experienced in the past that Bullies can be very defensive if their family or space are threatened. When we lived in South African a burglar climbed over our 8ft garden wall to meet Donna, then 3years old and typically a very friendly EBT. Within about 4 seconds of him hitting the ground on our side of the wall she ripped out his calf muscle with one bite. Fortunately my wife was home at the time and called her off after hearing the screams, (and drove the burglar to the local hospital while he held his leg together and bled all over her car)..... If she wasn't home at the time we wonder what we would have arrived home to find. I also wonder what would have happened in the US today if such an event occurred. I am sure lawyers would be involved somewhere in the story.  Our current kids are similarly very docile and they love EVERYTHING (except small animals)...they hardly ever bark at anything, except they get very defensive if anyone or anything comes near the garden fence, mostly at night.  I'd hope not, but must admit that there's concern if anyone were to come into the home uninivited.  The South African incident bothered us for years, it's never pleasant seeing someone severely injured, even if they were the bad guys.  I am posting the attached photo to demonstrate two things, 1) In South Africa the need for home security has become extreme, as the photo shows (not our house), 9ft walls with electrified fence and broken glass capping... but #2) Bullies still love the locals, as the photo shows, this kid is being taken for a walk in the traditional fashion that all kids are carried in Africa.

xchairity_casex

The first Year of Having Cesar, I was taking him for a walk in the evening  in the tiny town my BF lives.

It is mostly hunting cabins  and not many people live out there. you are litterally out in the middle of the woods.

Me and him just up and left- no plans on where we were going- just walking, we walked out of town towards the woods where the paved roads turn into seasonal plowed dirt roads and no houses.

we walked for 3 hours at 6pm.and encountered  a guy on a 4 wheeler pull up beside me and Cesar.

he was VERy obviously drunk and tried to grab me to pull me up on his 4 wheeler.

Cesar jumped up to grab him, frightening the guy enough to drive away, and we spent the rest of the walk through the woods near the road JUST to be sure. after getting home, i called the police to report what had happened in case he tried to claim a random dog attack.

Cesar is such a doll and is rarely very defensive- But he is one of those gentle, good natured dogs who seems to understand the difference between danger and play or rough housing.

Though- i cannot say if he would protect anyone else other then myself.

My BF is Cesar's favorite person in the world, he adores him to death.

However- should me or my bf get into an argument, Cesar will jump up and push my BF back away from me.

my bf has never been violent, hit or even grab me- but Cesar will NOT allow him to yell at me, ME on the other hand  i can yell and cuss and scream my head off angrily, But Cesar just lays put like

"yeah, yeah whatever"

Perhaps it is because my BF is more of a quiet person in general and it takes a good bit for him to get very loud, while me on the other hand yell and cuss and throw things every time i get slightly annoyed.

Chimera had been the same way when it came to me and  my BF.

But, Chimera was a bit more defensive  and was not sure what was rough house behavior and what was not.

because some times if my BF and i would play around and wrestle and get loud laughing, Chimera would go to my BF and bark at him and jump on him to stop- never biting, jsut letting him know she  wanted HIM to stop.

but- never me.

philsergeant

Kim,  That's great input....( I just can't begin to imagine you yelling and cussing though >-)  But you put your finger right on it when you describe that Bullies have the perfect balance between understanding what's play and what's real. Isabella often amazes me when she and Marco rough-house... Marco never makes a sound, but she growls and "goes crazy", at times I even wonder whether she is "serious", but then, in a split second she stops, looks up as if to say, "do I get my Oscar now?", even sometimes looking down at Marco, who is usually underneath her by that stage, and kissing him and swiftly walking away.  They know play, but they really do know serious too.... And I believe that they only really get serious when they understand, faster than we do, when their loved ones are really threatened. I am glad you came out of that four-wheel situation well (men are dicks, huh!) and it's always good to know that you have a REAL BF, that would freely give their life for you!

Quinnofhearts

When I used to live at a different apartment with a roommate Quinn would never bark or really give a crap about anything going on outside. Now that we have moved and it is just me and her, she has slowly become more protective of our space to things that are OUTside. She will bark at pretty much anything, including noises I don't hear (scaring the bejeezus out of me) and will watch from the balcony door. However, if anyone actually knocks on the door (and then comes inside) she is SOOO excited and they are her new best friend!!! So I don't think she'll be a great guard dog.

That being said, I have noticed she has shown aggressive/fearful behavior that she didn't exhibit when she was younger. When we walk at night, ONLY at night, she will growl and bark at strangers. I'm not sure if it's due to poor vision or something else, but it again has cropped up since we started living alone. I am very wary of letting strangers pet her at night now because she did only once lunge at a man (who was standing perfectly still talking to my mom - I actually wasn't there). Not sure if it's something I need to address or just let her carry on since maybe it could save me one day...

Never tried wrestling around her...she probably wouldn't do anything lol. But when we yell she gets upset because she thinks she's in trouble.

philsergeant

May I suggest that perhaps she is sensing that possibly you are not feeling that secure since your environment changed, particularly after dark?  They are so sensitive to your comfort level she would get defensive (aggressive) when she feels you vulnerable.?? Also if she feels your comfort level with your visitor (once they've come in out of the dark) she would excited about the visit too.

Quinnofhearts

It's possible that it has to do with me, I am not consciously feeling nervous or insecure where I live though. There are certain people I will avoid though. She is like this with anyone that walks her, but particularly with me and my mom.
And she gets super excited about the maintenance guy...so I think maybe she just likes entertaining. :P

exiled

He has only growled twice.  The first time was at a very sketchy person that had been seen casing the neighborhood.  We were visiting on a neighbor's porch, and he went ballistic.  He knew instinctively.

The other time, we were walking late at night.  A guy was lurking by the side of a house and came out of nowhere.  He said something and Rodney growled as he started towards the guy, and his tail wasn't wagging.  He didn't lunge at him, it was more like, "I'm coming to kick your butt."  Since he doesn't respond to people like that, I know that guy was about to ambush us. 

Every other encounter with people, and it's been in the hundreds in the few months he's been here, has been totally happy-go-lucky and sweet.