I have a 5 month old dobermann and in the last few days he has suddenly started 'protecting' the house!

Yesterday a friend of the family come into the house that he has not yet meet, when he saw her he barked his little head off - he was also wagging his tail but the lady was scared of him and would not come fully into the house or touch my dog. Later on that evening his was in my room with the door closed when he heard my parents come in - this made him bark again as he was unsure who was in the house.

I am aware that the dobermann breed has a guard dog background but wanted to check that this is normal behaviour for my dog, or should i be doing something to help him over come his fear of strangers in the house.. or is this a good thing..??!!!

Help & thanks!

hi - I have a 16month old dobe and his ' guarding instincts' have only come to the fore in about the last 2 months
He will bark at a strange knock on the door or footsteps up the side of the house he doesn't recognise - I just tell him ''thankyou - thats enough ''and then hes fine with whoever comes in
I think I'd be asking the lady to come back - you dont want him to think he's got rid of her
Was he frightened or just alert when he heard people coming in ??
liz :)

Thanks for your reply Liz

When the lady come in I think he was more un-sure about her and excited, he did not back into a corner but did hide behind his Dad for a few seconds!

When he heard the door go he was definatly more alert, more like he was telling us someone was in the house!

Still here :rolleyes:
I would be inclined to once he has barked encourage him to meet and greet whoever it is that comes in ,
Dobes are alert and aloof but he should accept any one you invite in
Good luck with him - I found the next six months to be a really testing time but I can see light at the end of the tunnel now so much so we are considering another :D
Liz :)

Oh dear you mean it gets worse..!! Only joking, so far so good but i will take your warning seriously!

You are brave one is enough for me!

Thanks for you advise

Lou

What you must remeber that to him this lady was acting suspiciously, as she was nervous of him, and Dobes are natural Guards. This is where the socialisation is so important, as they learn what is a normal situation! You letting people in after the door bell rings, and command of that'll do. Not lunging at people in the streeet, as people walking the street is normal every day occurence. Same with you meeting and shaking hands with a friend, this will be seen as social greeting, and not an attack on you!

The key is your response. If he takes a spook like this, act normal and upbeat, ignoring his reaction, but ensuring he obeys leave command, and that he come and sit and say hello.

I had a wary BSD bitch, but primed to the "sit" "say hello" command she was quite happy to great people and be patted, but without this promt and reassurance from me that it was OK, she would not have accepted the person trying to touch her and would back off!

Nice one Steve

My akita (10 month Bitch) is exactly the same. Although even gets protective of the old lady next door - if she gets any visitors Kia goes nuts! Just hoping it doesn't rub off on my lab :)