No protectiveness in mine. Mine doesn't even bark unless my husband play wrestles with him.

 

Yes, I have alarm barkers and if my dogs know/sense I don't trust an individual, they definitely act more reserved. I think they would get between me and trouble if push came to shove.

 

Both of mine bark if somebody comes to the house !

Dylan barks when I'm walking him in the dark to scare people? away ! He will even run at invisible beings ! Anything that makes him feel better.

 

I have joked for years that if I was ever in trouble and needed Tucker to come to my rescue, I would be screwed, but I have seen a bit of protectiveness in him a few times over the years...the other thing - whenever people come to my door (solicitors), I always open the door, holding Tucker by the collar (he is always barking like crazy and jumping all over the door - probably ready to welcome them), but when they put their hands out to pet him, or for him to sniff, I quickly tell them not to because he bites (he has never bitten ANYONE, and I am sure he wouldn't bite anyone, but I like strangers to think he is scary)...I just don't want him to get a whiff and remember them down the road if they are trying to break in or do me harm

 

Moka doesn't have a protective bone in her body....she loves everyone and everything. She wanted to play with a coyote that was standing off our porch one night at potty time.
Java is protective...she barks a big, bad bark whenever anyone comes to the house, has a particular dislike for the FedEx man and when I walk her in the park she will go on alert, hackles raised, if she sees a stranger or gets a whiff of wild animals. I have no doubt that she would protect me if she needed to. I always feel much safer with her than with Moka. She freaked out one night when I took her out to potty...loud, strong barks, hackles up protecting me from...the trash cans.
Although, if a strong gust of wind comes up behind her and gooses her she does jump a mile!! lol

 

Mine is generally sweet. But once when we were at a horse show a stranger came down the aisle and all the dogs went ballistic! I had NEVER seen Forrest bristle at anyoe before- his hair was sticking up a mile! We sent the guy on his way and the dogs calmed down. And strangers had been up and down our aisle all week long with no reactions...

 

I don't think you can classify protectiveness strictly on breed alone. Many dogs of traditional "protection" breeds won't truly protect in situations where their owner is threatened. They usually have to be taught to bypass the bite inhibition most dogs learn as puppies.

I surely would not expect either of these dogs to be protective. The only dog I ever had who demonstrated protectiveness was my Lab/Collie cross. My Dutch Shepherd put on a good act, but she was a bark and dart away kind of dog.

 

All of them do an alert bark when a stranger shows up. Abby and Taco immediately change to happy barks and want to visit. Ernie on the other hand barks furiously, growls, and runs around with hackles up. There's no doubt if someone bothered me he would intervene. The AC/Heat guy was doing PM on our unit outside yesterday. Ernie, would run around and play with the other dogs then periodically get about 15 feet from the guy and give him a few barks. Of course I put a stop to it.

 

All three of mine will bark if a car pulls in the driveway, but I think they would just lick people to death. :lol: Of the three of mine, Molly is the most gentle & quiet one. But we saw a side of her when we were at the beach that surprised me. She will let the grandkids lay all over her, never has growled in her life.

But when we all were at the beach, my grandkids were playing at the edge of the ocean, in the sand, & I heard her give this low growl & saw her move. I looked up & saw this GSD coming down the beach towards the kids. Molly went & stood between the kids & the GSD. Her hackles were up & she gave another low growl. I told her to heel & leave it. She came & stood at my side but she never took her eyes of the GSD. The GSD's owner put the dog on a leash & they turned around. To this day, I am not sure what she would have done if that dog had gotten any closer to the kids. Never in her life had I ever seen her display that behavior. I should mention she loves other dogs & has always played well with dogs & cats.

I think we would be surprised at how protective they can become if they feel a danger to their "family."

 

I have two living door bells to announce when people approach my house, nothing more. I wouldn't expect any protection from them.

 

Misha never barks. I can´t even recognize her voice. Homer occassionally barks, but it´s more of a "I´m afraid" bark. My old Brownie was a sweet soul and extremely friendly as most Labs are, yet she actually defended me a couple times. The first one I was in the car when a scary looking guy approached me directly in the window and stared at me. Brownie was in the back seat with the window open. She immediately launched through the window and attacked this person. She missed by probably an inch and was extremely angry. The guy ran away. I´m sure he wanted to steal my car.

Second time I was outside my house talking to my brother when a couple of strange looking guys passed by really close to us. She also launched without any sign and scared the hell out of them.

She never acted out with any of our friends and even babies could crawl on her belly...

Truth is you never know how they would react until that situation comes, and I honestly hope I never have to see "that" situation

 

I've found that if I take Autumn on walks alone she will bark and growl at strangers we pass/who pass me (never lunges). She will bark and growl at the front gate if a stranger rings to doorbell... if it's just me answering the door. When DH walks with us she'll never exhibit such behavior. If she's in the front yard with me barking at the stranger who just rang the doorbell and DH comes out, she'll immediately stop.

Never in any of these situations have I been tense or scared or anything, but for some odd reason it seems as if she feels the need to protect me if DH isn't around.

 

My girls bark when someone comes to the door, but once I tell them it's okay they usually settle down.
I do think that if I were in real danger, they would protect me.

 

When Diesel was about 10 weeks old we were outside & two men across the road started yelling at each other. He growled & stood in front of me then sat on my feet. I thought it was so cute how he was protecting mom. But considering how unprotective he is nowadays (doesn't make a peep when anyone knocks, runs to say a sloppy hello whenever anyone comes in whether a stranger or not) I concluded that he was growling out of fear & sat on my feet when his butt hit my shins as he was trying to back up to get behind me!

 

I'd like to believe Gracie would be protective if I needed her to be...but not a chance, she loves everybody and everything way too much. My husband always says, if someone broke in our house and tied us up, we would see Gracie in their car driving away, with her head out the window wagging her tail

Lola is my barker, she is a bit protective. She is not so eager to go up and greet people she doesn't know. I would have to say I'd put my $$ on Lola

 

Ernie doesn't always bark when someone comes to the house. I never thought he would give a hoot, but a few months ago a friend and I were walking in the forest and a man asked us directions. Which is odd on a forest track. I am not sure if Erns sensed our body language, or he didn't like the man either, but he stood between me and the man. On our way back we saw him again and Erns did the same thing. I think strangers don't come close when you have a big black dog beside you so it is comforting.

Gemma often stands between me and a stranger. Not sure if she is protecting me or what.She always barks when people come to the door.

 

In the two years I've had Sadie, I think she has barked maybe 10 times. And never at the doorbell or anything you would think she would. No lip curl, no growl, no nothing. Laddie will bark at the doorbell even when the doorbell isn't ringing. His clue to stop barking is if I open the door or not. If Mom opens the door, we know these people, if not then continue barking.

 

Nellie is my alert barker. Bailey on the other hand I think would protect me. Every time he sees may crazy neighbor who put poison on my deck he goes crazy, hair on end and fangs out. I think he would attack this guy if I let him.

 

Shadow was the sweetest girl in the world who loved everyone. She never met a stranger, everyone was a friend to be loved and who, of course, loved her in return.

One night, some undercover police showed up after 11:00 pm and woke me from a sound sleep. They were looking for my neighbor and her brother, who was wanted for a shooting. One of the cops asked to come inside to talk to me, and I let him in - after getting proper ID. Shadow would normally meet anyone at the door with a 'gift,' one of her toys, tail doing the propeller mode and full-body wag. This time she kept her distance, but stayed close to me. She never went close enough so the guy could reach her, but always watched him, silently, standing at attention. Then, when one of the the other cops came to the storm door and spoke through the screen, she growled, very deep and 'hard.' I am positive that if the first one had made a move she didn't like, she would have attacked him.

Champ would probably fall all over anyone who came near him, but Buddy might be protective. They have never been tested, thank goodness! Although, when Bill was traveling, I always knew if a car pulled into the driveway, even if they were just turning around.

 

Yeah, I am pretty sure my 7 lb grey tabby cat would be a better guardian than Teller. Teller doesn't bark, even when the doorbell rings, on the other hand my Shih Tzu goes crazy barking her little ruff, ruff, ruff. Teller just wants to jump up and lick everybody's ears. Cats, dogs, people--it doesn't matter, although the twin brother of my little grey tabby put T in his place this afternoon. Teller tried to play with Jake and lowered his front half, tail thumping, Jake tried to run but Teller jumped around and Jake chased him down the stairs (Teller fell the last 4 steps whining). I had to comfort the dog, Jake was unfazed and gave T the death-look for the next couple of hours.