I've mentioned that Harriet is not a barker. She's vocal, but
quietly so. Even when she alarm barks, it's always been just loud
enough and sustained enough to get my attention, then she stops and
lets me handle the "problem."

Well, last night, when I took her out for last call, we were both
startled by a human-and-dog on the other side of the fir tree that
flanks one end of my patio. Harriet, bless her heart, let out four
or five *LOUD* barks. They were obviously meant to warn the
intruder to get the hell offa her lawn. That's the first time
*ever* that she's warned someone off like that.

It was kind of impressive. Impressed the human-with-dog, too. It
was too dark to see who it was, but I heard him say, "Whoa!" before
he made himself scarce.

--
Shelly (Warning: see label for details)
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)

some dogs can really sense the intent of someone beforehand...

some dogs just want to bark to make sure all the time though... LOL...

mine barks at the doorbell, until the person is inside then she's the
happiest so and so around, but she's made sure people have kept their
distance in other situations... for good reasons too.... I have a 'puppy
test' that people have to pass... if they don't pass, they're not allowed in
my house...

"shelly" wrote in message
...
I've mentioned that Harriet is not a barker. She's vocal, but
quietly so. Even when she alarm barks, it's always been just loud
enough and sustained enough to get my attention, then she stops and
lets me handle the "problem."

Well, last night, when I took her out for last call, we were both
startled by a human-and-dog on the other side of the fir tree that
flanks one end of my patio. Harriet, bless her heart, let out four
or five *LOUD* barks. They were obviously meant to warn the
intruder to get the hell offa her lawn. That's the first time
*ever* that she's warned someone off like that.

It was kind of impressive. Impressed the human-with-dog, too. It
was too dark to see who it was, but I heard him say, "Whoa!" before
he made himself scarce.

--
Shelly (Warning: see label for details)
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)

Drachen intuited:
I have a 'puppy test' that people have to pass...
if they don't pass, they're not allowed in
my house...

Bringing a date home to meet my dogs was actually bigger than inviting
him to go meet the parents!

I invited a guy over for dinner once a long time ago who didn't make it
3 steps in the front door before he was on the floor scritching,
baby-talking, "giving belly", wrestling, etc. And half an hour later
the dinner I had cooked was getting cold and I still couldn't get him
up to come eat it.

I married him. ;-)

Susan "Artificial Intelligence" Fraser,
and the (glad they picked us a such a good Sucker-Daddy!) AuH2Ok9s:
SheBop, Shammie and Gris-Gris

hee hee...

in the online singles ads, I'm more prone to contact someone whos posing
with their dogs in their photos!!

regardless of how they look!!

within a few weeks of dating my current bf, licorice has suddenly become
'his dog' rather than my dog! Always happens, I train them, love them, feed
them, etc... and they become turncoats!... heh... well, when my son is home
she's back to working dog though... but will lay on top of my bf for neck
scruff scratches... *G*...

its a good way to find someones personality out...

"Susan Fraser" wrote in message
oups.com...
Drachen intuited:
I have a 'puppy test' that people have to pass...
if they don't pass, they're not allowed in
my house...

Bringing a date home to meet my dogs was actually bigger than inviting
him to go meet the parents!

I invited a guy over for dinner once a long time ago who didn't make it
3 steps in the front door before he was on the floor scritching,
baby-talking, "giving belly", wrestling, etc. And half an hour later
the dinner I had cooked was getting cold and I still couldn't get him
up to come eat it.

I married him. ;-)

Susan "Artificial Intelligence" Fraser,
and the (glad they picked us a such a good Sucker-Daddy!) AuH2Ok9s:
SheBop, Shammie and Gris-Gris

"Drachen" wrote in
:

some dogs can really sense the intent of someone beforehand...

I don't see how that's possible, in this case. This was an immediate
reaction to being startled by someone. She simply didn't think that
there should be a human in that place at that time, and she told him
to *go away*. Not normally anything to be impressed with, but
considering the dog in question, and the way she comported herself
(no hackles *and* she was out in front, between me and the other
person), yeah, I'm kind of tickled. The best part of the whole
thing, though, was that she stayed relatively calm, and she settled
down immediately afterwards. ("Oh yeah, you said 'pee.' Alrighty,
then!")

some dogs just want to bark to make sure all the time though...
LOL...

Not *this* dog. In seven years, this is the first time she's warned
somone off like that.

mine barks at the doorbell,

Not mine, thank God. The only time she alerts me to the door is if
I'm in another room and might not have heard it. And even then, she
comes to get me instead of barking. At most, she'll make a soft
wuffing noise. Barking? Never. (Funny aside, when I was a kid,
yelling for someone from another room was verboten. We had to get up
off our lazy asses and actually *go* to the person, and talk to them
in a civilized voice.)

I have a 'puppy test' that people have to pass... if they don't
pass, they're not allowed in my house...

I'm pretty good at sizing people up, so I don't need my dog to do it
for me. And that's a good thing, because if it were up to her, there
are only about three people, aside from my family, who she'd invite
into the house.

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)

Ladies, girls, call us what you will. We prefer the label "Poster
Hags from Bad Girls' School!"
-- Melora Creager

on Sat, 13 Jan 2007 15:56:24 GMT, Shelly wrote:

I'm pretty good at sizing people up, so I don't need my dog to do it
for me. And that's a good thing, because if it were up to her, there
are only about three people, aside from my family, who she'd invite
into the house.

And on the other end of the spectrum, we have Roxy, who would happily
invite Charlie Manson in the door.

--
Lynne

Lynne wrote in
m:

And on the other end of the spectrum, we have Roxy, who would
happily invite Charlie Manson in the door.

Ha! And the whole Manson family, too, I bet. The more, the
merrier, after all.

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)

I shut my eyes in order to see.
-- Paul Gauguin

on Sat, 13 Jan 2007 16:13:46 GMT, Shelly wrote:

Ha! And the whole Manson family, too, I bet. The more, the
merrier, after all.

I have absolutely NO doubt!

--
Lynne

"Drachen" wrote in
:

mine barks at the doorbell, until the person is inside then she's the
happiest so and so around,

Anna and Faith went for a walk the other day and locked themselves out.
So Anna rang the doorbell when she and Faith got to the front door. When
Faith heard the doorbell, she barked. We got a big kick out of Faith
barking to warn herself to stay out of her house.

Paula

Lynne wrote in news:SfOdnXvXL4
:

on Sat, 13 Jan 2007 16:13:46 GMT, Shelly wrote:

Ha! And the whole Manson family, too, I bet. The more, the
merrier, after all.

I have absolutely NO doubt!


My dad came out to our house today and took us out to dinner and a movie.
He is the one who always sneaks food to the dogs. When he came over,
Faith was sucking up to him big time until she realized he hadn't brought
pizza with him as he often does. Then she ignored him. When we came
back from the movies, she sucked up to him big time until she noticed I
had the white styrofoam box, at which point she turned her attention and
her charms to me. I hadn't realized before that she had figured out my
dad almost always has his leftovers wrapped up for our dogs or that the
white boxes meant leftovers. They figure out what matters to them,
that's for sure. If Charles Manson and his whole family come over with
their knives packaged in white styrofoam boxes, we're screwed.

Paula