we had a problem last night and i was to scared to go to bed i was up alnight shaking and crying (i suffer anxioty and panic attacks and slight paranoia)
my o/h was upstairs in the shower and me and the dogs were watching telly (this was about 3am/4am) the front door opened and then was slamed shut (to shut our front door properly u need to lift the handle and there was no way the wind could do it)
anyway about 5 mins before Callen was barking at the window and growling, mason woke up and looked out and pricked his ears
my o/h came down to see about the commotion and took mason round the house to make sure no one was here mason was great but didnt bark.
then he walked round the block where mason was sniffing around, he stoped dead and wouldnt go any further but then walked on.
anyway .. .
the point of this is
if someone did break in then mason would greet them with kisses and a wagging tail,(some one broke in to the garden and stole our bike 2 weeks ago and mason didnt do anything)
im not saying i want mason to be a gaurd dog but i do want him to know how to protect me slightly
how can i train him with out making him nasty to protect me??
today we have been teaching him to 'speak' and hes got a big scary bark so i guess thats a start?

How scary for you

However ... I really dont think you need to do more than teach Mason to bark and growl ... anything else and I believe you are asking for trouble.
In these daft times where burglars can sue the homeowner if they get hurt whilst in the process of robbing you , do you really want to risk your loved pet for some a-hole that he bites during a break-in

Most people would be deterred by a growling snarling dog anyway ... well if they had half an ounce of sense they would

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Mason is stil a baby and still probably sees everything as a game... he will learn eventually that introuders are to be barked at!

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Thats not the case with our dylan! he`s 2 1/2 and would lick anyone that came into our garden to deathand then he would go and get larry the lobster for them to throw for him!.our little dog can sound quite scary though,even though she only weighs 2.5kgand she doesnt mind taking a bite of someones ankle!
Have you got outside security lights? these are a good deterrent.I agreethat its not really a good idea to train your dog to protect you,could lead to problems.you could get a couple of geese(seriously) you gotta be brave or stupid to try to get passed them.

OMG I got bitten by a goose when I was little.. they're bloody scary!

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There used to be geese at weston hall,where i kept my horse many years ago,i used to have to race them to get into the stables and shut the door before they got me!They can really shift

don't mean to scare you fallinstar, but it could have been the same person who took your bikes and now knows that your dogs don't bark etc. it could even be someone who lives near you so knows you and your dogs. so making your house secure is a better option and making sure your doors are locked even when you are at home. you can get those little alarms that sit on your windows and doors and go off when they get opened. my mate got robbed in the middle of the night, she disturbed them when she got up for a pee, but they took her car. then came back three weeks later when she had got a new one and tried to get that but again were disturbed. shes got these alarms all over now, but has had a terrible time sleeping, cause these people must have been watching her. as for teaching your dog to bark, i don't know if they do this naturally or not. my gsd did, but my husky x mals don't.

i'm so sorry to hear you've had such a scare.i think dogs naturally as they get older become a bit protective of their territory.

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just wanted to add that mine do bark, ( don't want peep to think i've got 2 mute dogs, lol ), but not in the house when the door goes for example, but they do in the garden when my neighbours come up their drive as they are up the hill and can be seen from mine. it seems that the dogs see the garden as their territory at the moment. when the doorbell goes, they stand watching from around the corner of the kitchen door, and then when people come in they run off if its not any of us, lol