@shibamistress - I know! LOL You would think. Wraith is from KNPV lines, dutch police / working lines, and he is very good at alarm barking. He only barks when there is genuinely something going on. So if Wraith barks you KNOW you need to go check what's up.
Aggro, never. Siren, give or take, could be something, but other times she's totally silent. But the kishu Goon...EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING! [ including things that don't exist! ] LOL ~
My older Kai girl Kona will bark anytime she hears someone at the door. She won't stop until she either hears one of us say "hey girl!" or sees who it is. Honestly, it's proven useful...one night a few weeks ago she started letting out some low deep growls that turned into small barks, and she wouldn't stop, but it was 3 in the morning so i thought no way someone could be at the door. Wrong. Someone was wiggling the doorknob (I'm honestly hoping and thinking it was our drunk neighbor coming home after a night out and forgot which door was his/hers), but it's a good warning for me at least to get my shotgun out and ready if i needed it (since it's locked away anyway I need some time to get it and her barks give me that time).
Now if someone was to actually break in really quick, I think she would only do a crap-ton of barking, and would be hiding if he/she approached her (while barking). She's a little scaredy cat when it comes down to it.
My other Kai Kimber doesn't really bark (she'll let out one or two confused-sounding barks if Kona's really going for it and then gives up). She would just try and be friends with the intruder.
Yeah, Leo (Kai Ken) barks so rarely I didn't even know what his bark sounds like. he is the most silent dog I have ever had. But he's super protective of the Akita puppy (who is rapidly getting bigger than him). One time the UPS guy tried to pet her through the fence, and I heard this roar, and it was Leo, who apparently did not feel that was at all acceptable. (it was like a huge growl with a bit of a bark in it).
Then the other night I heard what I thought was a strange dog barking, then realized it was Leo. He was barking at a coyote that was too close to the fence, and again, trying to protect the puppy. Which is cool, but Leo, the coyotes are bigger than you!
Thank you for all the comments! Yes to clarify, as Brad stated, I most certainly do not want or need a guard dog, or as someone said I would look into a GSD. I lived in Japan for 3 years, have loved the culture and speak the language. Now that I have been back in the states for awhile and am settled down I want a Nihonken. I also would like the added benefit of an alarm dog, a barker, lol that's it. I can handle it from there.
I wonder if in multidog homes though that some dogs don't alarm because another is taking care of it- "not my job". If Sage alarms, it could be wildlife at a good distance (or a hawk soaring, or an owl hooting, or the utility guys out at the pole, or something, or nothing) Matsu rarely barks (he barks if someone is actually at the door) and Juno barks but settles, Reilly is the one to steer by. She barks when theres really something to check on, settles when Im on it. But someday when Reilly is gone, while I dont think Sage will become more reliable, I would not be surprised if Matsu took over a lot of Reilly's responsibilities. He has some similar character solidity and confidence, non-flightyness. I wonder if in Osy's pack, maybe Aggro never barks because big bro Wraith is on it?
I wonder if in multidog homes though that some dogs don't alarm because another is taking care of it- "not my job". If Sage alarms, it could be wildlife at a good distance (or a hawk soaring, or an owl hooting, or the utility guys out at the pole, or something, or nothing) Matsu rarely barks (he barks if someone is actually at the door) and Juno barks but settles, Reilly is the one to steer by. She barks when theres really something to check on, settles when Im on it. But someday when Reilly is gone, while I dont think Sage will become more reliable, I would not be surprised if Matsu took over a lot of Reilly's responsibilities. He has some similar character solidity and confidence, non-flightyness. I wonder if in Osy's pack, maybe Aggro never barks because big bro Wraith is on it?
Agreed with the multi dog not my job part! Hades usually barks and Zeus just goes on alert. Or Zeus will do an alert bark and let hades take over from there.
My Kishu pretty much never barks in the house. It takes a pretty strange sort of person to get him to alarm bark. The two pups here now alarm bark. One of my Shikoku females is extremely barky, everything even slightly different is cause for a bark. Another female does not alarm bark, only at things right in front of her, and my third female is pretty much silent. Most of the adult Akita that have come through are pretty quiet, but the male here now alarm barks. Hokkaido pups are usually pretty barky, about suspicious stuff, and stuff that interests them.
@WrylyBrindle - No, in our case one dog sets the others off, except Aggro & Dragoon. The girls are very defensive of the house. If Dragoon hears the neighbors in the pool, or a dog on TV or something, she'll bark, but all the dogs ignore her. [ maybe because she barks so much? ]
However, if Siren sounds the alarm, Dragoon comes running to her side going "I GOT THIS! I'LL HELP!" If we have Siren outside and a person walks by, Siren puts on a pretty crazy display. Meanwhile, inside, Dragoon hears her and tries to get out & starts sounding the alarm too. Same thing in reverse.
If Wraith Barks, the girls follow him also / sound the alarm too.
Aggro is just not defensive / protective / watch-doggy at all. LOL He's an "ignore everything" kind of dog. It doesn't matter who's barking, he doesn't care. But then, he looks to us for a lot of stuff. Like, if he sees someone odd, or new, he looks to us first...he does not decide for himself. haha ~
My dogs have a system. One of them notices something, they both go look out the window and bark. Then Rakka stares at it and huffs while Sosuke comes and looks at me or paces around barking until someone comes and takes care of it.
So, Sosuke is louder and will actually come get me. Rakka's a great watchdog, as in, "Of course I was watching, I saw the whole thing."
ChoCho (Shikoku) barks when people are using the stair in our apartment building. If they're talking she barks more. It's more of a "bark........bark......bark.....whimper......bark" lol
Goro (Kai) will either stand by the door or ignore it. But when there is someone at the door* they are both on it!
@WrylyBrindle - The multiple dog syndrome happens in our house. Bella is the alarm barker (most of the time). Nola rarely barks because Bella takes care of it. However, if for some reason Bella is in another part of the house, Nola takes over, just not as "aggressively".
Nola also "alarm" barks when Bella is on the couch spot and she wants her to move. This causes Bella to freak out and run to the door. Nola then hops up and takes the couch spot. Quite hilarious to watch.
Fascinating to see how different the dogs are. Setsuko (shikoku) is an alarm barker. Between 6 and 9 months it was mostly appropriate alarm barking- quiet for people she knows, alerting for people she did not know. Then we got a new puppy and she decided to start alerting us about everything... Neighbors in their own yards, dogs on their daily walks by the house, that scary mail that invades her house every day! Hiro (also shikoku) is now 7 months and shows no interest in alert barking. Strangers are greeted with love and kisses. I was wondering which dog was more typical of the the breed.
The funniest thing happened last night. I have a fan sitting on top of a little black stand, and out of nowhere it fell over and made a loud, crashing noise. It scared the heck out of Yoshi and I!! Yoshi immediately got up and barked with a very low growl. Poor thing didn't know what the heck it was! Ha! He'll be 6 months in 1 week and I swear he acts so much older at times!
Another time that I thought was super cute.....is when I was taking Yoshi out for a walk and my boyfriend, Michael was hiding behind the trash bin so Yoshi couldn't see him, and as we walked by he jumped out trying to scare us. Yoshi stood his ground, kept him paws firmly on the ground and did his low, bark/growl again. It was adorable! I was so proud him!!!
There has been a couple other times too.....he doesn't like strange vehicles in his driveway, that is for sure! We live in a town home, so the neighbors across the way had some company over, so they thought it would be ok to park near our parking lot, which was quite frustrating! Anyhow, Mike had taken Yoshi outside that night, and he just stood there with his back furr standing straight up, looking at the vehicle like it was an alienated object. Haaa! I wish I would have been there to see his reaction!
Comments
Aggro, never. Siren, give or take, could be something, but other times she's totally silent. But the kishu Goon...EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING! [ including things that don't exist! ] LOL ~
Now if someone was to actually break in really quick, I think she would only do a crap-ton of barking, and would be hiding if he/she approached her (while barking). She's a little scaredy cat when it comes down to it.
My other Kai Kimber doesn't really bark (she'll let out one or two confused-sounding barks if Kona's really going for it and then gives up). She would just try and be friends with the intruder.
Then the other night I heard what I thought was a strange dog barking, then realized it was Leo. He was barking at a coyote that was too close to the fence, and again, trying to protect the puppy. Which is cool, but Leo, the coyotes are bigger than you!
One of my Shikoku females is extremely barky, everything even slightly different is cause for a bark. Another female does not alarm bark, only at things right in front of her, and my third female is pretty much silent.
Most of the adult Akita that have come through are pretty quiet, but the male here now alarm barks.
Hokkaido pups are usually pretty barky, about suspicious stuff, and stuff that interests them.
However, if Siren sounds the alarm, Dragoon comes running to her side going "I GOT THIS! I'LL HELP!" If we have Siren outside and a person walks by, Siren puts on a pretty crazy display. Meanwhile, inside, Dragoon hears her and tries to get out & starts sounding the alarm too. Same thing in reverse.
If Wraith Barks, the girls follow him also / sound the alarm too.
Aggro is just not defensive / protective / watch-doggy at all. LOL He's an "ignore everything" kind of dog. It doesn't matter who's barking, he doesn't care. But then, he looks to us for a lot of stuff. Like, if he sees someone odd, or new, he looks to us first...he does not decide for himself. haha ~
So, Sosuke is louder and will actually come get me. Rakka's a great watchdog, as in, "Of course I was watching, I saw the whole thing."
Goro (Kai) will either stand by the door or ignore it. But when there is someone at the door* they are both on it!
Nola also "alarm" barks when Bella is on the couch spot and she wants her to move. This causes Bella to freak out and run to the door. Nola then hops up and takes the couch spot. Quite hilarious to watch.
Here he is with my kai Juno.
The funniest thing happened last night. I have a fan sitting on top of a little black stand, and out of nowhere it fell over and made a loud, crashing noise. It scared the heck out of Yoshi and I!! Yoshi immediately got up and barked with a very low growl. Poor thing didn't know what the heck it was! Ha! He'll be 6 months in 1 week and I swear he acts so much older at times!
Another time that I thought was super cute.....is when I was taking Yoshi out for a walk and my boyfriend, Michael was hiding behind the trash bin so Yoshi couldn't see him, and as we walked by he jumped out trying to scare us. Yoshi stood his ground, kept him paws firmly on the ground and did his low, bark/growl again. It was adorable! I was so proud him!!!
There has been a couple other times too.....he doesn't like strange vehicles in his driveway, that is for sure!