Off Topic Daft Question Time

[purplebear7]

Hi Guys,    Info, Advice, Help Required Please.

Seriously .. How do you go about teaching an intelligent dog (say a Labrador pup) to bark when (but only when) someone is approaching (or at) you door ?

Cheers in Advance    Trev  (Getting Deafer by The Day )

[durchy]

I have black lab, now nearly 4 years old. I used to train german shepherds for security,
so needed to make them bark to make people aware of dog.
The method I used with lab was same as I used before, try to get dog excited, (sounds kinky)
keep saying "speak" and if dog barks you really praise or give treat.
It's just a matter of patience, doing the same thing over and over until dog automatically
barks when you say "speak".
Got to admit though, it is harder with a lab as they are not naturally barky dogs.   

[Lez72]

We have a couple of labs. They seem to know the sound of our cars pulling on the driveway and never bark at us. However, if anyone else pulls on the driveway or walks up the drive they go mental. We have never had to train them to do this, they just seem to do it naturally 

[Liroka]

Can't help with the lab but we have a weimaraner that barks at anything and everything, except at the back door when nature calls which we really want her to bark at.

[Looney tune]

As Durchy says, excitement is the key and concistancy on your part is also important.
If and when your pup does start to bark on the speak command then go to the next step, but only after your pup has mastered the speak command every time without fail. Next step :- as soon as you say speak, either knock on your door or ring your door bell (which ever you prefer) as your pup barks. Keep doing this day in day out and your pup will eventually bark when the door or bell goes without you saying 'speak' as all the pup will think is 'have I missed him saying speak'. Remember to be fair with your rewards, but wean them off eventually.
Do not overdo training, short sharp lessons are best as to the pup it's all a game and must stay that way, don't get them bored.
If you have not bought your pup yet, think about a Hungarian Viszla or German pointer as both these dogs like giving 'voice' and make super loyal pets but do love exercise !! (thinking of your hip ).


Good luck, Russ


Hope you can make sense of this 

[Exupnut]

Wire his bollox to the doorbell.


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[purplebear7]

    Wow .. Cheers Guys .. some good stuff in the reply box already .. almost blooming well woke me up early.
 
OK .. I take it all on board so far .. good stuff that will be a big help when I get the Pup.  I'll move the goal posts along a little if I may .. we don't have a Dog .. a door bell or a brass knob knocker     
 
I am (genuinely) concerned about 'unwanted visitors' creeping about outside .. day as well as night and maybe trying to get in.  The Eastern European invasion is well under way down here .. two attempted car park robbery's in the past week here on our patch.  The guys are stealing anything that they can move. Push bikes are very popular, washing off the line, and whatever they can sell .. they are desperate and the current financial climate in Spain don't help much!
 
Lot's of 'Pull Over' muggings on the roads and Airport car parks .. they stop the cars and just help themselves .. mostly at knife point .. all gone in a minute. Police don't have a clue .. or much interest! Nice way to start your holiday .. Not!
 
I have trouble just thinking about what I might do (or not do) if I was faced with this crap .. years ago I'd have at least taken a few with me .. today .. I'll get my head kicked in.  I fear for Annie .. it's all daft I know .. but it's real.
 
So .. I'm thinking about a few Pick Axe Handles tucked away out of sight but handy. Problem with any weapon is that if you lose it .. for sure it will be used against you.    A Big Dog on my side would be helpful and I love animals anyway. Of course Pets are not allowed here on this patch .. but the cat don't seem to understand .. so **** em .. if I want a Dog .. I'll have one.
 
This is not a Daft Old Fart in a pointless flap about nothing .. for example:  A guy we know has recently had news that his Brother in Law had 4 guys get into his villa one night .. he had a go .. got thrown down the stairs .. hit his head .. brain damage .. alive but now in recovery in hospital in UK .. at this stage unable to walk or speak.  His wife has gone dark and refused to tell anyone what they did to her. It's all on the increase and really serious.
 
It's a bloody shame .. we moved to Spain for a better life .. the UK has lost the plot in my opinion .. but in just a few years the whole thing down here has to be seen and considered from completely different angles.   I think the UK has some of this stuff to come within the not so distant future .. seem we (the Government) have no idea about how many are already in or how many more are in the queue to get in.    Bordering on talking politics here .. time to shut up .. I'll go and check my UKIP card and read up on Google about Dog Breading £$€   
 
Any further hints and tips on Dog Training will be very welcome .. Munchos Grassy Arse 
 
Stay Safe (well do your best then)   Trev
 
 
 
 
 
 

[chris.biker]

I used to have a dog and always wished he had been trained to bark on command ( I had him trained to be quiet on command ) but I would have made the command word ''GUARD'' as I think any one approaching to a dog that reacted to the word guard would be more threatened.


The only time I had a situation of that nature I was more worried about keeping my dog safe than me as he was that mild.

[Looney tune]

OK .. I take it all on board so far .. good stuff that will be a big help when I get the Pup.  I'll move the goal posts along a little if I may .. we don't have a Dog .. a door bell or a brass knob knocker     


What about a squeaky gate ha. They have to be fast to get away from Shelly

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I know that the traveller types are giving guard dogs a hard time. They offer them their padded up arm and when they latch on, boom, a swift hit on the head with a hammer !

[purplebear7]

Hello Again,
Some really beautiful animals about .. Shelly looks like she would indeed be well quick off the grid 
 
I've checked out the German Pointers and Hungarian Vizslas .. all good looking dogs .. I would guess quite both breeds are close to the Labrador Clan.
 
At this stage .. Annie favours a Lab and I favour Big & Black .. so I recon that's the route we'll be going. I also have to consider that a pup will probably have a good chance of out living me. Most of you will not be thinking like this at all yet I know .. but comes the day when we need to start getting things in order .. cough, splutter, groan .. gasp. 
 
The Dog would be then be left to look after Annie for me .. and Annie would take over all things Dog    so it needs to be a breed that she can handle.  Labs seem to fit that bill too .. subject to training as always.
 
Just to pop back into Bike Mode for a moment .. I am also having thoughts about how well a pet Dog would travel in an open Sidecar.   Of course he would need a fixed harness .. and in Spain probably a Helmet as well.  But what about the 'noise factors'?   Do any of you Dog guys have any thoughts about how well (or Not) a Dog might adjust to being close to a performance bike engine with an after market exhaust system?  Is this an acceptable thing to be doing?
 
Cheers in advance as ever ... Stay Safe      Trev
 
 
 
 
 

[Exupnut]

"I fancy big and black"  thats so freudian lol


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[Exupnut]

Dog on a bike? Like this?


No probs there with excessive aftercan noise ;-)


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[DILLIGAFF]

Don't forget to have some motion sensitive floodlights outside, maybe with cameras??


Also, if you want the soft approach, have a look at some smartwater systems.


Or have a fuck off big stick handy????????

[JoeRock]

To be honest mate, if you're after an intelligent dog used for guarding purposes, i'd not look at a Lab at all. Don't get me wrong, they are an intelligent species (if a tad goofy at times) but they've basically had most of their natural aggression bred out of them for years - although they would be more than capable of defending you if they knew you were in danger, they're not the breed most suitable for that!

Personally, if it were me, I'd probably be looking at getting an Alsation or two - they're also intelligent, you can teach them a LOT of commands which they'll learn quite quickly, and they also make much better guard dogs - they're bred for guarding so it's very much in their nature, and being naturally very light sleepers very much helps that. My uncle has always had a pair of them, so I've spent quite a lot of time around them! They're not that far off labradors size wise usually (although he has one at the moment that is a BEAST of a dog), and although they are a pretty independent breed, train them right and let them know who's the boss, and they'll be as good as gold.
The main method used to take out dogs is to offer a padded arm, the dog goes for that, and then a hammer to the head is used. If you've got two dogs, that isn't an option and I personally wouldn't see many potential thieves even trying!

Other options might be a Rottweiler, or if you've the space you could go for a larger dog? They might well be bigger and stronger, but train them right and that's essentially a moot point.
Couple larger breeds that spring to mind are the Pyrenean Mountain dog, Swiss Mountain dog, Boerboel and the Moscow guard dog. They're all about the 70ish kilo mark (for dogs, bitches are around 50ish), and all have to some degree guarding bred into them (the Boerboel and Moscow dog in particular). One of the most important things with those particular guarding orientated breeds is to make sure that they are very well socialised with both humans and other dogs whilst they're young, and if you bring strangers home, make sure you introduce them properly to the dog, else it might think you need protecting!

[purplebear7]

    Fantastic Stuff Guys .. the really brilliant reply from Joe takes the Mars Bar prize at this stage .. cheers mate!
 
I'm still wide open to all sorts and everything on this one .. so please post your stuff up if you have anything that might be of interest to me .. no limits on learning.
 
I like most of the larger Dogs .. they just seem more like a member of the family .. we have always had cats .. but they have you really    don't they.
 
So much to learn .. so much to consider .. how lucky we all are to have this giant tin can of expertise (on just about anything and everything) at hand 
 
Y'all Stay Safe now.   Trev
 
 

[maddog04]

a couple of early heads up tripwires if they get too close (I'm sure you know the score    Trev)
silent assault weapons (crossbows, blades, traps etc)
batten down the hatches but give them an easy route in and lay the traps, bury the foccers in the outback or feed them to the dogs (BTW....ducks/geese are noisier than dogs if things spook them but these bastards will come around just to put them in the pot!
What are the gun laws in Spain, semi or full auto allowed?
if they know you have a dog(s) they'll come prepared so you have to be ready
use your experiences mate and goodluck

[stevierst]

Belgian shepherd is a good breed to consider. The police over here are slowly moving over to them because they're slightly smaller than the alsatian, but they hit like a steam train on attack, and they're very smart dogs.

They also dont suffer with the dreaded hip problems that unfortunately the alsatian suffers with.

My dads had a couple of Belgians over the years, he's never had burglars whereas other neighbors around him have been screwed. Coincidence?

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[BBROWN1664]

If you want something that make a noise whenever a mouse farts in the garden, try a Siberian Husky.

[stevierst]

If you want something that make a noise whenever a mouse farts in the garden, try a Siberian Husky.

I'd second that on the noise, but don't they eat more than a horse?

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