TexasCHLforum.com

I always liked this signage:

Private Property. Trespassers will be violated. Survivors will be shot.

propellerhead wrote:I wish we could ask this question on a burglar forum and hear it from their point of view.

<http://www.texasBurglerforum.com>

G.C.Montgomery wrote:On the watch dogs, I know several people who actually lost their dogs to burglars. In one case, two dogs were actually killed onsite. So in addition to finding their home wrecked, there was the bloody scene of murdered pets and the trauma that went with it because those dogs were much like children to the owners. In the other cases, fences were left open or the dog was actually taken by the burglar.

I which, in my case, the former burglers would never, ever be that unhappy again...

I am just so glad that I have nosey, attentive neighbors, that know us real well, and we "all" look after our little nitch in the nieghborhood...

We do the best we can with what we got...

Mithras61 wrote:I always liked this signage:

Private Property. Trespassers will be violated. Survivors will be shot.

Yup, I have that in my kitchen.

txinvestigator wrote:I'll end my involvement in this thread with this;

In 10 years as a cop I made one residential burglary call where there was an alarm. The back door was kicked open and the alarm immediately sounded. The only thing missing was the microwave that was sitting on a cart next to the door that was kicked open.

I took too many reports to count from homes where there were "watchdogs".

I wouldn't own a dog that would just "watch".

All that I have owned for field use and home protection would be in your back pocket before you could say "quit that".

Some dogs simply bark a lot, but if you look at them they're wagging their tails (not exactly scary). Others are the real deal, and what we refer to as "not just-a-woofin", these can be a real deterrent.

Certainly, an animal can be killed, and entrance to your home/property accomplished, but it takes someone pretty gutsy to get past a devoted dog.

Regardless of what you own, you could have a sign made up: "My Doberman makes the fence in 2.8 seconds........can you"?

Maybe that would help.

Don't judge a dogs intention by it's tail activity.
http://www.care2.com/channels/solutions/pets/1234

If you search some of the online German Shepherd Schutzhund protection work videos you will see a lot of tail waggin going on. They definitely fall into the not just woofin category. I have no idea what my two German Shepherds would do to an intruder. I fell pretty confident they would react to an actual physical attack though. But more than anything they alert me to things I do not see or hear and make a lot of noise.

TxFire wrote:Don't judge a dogs intention by it's tail activity.
http://www.care2.com/channels/solutions/pets/1234

If you search some of the online German Shepherd Schutzhund protection work videos you will see a lot of tail waggin going on. They definitely fall into the not just woofin category. I have no idea what my two German Shepherds would do to an intruder. I fell pretty confident they would react to an actual physical attack though. But more than anything they alert me to things I do not see or hear and make a lot of noise.

I would certainly agree with all that is written there... except that I would not call the first instance (wagging). I have seen this many times and a raised, rigid tail, jerking without rhythm or cadence.. is "posturing" not wagging. You might see the hairs of the tail become somewhat "hackled" as well, it is simply an attempt to appear larger and more menacing (among other things).

That is an interesting article however, and I appreciate you sharing it.

Also, that is a fine looking pair of "Sheps" you have.

Some dogs trained to attack/detain will display quite a bit of tail movement, especially while running... this is mainly to help balance themselves and it wouldn't really be considered wagging IMO. OTOH, some of these animals truly enjoy what they are doing and do indeed show a confident and relaxed body movement. Of course, these are quite different from your ordinary back yard dog.

Nonetheless, you are correct to point out that nothing is 100% when it comes to animals. This is probably more true of humans.

TxFire wrote:If you search some of the online German Shepherd Schutzhund protection work videos you will see a lot of tail waggin going on.

Well, yeah! They're thinking, "Ho boy, ho boy, I'm gonna get to bite somebody!"

Working dogs get excited about the chance to do the thing they've been trained to do.

Plus, wagging means agitation, whether good or bad. The position of the tail tells you a lot more than its motion. A wagging, level tail is happy but calm. An erect tail is dominant/aggressive. A lowered tail means submission, but can earn you a "fear bite".

Kevin

Hmmm, I may be a little guilty of this. Here is the sign that resides on JLaw's front door...




JLaw

OOOOHH, I like it.

I have this one on my garage window:


From a distance, it looks like a security sticker, but up close...well, you get the picture.