Holly scared away an intruder last night....

[Richard Crowe]

After dark, someone started began pounding on my front door.  I live in a semi rural area and know all of my neighbors.  I also live at towards the end of a road with no egress so there is no one just passing by my house.

 

As the person pounded on my door, I had Judy call the Sheriff and then Holly ran up to the door and let out her "I'll rip your head off!" bark.  That apparently made the intruder decide that he didn't want to intrude - which I am very happy about.

 

He should also be happy because beginning with the time my area was pretty well filled with coyoyes, I have kept a twelve gauge double barrel shotgun in the rear of our coat closet - unloaded but with five rounds of buckshot in a holder on the gunstock.

 

The Sheriff  Deputies took a half hour to get to my house. By the time they arrived,  Holly with her big bark had solved the problem for both me and for the intruder who would have been a very unhappy fellow had he broken in...

[Traz, Karen & Dale]

Great job,Holly!  I'm glad that she did scare the intruder away and you are all safe.  Very scary, but I'm glad it had a happy ending.  Phew!

[Hailey and Oliver]

  Another great reason to have a dig.  Oliver's bark isn't that intimidating, it sounds more like a tone deaf cat mixed with a crow.  then again,  that might be pretty scary itself.  I just now thought about this,  we tell our doodles not to bark at a squrirrel,  but they can bark at a human, but only certain ones?

[Sue & Lily Grace]

Good girl Holly.  I am glad no one was hurt.  

[Adina P]

Go Holly! 

When I do NOT want my dogs barking at passerby they are so darn loud and insistent.

When I don't know who is at the door and I WANT them to bark, they wimp out on me after 2-3 barks.  *sigh*

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Good girl, Holly!

JD has a big bark. The first time one of my neighbors met him, he said that from the sound of his barking, he thought I had a Rottweiler. I hope any would-be intruders think so, too.

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

Good girl Holly!  I'm glad you're all safe, Richard.  The first time Finn barked as a pup at my 6 ft. son, Rye  stepped back and said "Did that just come out of THAT?"

[Richard Crowe]

Camilla...  I assumed that the banging on the door was an effort to get me to open the door to see who it was and then, once the door has been opened... Well!  Home intrusions along that line, unfortunately, are not all that uncommon in San Diego County.

My own philosophy is never open a door to some one you cannot readily identify at night. And if you have a dog with a fierce bark on your side of the door, that is just a plus for you!

I first noticed Holly's protective bark when the person who cleaned our home worked late and we told her we were going to bed and for her to lock up as she left.  After she finished she and her helper walked by our bedroom sliding glass door and Holly went spastic.  We had never heard Holly's ferocious bark before.  It was entrirely different from the bark she often used when someone is walking a dog along our fence in the daytime.

 

 

 

 

 

[Camilla and Darwin]

Good philosophy, I will keep that in mind!

[Julie and Charlie]

Someone tried this at my house on Christmas eve last year, same thing. Doorbell rings at a really odd hour, Charlie barks. The potential intruder did try to force open the sliding door in the back, but was foiled by the door security measures (dowel in the door track!) and Charlie's loud big-boy bark- he definitely heard them. The alarm system never went off because the door was never actually opened enough to trip the sensor.

When the police came, he said they try the door first to see if anyone is home or if it's unlocked- if someone is home and answers, they'll make up a story, like being lost. But if they don't detect anyone at home, they'll attempt to enter by easy means- sliding glass doors, other openings, etc.

I figure if a "professional" wants to get in, pretty much nothing will stop them. But I'm all about stopping the opportunistic ones with simple security measures, and thankfully they worked.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Hooray for you having 'ferocious' Holly take care of business.  I wonder if law enforcement arrives anywhere in time to actually prevent/stop problems or only arrive to mop up.  My dd called the police today because neighbors were screaming and yelling with the man pulling the woman through a window.  She was concerned someone was being killed.  The cops showed up after 45 minutes - too late if the fight had escalated any further.  I guess she should have sent her dog over to bark.

[DJ & Chance]

Even my baby boy, Chance, can produce a scary bark if startled.  I also had a potential intruder at my front door late at night about a week ago, and when this person tried to get me to open the door, Chance summoned up an awesome "big dog" bark and growl as I dialed the number of our local police.

[Camilla and Darwin]

Well, guess what happened tonight? BIL came over for dinner and for some reason instead of knocking on the door he skipped the knocking and without announcing himself, twisted the doorknob and tried to come right in. The door was locked but before he could go to knock Darwin was up and barking at the door! I was so startled, he never barks at the door! He must have realized that if both of us were home and someone was trying to get in it was something he should alert us about. :-)