Akira is very protective but also very discerning. He seems to know what's normal and what's not and will only react when something seems not normal. He also seems to know when I am aware of what's going on and when I am not (he warns me and also tells me when my phone is ringing lol).
We live in a second-story apartment, and he recognizes when me or family go up the stair and won't bark but if it's someone else he will only bark if he goes higher than the second floor. If I let someone in and he sees me do it, he is ok although the person has to look normal but if he does not see the me allow the person or someone else do it he is not happy.
On the street, when it's dark he's really on his guards and no one looking weird can approach me and does not tolerate to be surprised by people. Even during the day if someone is too weird he'll bark at them so that they get away.
So someone trying to break-in or to attack me I think will have a hard time because he goes crazy So I try to anticipate weird situations and tell him to be quiet and that it is ok so that he does not go ballistic which is just safer for everyone.
I actually think that it is not a very healthy thing for dogs to be too protective ...
Lindsay - you'd think so, but I fed him lots, and like I said, I was in the process of giving him food. I have no idea what got into his head, or why he chose to attack RAKKA of all the pets. I mean, really, that's the last dog for a cat to mess with.
my previous akita, may he rest in peace, was quite protective. i remember biking with him and an off leash dog suddenly lunged at me on my bike. before it could even reach me, my akita tackled him and pinned him down. it happend so fast! im not sure what he would do if it was a person but im sure if someone tried to attack me, he would be right in there to help me out. my current akita is probably the friendliest akita in the world, he wouldnt hurt a fly! as for my shiba, shes all bark but no bite. makes for a good early warning system but if push came to shove im sure she would run away and hide.
im quite interested to hear more shikoku stories and how they react.
I wanted to wake up early and asked my father to come downstairs to my part of the house to knock on my door so I'd be awake. I really have to hand it to my parents, they do respect the fact that one floor of the house is now my home and they don't come barging in. Tosca sleeps on my bed and when she heard someone coming into our home unannounced, she must have woken up. I woke up to her giving low quiet barks. When my father knocked on the door, she jumped off the bed and began barking louder. She wouldn't turn her back on the door until I got up and let her out of the room. She went charging out but as soon as she saw who the "intruder" was - one of her people - she began wagging her tail and went over to be petted. I guess she does have some personal guarding qualities in her.
Yes, mine is the home of Tosca, 24lbs of guard dog excellence!
Kuma is an active guard of the front door. If he hears something that doesn't add up to him, he goes there and will even produce a warning bark. He hears the elevator all the time, and he doesn't react to it, unless it just doesn't add up. Normally the visitors we get are my parents and sister and he loves them, so nothing protective there, just plain old silly Kuma. Outside, he's an attention whore, he just seems to love everyone. He'll jump at them (still working on it) but to show affection. Although the only person that seems to have seen him on a protective mode outside was my sister. She came here one day Nat couldn't make it back home to walk Kuma, and she says he went crazy over this guy. She said Kuma was growling and pulling towards the guy. Now for what I know of Akitas, they aren't very big on warning displays, at least not on a Dobie, GSD level. On that they are very discreet, so I'm guessing that guy was in for a nasty treatment, if my sister hadn't been there to stop Kuma.
I've mentioned this before too. Marriage Interuptus. Keigo gets very (whining, pacing, getting in my face to make sure I'm ok) concerned/protective and jumps onto wherever we are. Since we live in a loft, there aren't many doors, so it can be disruptive to say the least.
"Rakka, on the other hand, I'm not as sure about, because I haven't really seen her think someone was an intruder. She always gives a "who goes there?", but I don't know beyond that."
Kuma (shikoku) is just like that too. He gives the "who goes there" bark. But all an intruder would have to do is to raise their voice and he would be like Loa and run the other way....
I remember Rakka' previous owner telling me about Rakka becoming VERY agitated when a [strange] man approached their deck and started talking to her kids. Rakka became very protective and made a lot of noise until her husband got out there and told the man to leave.
So Rakka mos def would, at the very least, warn you if there was a threat to your little primates.
So my husband Chris is away on Business until Wednesday and last night Miso was ON GUARD. I don't know if he knew that because Chris was away he had to be "the man of the house" or what, but he was alerting to EVERYTHING, even cars going by which he usually never does. Any time a gust of wind shook the tree out back he had to go check it out to make sure everything was okay.
It was actually pretty cool because I had never seen him in such a guarding role before.
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We live in a second-story apartment, and he recognizes when me or family go up the stair and won't bark but if it's someone else he will only bark if he goes higher than the second floor. If I let someone in and he sees me do it, he is ok although the person has to look normal but if he does not see the me allow the person or someone else do it he is not happy.
On the street, when it's dark he's really on his guards and no one looking weird can approach me and does not tolerate to be surprised by people. Even during the day if someone is too weird he'll bark at them so that they get away.
So someone trying to break-in or to attack me I think will have a hard time because he goes crazy
I actually think that it is not a very healthy thing for dogs to be too protective ...
my previous akita, may he rest in peace, was quite protective. i remember biking with him and an off leash dog suddenly lunged at me on my bike. before it could even reach me, my akita tackled him and pinned him down. it happend so fast! im not sure what he would do if it was a person but im sure if someone tried to attack me, he would be right in there to help me out. my current akita is probably the friendliest akita in the world, he wouldnt hurt a fly! as for my shiba, shes all bark but no bite. makes for a good early warning system but if push came to shove im sure she would run away and hide.
im quite interested to hear more shikoku stories and how they react.
I wanted to wake up early and asked my father to come downstairs to my part of the house to knock on my door so I'd be awake. I really have to hand it to my parents, they do respect the fact that one floor of the house is now my home and they don't come barging in. Tosca sleeps on my bed and when she heard someone coming into our home unannounced, she must have woken up. I woke up to her giving low quiet barks. When my father knocked on the door, she jumped off the bed and began barking louder. She wouldn't turn her back on the door until I got up and let her out of the room. She went charging out but as soon as she saw who the "intruder" was - one of her people - she began wagging her tail and went over to be petted. I guess she does have some personal guarding qualities in her.
Yes, mine is the home of Tosca, 24lbs of guard dog excellence!
Outside, he's an attention whore, he just seems to love everyone. He'll jump at them (still working on it) but to show affection. Although the only person that seems to have seen him on a protective mode outside was my sister. She came here one day Nat couldn't make it back home to walk Kuma, and she says he went crazy over this guy. She said Kuma was growling and pulling towards the guy. Now for what I know of Akitas, they aren't very big on warning displays, at least not on a Dobie, GSD level. On that they are very discreet, so I'm guessing that guy was in for a nasty treatment, if my sister hadn't been there to stop Kuma.
Kuma (shikoku) is just like that too. He gives the "who goes there" bark. But all an intruder would have to do is to raise their voice and he would be like Loa and run the other way....
I remember Rakka' previous owner telling me about Rakka becoming VERY agitated when a [strange] man approached their deck and started talking to her kids. Rakka became very protective and made a lot of noise until her husband got out there and told the man to leave.
So Rakka mos def would, at the very least, warn you if there was a threat to your little primates.
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It was actually pretty cool because I had never seen him in such a guarding role before.