Unfortunately, my dog is more likely to lick a burglar to death. But hopefully articles like this will scare them away from mastiff-ridden homes before they find that out.
Copyright © 2009 by The Atlantic Monthly Group. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2009 by The Atlantic Monthly Group. All rights reserved.
Hyenas.
That noise they make would scare the bejesus out of even the most hardened criminal. No one would stick around to find out if he's friendly, that's for sure.
I think most of the dog comments in the self-defense thread were not referring to dog-as-deterrent but dog-as-early-warning.
Your dog could be dumber than a bag of rocks, but still, as a pack animal, it instinctively understands territory and social cues. People entering the house involve a specific set of sounds, such as a car pulling-up in the driveway, a key turning a lock, or a doorbell. There is a set of body language and tones of voice involved. An intruder at night will be very different, and the dog will understand the threat and give you, the pack leader, a warning.
Obviously, cats are useless for this task - the pet must be a pack animal.
Sorry, not pack animal, but animal that groups in packs. One of the pitfalls of ESL speakers.
People have been known to drown in mastiff saliva, so don't underestimate your dog's ability to take a burlar down.
People have been known to drown in mastiff saliva
Just so long as it isn't a Newfoundland. Amazing personality, but their saliva is like having access to an endless supply of snot. A pity it doesn't have a commercial use -- although it might be an organic substitute for rubber cement.
Hyenas.
That noise they make would scare the bejesus out of even the most hardened criminal. No one would stick around to find out if he's friendly, that's for sure.
Of course they'd be likely to eat the owner rather than wait for a burglar to show up.
Interesting point altoids. And as a native English speaker at somewhere around the 17th-19th grade reading level, I didn't notice the error, but can tell what you mean. Your English was as good as any 90th percentile native speaker, so don't sweat it.
Socrates explains what we have witnessed in The Republic by Plato (Book II):
Would not he who is fitted to be a guardian,
besides the spirited nature, need to have the
qualities of a philosopher?
I do not apprehend your meaning.
The trait of which I am speaking, I replied,
may be also seen in the dog, and is remarkable
in the animal.
What trait?
Why, a dog, whenever he sees a stranger, is angry;
when an acquaintance, he welcomes him, although
the one has never done him any harm, nor the other
any good. Did this never strike you as curious?
The matter never struck me before; but I quite
recognise the truth of your remark.
And surely this disposition of the dog is very
charming; -- your dog is a true philosopher.
Why?
Why, because he distinguishes the face of a
friend and of an enemy only by the criterion
of knowing and not knowing. And must not an
animal be a lover of learning who determines
what he likes and dislikes by the test of
knowledge and ignorance?
Most assuredly.
And is not the love of learning the love of
wisdom, which is philosophy?
Practice your ABC!!
"Your dog could be dumber than a bag of rocks, but still, as a pack animal, it instinctively understands territory and social cues. People entering the house involve a specific set of sounds, such as a car pulling-up in the driveway, a key turning a lock, or a doorbell. There is a set of body language and tones of voice involved. An intruder at night will be very different, and the dog will understand the threat and give you, the pack leader, a warning."
This is what amazes me about my dog. He is very friendly but instictively knows when someone looks scary or dangerous.
My street has a bunch of foot traffic and when he barks at passers by it is allmost always someone that I would also treat with caution (vagrant, tough looking man, weird looking person, etc) And when he is scared of something it usually is also something weird.
What I can't put my finger on is what cues both he and I are picking up on. Maybe dress but that seems pretty advanced for a dog.
We have a joke in our house that we would only be protected by our dog in that she would jump on the burgler at the front door, tail wagging all the while, and then stop the bugler in his tracks by demanding to have her belly rubbed for an hour or so. I've only hear her bark less than a dozen times and it doesn't seem to matter who the stranger is, she loves them anyway.
But the truth is there have been a few times when something will happen and she'll get protective. I live in NYC and one night, not very long after we got her, she heard a gun shot. She jumped up on my bed, stood over me, and started to bark at the open window where she heard the sound come from. She's behaved in a similar fashion the few other times she's felt we were threatened.
It was really very sweet. She's 35lbs, so she's hardly intimidating, but it's the thought that counts.
Obviously, cats are useless for this task - the pet must be a pack animal.
Useless for that particular task, but the superior animal nonetheless.
I am amused that our vegan moderatrix owns a carnivorous pet (and one of impractical size in most urban neighborhoods).
We've had lawnmower thieves in our neighborhood too, though our house hasn't been hit. I attribute that less to the presence of my golden retriever than to the fact I don't have a lawnmower.