----- Original Message ----- From: "Jim & Mary Morgan" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> .> Does anyone have a Berner that ever acts as a guard dog? you know, not > viscious, of course, but warning barks? Is this something that might happen > as she matures and becomes more aware of her territory? (I'm not hanging > any hopes on it, and it's not why we got her, of course. We're just > curious!)
My Berner is quite clearly a "watch dog" as in a dog who barks warningly when people or vehicles approach our home. He is also a "guard dog", as in a dog which might bite in protection of our home. Not all Berners are friendly with non-family members. We've worked very hard with our dog to improve his 'public' manners, although he has always been good with us in the family. He is not trustworthy with children, although he was heavily socialized with children as a youngster. Recently, we have had some cautious interactions between him and well behaved, dog-savvy children which went well, but I would not *dare* walk out of a room which contained him and a child. He is not a dangerous, unpredictable beast, but he is space sensitive and a little nervous about people leaning over him. He hates to be manipulated (which makes vet visits charming, although again, he has dramatically improved with my vet in the past year). He is also outgoing and wants to meet people, so he approaches and solicits attention, then gets nervous and warns them away when people respond to his overtures. It took me a long time to figure out the complex combination of factors which might solicit a growl response. Mic is a 4 yr old neutered male. His aggression issues showed up when he was about 1 1/2 and were fairly intense for about 1 year, with us doing remedial socializing and lots and lots of positive rewards training and a structured, no free lunch lifestyle for him. From about 2 1/2 to 3 he got better and better, and in the past year he has really been much easier to live with. I am hoping we are over the hump with him and aggressive issues, although I will never trust him with new people, people who are not dog-savvy, and children. One funny thing. I think a lot of his issues subsided due to persistence with our structures and routines, but I really think our tough Pyr bitch, Cassie the rescue girl, made a significant impact. Mic's first big steps came after she entered our household and beat the holy heck out of him when he tried to be an aggressive bully to her. She also would not tolerate him bullying our other two girls, Nessie the Newfie and Lliira the Pyr. Dominate and push around some, yes, but not persistently pestering. Mic learned some valuable impulse control from dealing with Cassie. He is still the alpha, but he no longer has free license with the other dogs. Wow. I really got going on this one. Eileen Morgan The Mare's Nest http://www.enter.net/~edlehman --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.443 / Virus Database: 248 - Release Date: 1/10/2003
