Something to ponder.....

LILYLARUE · #1 10-16-2009, 07:53 AM

I have been stewing over sharing this thought for over a years now. I feel that the importance of the lesson is far worthy than keeping quiet. So, bless my friend and the lesson she learned and is willing to share......

Last year, my 37 yr old best friend was dog sitting for her friend. She had done this many, many times and loved every second of it. She also like the security of the dog being around. Well, one night, she woke up to a man beside her bed. She was never alerted that he even entered her house. No dog bark, nothing. He robbed her and raped her. I know this is a horrible story, but the lesson to be learned here is a good one for dog owners.

Her boss came the next day to pick up the dog. She had to explain to him the terror of the previous night. He felt horrible! She explained to him that the dog never made a sound. Well, he crate trained the dog since puppydom and also taught the dog NOT TO BARK WHILE IN THE CRATE!. This was the one command that would have saved her from the hell she was forced into. Needless to say, her boss has a wife and 2 yr old daughter at home and never once thought about the potential this command had dampered.

So, i wanted to share this story and the thought behind sharing. I just never thought about it much. Whenever I would put Lily in the crate as a puppy, I would shush her when she made "unhappy" noises. Luckily it never stuck with her.

To other owners out there who crate their dogs at night.......Isn't that the time you WANT your dog to warn you of anything strange? Maybe making the crate time, "quiet time" isn't really a good thing at all. That one bark could possibly save your life some day.

mhendo · #2 10-16-2009, 09:14 AM

First, I would like to say how sorry I am to hear that about your friend.

Second, I agree with you on the negative side effects of training your dog not to bark (in or out of their crate). A dog barks for a reason, whether it's to say they are having fun playing with you or seeing/hearing something new or unfamiliar and they want you to check it out.

We live in a condo so barking can be an issue but there are times that our dogs do bark, but I've learned instead of training them not to bark or telling them no, that whenever they bark, I will go see what they are barking at and then I can determine whether it's something to be concerned about. I've found that over time as they get use to their surrounding they will learn when to and when not to bark and overall there is less barking.

In today's society I find it comforting when my dogs "inform" me that there is someone or something outside that they have never smelled, seen, or met before. I've always believed that you don't have to train a dog to be a watch dog, but you can train a dog NOT to be a watch dog.

ELubas · #3 10-16-2009, 09:16 AM

What a horrible experience for your friend to endure. I hope she is healing and able to get past this terrifying ordeal. I never thought about my pups' behavior in the crate before. They are only crated when we are out. Nysa puts up a racket when anyone approaces the house. I must agree though, if she is in her crate she never lets out a peep. I tended to teach my dogs when it was okay to stop fussing -my cue was "Thank you, got it". But the crate thing is really very interesting as I never shushed them in there-but perhaps i just ignored them enough that they stopped barking in there, if they ever did. At any rate, sad story and certainly a lesson worth thinking about. Again, healing thoughts for your friend

Cami · #4 10-16-2009, 10:07 AM

What an awful experience for your friend. I wish her the best and hope that she is on the road to recovery from her ordeal.

I also taught my girl to stop barking once I investigated whatever it was that prompted her to bark. It also helps to know what each barking sound represents. I can tell if she is reacting to a human, an animal or something else that isn't right (bag blowing in the yard, etc...).

While I understand the owners thought process of teaching a dog to NOT bark in certain circumstances I think sometimes that allowing them to just be dogs is a great advantage that owners don't always utilize.

Thanks for sharing this story.

jgasparas · #5 10-16-2009, 02:16 PM

Right now we keep Halo in the crate at night until we know she can sleep all night and not sneak off in the middle of the night and pee somewhere if the urge struck. We've actually promoted barking to a degree but in a positive manner. We play games with her like rattling the door knob from outside but where she can't see who it is. We reward for acknowledging she hears something at the door. If she sees a car pull in the driveway she always gets a real low tone grumble just to let us know something is awry outside.

sargboxerluv · #6 10-17-2009, 01:00 PM

That is very sad. I hope your friend is able to move past this.

It is also one of the reasons I wish my Harley Girl would bark! She never barks - unless I am running the sweeper. She doesn't growl either, it's very odd. Unfortunately I think whoever owned her as a puppy beat it out of her. But she sleeps with me not in a crate, so if anyone did ever break in, I would feel her jump up (so she can stand there and watch them steal everything of course!)

LILYLARUE · #7 10-19-2009, 07:16 AM

My friend is very spiritual and a yoga instructor, so she certainly is utilizing the tools she has acquired to overcome a lot. She is one of the strongest, insightful women I know. I admire her to the ends of the Earth. She is the epitomy of strength.

I hope this story will open up some minds to their training. To realize that dogs do what they do for a reason. They are not tainted by social etiquettes or morals. They "just do".

This certainly opened my mind to letting my dogs be dogs and let them do "what they do". Cause it is ALWAYS for a reason in their world.

KatCH · #8 10-19-2009, 08:15 AM

Wow what a story. I am so sorry to hear about what happened to your friend. With my husband in the military and gone a lot of the time, the choice to get a larger breed was also for the sense of protection.

We have actually encouraged our two to bark when they hear noises outside. If they see something or hear something stange we say "who's here? who's that?" and they perk up, get alert, and growl/go back and forth from the windows and bark in a deep tone. We have practiced with knocking on the walls or ringing the door bell. Even though we don't want them barking at everything, I do want them to be alert when they hear something outside.

Lately since it's been cool I have been sleeping with windows in the bedroom cracked and the pups with us in the bed and just this morning, at 5:45 Ozzy heard the kids at the bus stop I guess and started growling and giving a low muffled bark. Finally he settled down. And then my husband came back home at 6:45 and Ozzy again woke up and growled and gave a low muffled bark until my husband actually opened the door to the bedroom. He's definitely growing into a good little guard dog and even though I'm not a fan of the 5:45am wake up call, I do appreciate and am comforted by his protective nature.

Now if this is a good or bad behavior to encourage, I don't know. But definitely after reading your friends story, I will certainly keep encouraging him to be the guard dog.

SweetCody · #9 10-19-2009, 10:09 AM

My Cody is most of the time all about playing and fun. But when my husband is not there he turns into a little guard dog. His whole stance changes and you can tell he is "working". Recently DH's grandfather passed away and he was gone for a week to go to the funeral. Normally both of my pups are crated at night but that week I left Cody out. Aniah just can't be trusted to not tear something up. Cody slept at the end of my bed facing the door every night. Luckily we had no problems except when DH came home unexpected at about midnight. He just about lost a hand until Cody figured out who it was. We both praised him and told him what a good boy he was. He takes guard dog duty very seriously.

violetashlee · #10 11-15-2009, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LILYLARUE

I have been stewing over sharing this thought for over a years now. I feel that the importance of the lesson is far worthy than keeping quiet. So, bless my friend and the lesson she learned and is willing to share......

Last year, my 37 yr old best friend was dog sitting for her friend. She had done this many, many times and loved every second of it. She also like the security of the dog being around. Well, one night, she woke up to a man beside her bed. She was never alerted that he even entered her house. No dog bark, nothing. He robbed her and raped her. I know this is a horrible story, but the lesson to be learned here is a good one for dog owners.

Her boss came the next day to pick up the dog. She had to explain to him the terror of the previous night. He felt horrible! She explained to him that the dog never made a sound. Well, he crate trained the dog since puppydom and also taught the dog NOT TO BARK WHILE IN THE CRATE!. This was the one command that would have saved her from the hell she was forced into. Needless to say, her boss has a wife and 2 yr old daughter at home and never once thought about the potential this command had dampered.

So, i wanted to share this story and the thought behind sharing. I just never thought about it much. Whenever I would put Lily in the crate as a puppy, I would shush her when she made "unhappy" noises. Luckily it never stuck with her.

To other owners out there who crate their dogs at night.......Isn't that the time you WANT your dog to warn you of anything strange? Maybe making the crate time, "quiet time" isn't really a good thing at all. That one bark could possibly save your life some day.

My girls are like this. A few weeks ago, I had to have a friend break in to my house b/c I was unable to get home (long story - ER visit). They never met this friend and I gave him the heads up that they might not be happy about him coming in the house. He ripped out a screen, wiggled a window out of the track, reached in and unlocked the door, grabbed the stuff he came to get, put the window back in the frame, and left. He said not one peep came from their mouths. I was disappointed. I never trained them to be quiet while in the crate.

Now, the mailman slipping letters through the door turns them in to devils. Im pretty sure they would bite him if given the oppty, and Im surprised he still has fingers the way they act when he comes. Its funny though, he has learned to be super stealthy and doesnt make a sound until he opens to slot, then he is really fast about it and is gone before they get to the door.