barking

[chuss]

Hi peoples, I'm new to this forum so don't kill me.

I have a 10 month old bitch named Kiara. She's quite a big girl, weighing 116 pounds already. She's not overweight, but extremely big boned and full of life and energy.

Anyway.. She's starting to bark a little more. She's familiar with the neighbours but whenever she hears someone out the front of our house she'll bark (which is good). However, if someone comes to our front door and knocks, even if they are a stranger, she won't bark, but will actually whine (that annoying crying noise they make).
Is this normal? I actually want her to bark, so I know that someone is at the door. And if a thief decides to come, I want her to go nuts, and not cry like a baby.

I know she is young, but will she eventually bark when people come to the door? Or is this how she'll be?

[Judi W]

When you are home, she should leave the decision of friend or foe up to you, so not barking is correct. When you are not at home I'll bet she barks.

[chuss]

What I explained is what she does when I'm home.

For instance, last night I was in the lounge watching TV and she was outside. Someone parked their car out the front of our house and she started barking.
The other day, my sister in law went over our house when we weren't there, she mentioned later that she started crying as she got to the front door. Weird to me?

[LORHEL]

Well since she is 10 months, she's still growing, and they say large breeds grow fast, but mature slowly.

I would expect her to start feeling more protective of home and you, as she grows older, and matures. She should have that wait and see attitude, which is the standard.

We brought our rescue girl home at 2 years. I never heard a peep out of her, for the first few months. After she settled in, however, she will now bark ( a short bark if its a stranger, or a noise ) to let me know something is up, then I'll go check it out, and she's fine.

However, if its someone she knows, such as daddy, coming home... sometimes, she won't even move... (I do tell her daddy's here, so that kind of sets her to not worry about it) either that or she will whine, because she knows its someone "friendly" she loves..

But when my husband is gone, she is much more "alert" as if she knows that the changing of the guard has shifted so to speak, and is more aware of things.

When he comes home, she tends to relax, but is still "alert".

:D

Trust me, they know when its for real and when its not. :)

[LORHEL]

Just wanted to add, that normally rotties don't bark just for the sport of it (like alot of others do)....

I tend to take it seriously as such, because of that.

The only reason I would imagine that a rottie would be barking nonstop would be if it were in some kind of situation such as being tied out, left alone, or in rare cases it might be a illness, such as chasing its tail, or going to extreme, but that is very rare, and not the case here.

;)

[legalbeagle]

I agree that not barking is a normal response for Rottweilers. I've never had one who particularly barked at the doorbell ringing or the UPS guy coming to the door etcetra. THese dogs simply wait and see.

My current female will bark at unknowns if she's on our deck and they appear to be "strangers" to her. She's also a bit of a fence barker because she can see the side street from through the fence and before the leaves come in on the trees. The good news is, we've taught her the 'enough' command and 'quiet', which means to 'shut up now'. She will not bark when we arrive home as she knows the sounds of our cars in the driveway as they approach.

Our newer male will not bark at all. He's a very laid-back dude and besides his joy in playing and running in the park or on hikes, he's normally placid. The temperament of this guy is very similar to our first Rottie many moons ago. That dog seemed to be the biggest marshmellow until someone tried to break in while I was home alone. At approx. 2.5 yrs of age then he became a snarling, foaming, barking, stiff legged maniac as the door lock was being jostled and the guy on the other side [I had a peep hole, which I highly recommend to everyone] heard that racket and slunk away. Would he have attacked, minus any personal protection training? Don't know but he didn't need to at that point, his racket did the job and burglar ran away. I did praise and treat him, because that was a response I liked given the circumstances. The dog remained a placid, calm, friendly dog until his death at 9.6 yrs of age and seemed to even prefer small children. He never bit anyone but he did his "maniac" routine a few more times over his life, each time with success.

Maybe your dog is waiting for a genuine threat, which is a good thing.

Cathi M.

[chuss]

Well, last night was interesting. We had a doctor give us a home visit late last night. Kiara didn't bark as he drove up the driveway or as he walked up to the door. But she started going crazy when he was about to knock on the door. I thought it was an achievement as she normally isn't like this.

I've also started feeding her a bit less, maybe this could have something to do with it.
I believe that's what they do to guard dogs, they starve them and it makes them more ravonous (spelling?) and crazy.
Any thoughts on this would be interesting.

[RottiMomCT]

Originally posted by chuss
I've also started feeding her a bit less, maybe this could have something to do with it.
I believe that's what they do to guard dogs, they starve them and it makes them more ravonous (spelling?) and crazy.
Any thoughts on this would be interesting.

Probably not why she reacted like that...starving a dog doesn't do anything except make that dog hungry. We've got a 3ish yr old mixed breed at the local shelter who is emaciated (yet healthy!) and all this dog wants is love! He'll leave his bowl if I walk into the kennel simply because he wants attention. I can push every button this dog has (hand in bowl while eating, fingers in ears while eating, push away from bowl, etc...) and he does nothing except eat...same pace..until he's done...then he looks to me for more! He needs to gain about 20 pounds before he's ready to be adopted, but he's one happy dog.

On the same token...I have a well fed, well adjusted, very well socialized 4 yr old male. He is very protective of me, without any training at all except obedience, if I feel uncomfortable about any situation. He will stand between me and whatever I am not sure of, and rarely do I have to say anything to him. If I'm OK with something, he's OK with it. If I'm not, he'll get right there in front of me, and once in a while, he'll back into me to make me back up further away. It's just his nature to protect the one who protects him, feeds him, shelters and loves him. He's protecting the Alpha of the 'pack' - ME.

Same thing when we're at home. He'll bark when someone pulls into the driveway and will stand at the door until I tell him to 'leave it'. If I do not know the person at the door, he's right by my side. That person isn't getting in the house because Ben will not let me get to the door(tough when it's the UPS or FedEx guy!) If I do know the person at the door, once they're inside, they know they're about to get a rottie wiggle butt and kisses!

[chuss]

that's cool.

It was just that I heard that the starving makes em crazy. I would never starve or leave her hungry. She's too beautiful for that.

[Carina43]

Dunno about starving, I think it would just make the dog hungry and sad. :( People do all sorts of dumb things to try making dogs "mean"...

Rottweilers aren't terribly vocal, mine usually don't bark - though I've noticed if someone comes up after dark, they are more likely to bark. Several months ago my brother & his girlfriend came up for a visit from Chicago, and just let themselves in at about 2am. Oops. Cooper was sleeping in the hallway and I guess he scared the beejeezus out of them, he charged the door barking! He was fine as soon as he recognised my brother though.

Apart from my female barking at wildlife sounds if I leave her out after dark, they're pretty quiet dogs...probably a good combination is a little ankle biter to yap like crazy when someone comes to the door, and a big scary looking dog to act as back up should the need arise... :D

Kiara sounds like a friendly, outgoing dog, she may well find her voice a little later in life, she's practically a puppy still!

[chuss]

My neighbours always say that she's quiet and don't mind her barking when there's a strange sound.
But every day I can see her maturing in certain ways, especially her temperament and guarding ways.

Up to about 8 months, she never made a sound, only sooking noises when she wanted attention. But the last couple of months have shown development and I guess I should just wait.
She is a very friendly dog, will run up to you sniff ya, lick ya, roll on you, etc.. and I want her to stay that way.

[Luvs]

She may be whining because she wants to visit with whoever is at the door. My puppies go crazy when people come over, whining until the person comes over to say hi. They are the same way when we take them out places. They think that everyone is here on this earth just for them. They don't understand that not everyone enjoys a tongue bath or wants to pet them. We are trying to get their licking under control but it's something that we are still working on.:p I am really glad that they are so friendly though and we have really tried to make sure that they are well socialized.
I personally don't encourage my puppies to bark at people. I figure that rotties are naturally protective anyway and it's not something I need to encourage. Akasha will bark when she sees someone walking down the road. I like her to let me know when someone is around but once she has let me know I distract her so she won't sit there and continue barking.
I was under the impression that since Akasha and Keil are just under 6 months old that they would not act protective yet. I found out last week that I was totally mistaken about that. Last week I decided to try and let Akasha sleep with me (first time I have ever had a dog sleep with me due to my allergies) so I was pretty excited. It was a huge deal to me lol:D I put a blanket down on the bed for her and puppy proofed the room and she jumped up on my husbands side of the bed (he works nights) and we quickly fell asleep. I am really glad that I left my hubby a note because when he opened the bedroom door Akasha started growling at him until he spoke and she realized it was him and flew off the bed to welcome him home. I have to admit that it really comforted me to know that she will let me know if someone is in the house and had it been someone she didn't know I don't think she would have let them in the room. In two weeks my daughter will be home alone at night because I am going back to graves but I sure won't worry about her as long as the puppies are with her!
Encourage your puppy's friendly nature. The protective instinct is there and I would be really surprised if it didn't kick in sometime soon.;)