# Your GSD and Guests



## HarleyTheGSD (Feb 13, 2012)

How does your Shepherd act when guests walk into your yard/house unexpectedly? Do they ignore them? Are they affectionate? Or are they defensive/protective/aggressive in any way? I'm just curious to see how different GSDs react in this situation.


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## Lewis_22 (Nov 12, 2013)

not sure myself i wanna get a german shepherd as a guard dog out on the front yard so im not sure how they react to strangers


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## Colie CVT (Nov 10, 2013)

Leia tends to be more defensive if people come into the house without warning. She is not as bad in the crate as she is in my room, and she is protective also of my car. She tends to be more of a barker, though I am cautious because in order to get her into protection work we had to enhance her defense drive. And it went a little overenhanced than we expected lol. Though even when I first got her, she was likely to bark. She is also defensive when she's in the yard or a kennel with just my golden. By herself or with all my roommate's dogs out there too, she doesn't tend to do anything other than pace. 

My first dog Kenai was similar. When she heard people/the doorbell, etc, she would start barking. It was completely a bluff since she would actually duck her head and back off if you tried to touch her, but she definitely took a defensive edge. She would calm down until the person visiting would stand up to move again, lol. 

Both Kenai and Leia had been actually friendly dogs if met in other situations, and with Kenai I trusted her a lot with children. She let a 2 year old hang off of her neck one day and just braced, waiting for him to let go. When the kid tried it with my parent's golden Grizzly, he flipped and started to spin his head and back pedal. 

I do miss Kenai a lot. She was a great dog. And it was always fun for me to answer the door, holding onto 100 lbs of shepherd when I wasn't sure who it was LOL.  She looked serious.


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## BellaLuna (Jan 27, 2013)

My two are happy to Welcome guest. My girls will greet and say hello and then she's off to do her own thing as far as my boy well he's a puppy so everyone is a friend to him these days but that can all change as he gets older.

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## Mary&Stella (Jan 1, 2011)

Stella loves guests !! She thinks that they come just for her and that they need to see all of her toys one by one, throw a ball or two get sloppy kisses and maybe just maybe a morsel of people food will fall on the floor by "accident". Eventaully she will quiet down and relax but heaven forbid they sleep over Stella is there to make sure nobody sleeps in on her watch!!


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## boomer11 (Jun 9, 2013)

mine will bark his deep suspicious bark nonstop until he can either sniff them or until he is told to stop, in which case he'll lay down and bark under his breath and act sad. its pretty intimidating to anyone that comes into my house but also annoying as i have to put him on a leash because not everyone wants a big dog sniffing their butt. there is absolutely no way someone can walk into my house or yard and he'll ignore them. 0% chance.


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## Harry and Lola (Oct 26, 2013)

my female will lick them to death and welcome anyone even if she doesn't know them, my male will not welcome anyone coming onto our property, including people he has met lots of times, I need to be very careful with him - he can be scary (for other people).


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## blehmannwa (Jan 11, 2011)

If a stranger is in our house, than it's okay. Havoc loves company but I think it's because I usually know the person that I am inviting inside and home is Havoc's safest place. Havoc is pretty sure that if I invite someone in, they are cool.

My giant nephew with a backpack--this kid is tall and was carrying his rock climbing gear so he was an odd looking human--dropped by a while ago. My husband was at work and Havoc had met my nephew once very briefly. Havoc was a tad bit suspicious but once I fed my guest, Havoc relaxed and my nephew did not even notice that Havs was giving him serious side-eye.


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## Shade (Feb 20, 2012)

If it's family or friends he knows then Delgado is very excited and greets them enthusiastically then runs off to find a toy to bring them so they can play

If it's a stranger just at the door (pizza delivery, etc) then he'll sit beside me and watch them quietly until they're gone.

Inside the house he either goes two ways, if he senses they're timid or nervous he likes to run full force at them and circle a few times just to see them jump. If they're confident or ignore him he'll do a thorough sniff test then leave them alone, but if they grab one of his toys and offer to play with him or offer him food however they're his new best friend lol

However both dogs really feed off me, if I'm uncomfortable or annoyed (door to door sales people ) Delgado especially senses it and will give serious stink eye. For some reason when they notice it they get my hint that I'm not interested and move on


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

Mine rather act like Shades.

If she knows them, she is excited and friendly..IF it's a stranger, then she is quiet, checks them out and no big deal. 

She usually lets out a warning bark when someone IS at the door, but that's about it.


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## lesslis (Sep 23, 2007)

Walking into my house unexpectedly is not a smart idea. Anybody that knows me will not do that. If you knock on the door they will bark until I say leave it. My byb girl is fearful but affectionate if she knows you. My boy has a balanced temp and knows what he's doing. Lol


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## hunterisgreat (Jan 30, 2011)

They alert and don't let strangers in the house.


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## KayForbes (Jan 14, 2013)

My pup is that same she is fearful but lets out a few barks from her climb and once she is told free she checks them out and then seems to be ok. She isn't really a fan of anyone she isn't familiar with in her face though I don't blame her either. she would rather walk around and sniff until she is comfortable.

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## martemchik (Nov 23, 2010)

Mine is fine with people he knows. Extended family can easily walk in and he'll be excited to see them. Same with some good friends that are constantly over. If he's never met you, and I'm not there to greet you, I wouldn't suggest walking in. He's very good at reading our reactions.

We've never had a stranger just walk in though...probably has to do with the dog barking or standing at the door staring out the window.


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

It depends.

If it is a friend/family member that my dog knows he will greet them at the fence or the door. He will bark to tell me that someone is there but he is happily wagging his tail and excited to greet them.

If it is a stranger he is on the defensive/protective side, he will run up to the fence and bark at them. If they come to the door he will bark and his tail will not wag but as soon as I say hello to the person or let them in he is fine with them, he'll sniff them and then he will bother them for attention. :laugh:


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## HarleyTheGSD (Feb 13, 2012)

Varick doesn't allow any strangers in the yard or house. He barks intimidatingly for a little while, then he'll quietly sit in front of the gate so that they can't get in. Same goes for guests trying to get into the house. Once I tell him to stop it, he lays off, but still keeps his eyes on them. Once one person visits often, he wants you to love on him, but I'm always his first priority.


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## lyssa62 (May 5, 2013)

will be interesting....the first winter holiday season with Roxy -- and it's my turn to hostess. I don't want to have to keep her in the kennel the whole time so it's something we are going to be working on. When we have other company ..there is a LOT of barking until the person gets in view..then there is a meet and greet. I've got a little over a month to work on this.


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## MichaelE (Dec 15, 2012)

Lisl won't let anyone in the house unless I make her go lay down. She barks a lot. Loudly and aggressively. You'd think the Devil himself was double parked and standing on my front porch knocking on my door.

I have to tell her it's OK that strangers (or even family) are coming in and give her the QUIET command. She complains and whines a bit until everyone is sitting down, but she will never leave the room or stop watching you. I don't get many visitors.

She is rather intimidating and she makes no bones about letting you know it. She will be grumbling and half barking under her breath. It's a difficult sound to describe.

If you move or get up, she is likely to start barking at you all over again unless you move slowly and don't stare at her.


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## Gretchen (Jan 20, 2011)

MichaelE said:


> Lisl won't let anyone in the house unless I make her go lay down. She barks a lot. Loudly and aggressively. You'd think the Devil himself was double parked and standing on my front porch knocking on my door.
> 
> I have to tell her it's OK that strangers (or even family) are coming in and give her the QUIET command. She complains and whines a bit until everyone is sitting down, but she will never leave the room or stop watching you. I don't get many visitors.
> 
> ...


This is the same for us. The only person who can walk in unexpectedly is my adult daughter who lives in the next town. If anyone else came through the front door or over our patio fence, I'd probably need to make a police report.

We are having our kitchen remodeled in January and Molly will need to be boarded at the vet during the day while the workers are here for everyone's safety.


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## FjD (Oct 6, 2013)

My girl is 9 months old, and she is extremely protective. She won't let any guest get close to the house, she will react as soon as she sees them. 
Delta is only calm when I introduce the guests outside of the house, and then she will calm down and let them come in. 

I have always asked myself if this is normal, or if she is being over protective.


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## fredh (Sep 10, 2013)

Jake Alerts us and doesn't let strangers in the house. When we are home he barks anytime someone comes on the property or even walks past our house on the street. When someone comes to the door I will have him sit and stay behind me untill I tell him otherwise. If I am suspicious of the person I will answer the door with him by my side. He is a very large male (95 Lbs) and you can hear his bark down the block. We feel pretty safe with him in the house!


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## Daisy&Lucky's Mom (Apr 24, 2011)

All three alert and bark. Once you rin the house if they know you they greet and then go on to do their own thing. All three slept through our neighbor coming in one Saturday morning . They must have been beat. Lucky woke up woofed once and went back to his post breakfast and walk nap!


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

Nobody I know will walk into my house without me knowing it. They are afraid of me, not my dogs. 

If out in the front yard (always with me) Hondo will not allow someone to walk up my drive. If they drive up my drive, he will not allow them out of their vehicle. If I call him to me, he'll come and be quiet. 

If he's in the house and they come to the door, he'll alert. If it's a stranger, I'll hold him when I go to the door. If it's someone invited, I tell him 'enough' and he's quiet. He isn't a over the top friendly dog. He'll greet the person and then lay where he can watch them. 

If we have friends over and we are all outside, he'll hang out and watch. If I see him begin to watch a specific person too closely, I'll put him up. If people (friends/family) have been at my house many times, he'll pretty much ignore them once the greeting is over. If he knows them well, he'll lay by them. 

If we have contractors at my house, I always put him up. I don't want them to assume he won't bite should they decide to come back when I'm not home.


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

Nobody comes in my home unless I'm expecting them. Family is always welcomed by the dogs with lots of kisses.


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## Wolfgeist (Dec 4, 2010)

If Hunter doesn't know them, he does a confident/defensive bark alert and blocks them from moving farther on to the property / through the door. If Hunter knows them, he is a wagging, wiggling, melting love puppy.


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