# Asleep while the car was getting broken into.



## Hadley2 (Jan 5, 2015)

Hi

We have a 4 year old shepherd who is as soft as butter and a real sook which is fine by me, however the other night our car got broken into with a window being smashed around 2am. Our shepherd sleeps by the front window that looks straight out onto the street where the car was parked and the car would be no less than 8m in distance away from where he was laying. The problem is that he didn't bark and alert us that somethings was up...to be honest I don't think he even woke up. I would like him to be more alert, he does't bark when people come to the door or when there are strange noises outside at night. Most of the time it's our neighbours dog that alerts us at night. Our dog only goes crazy if he sees another dog walk past. How I get him to alert us if there is a threat like the car incident or strange noises out side.


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## car2ner (Apr 9, 2014)

Some people would consider having a quiet dog a blessing. 

To teach her to alert you to outside noises you may have to set the stage with a friend. Have someone knock on the window and then you can go "WhatWasThat?" and see if you can get your dog to look out the window. If she does, treat her. Later you can use "WhatWasThat?" as a trigger to look out of the window. As you progress you can add slamming car doors and sounds out of the ordinary trafficy sounds. 

Let us know how it goes. I suspect it will take awhile.


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## dogma13 (Mar 8, 2014)

Is his hearing ok?You said in your post he only responds to a visual cue;a passing dog.


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## DaniFani (Jan 24, 2013)

It's kinda there or it's not. I mean, you can teach a "bark" command, but it could backfire into a dog that barks at seriously every little thing. That sucks that he didn't alert to it, but I'd focus on a better alarm system for your vehicles, or cameras, etc...And I get it, we want our shepherds to be shepherds. Alert, have natural suspicion, "guard" etc...Unfortunately, a lot don't. 

I also wonder about his hearing, most dogs would bark at a person lurking around and breaking into their vehicle. Then again, if you've ever watched that show where "expert" thieves break into peoples houses (with their knowledge), to show them how easy it is....there are quite a few episodes where they literally become friends with the dogs there. The dogs follow the thieves around wagging their tails until the thief leads them into a room, kennel, backyard, etc...Pretty crazy. lol


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## Stonevintage (Aug 26, 2014)

It may simply be that he was in a deep sleep state and didn't hear it. I think when a dog is in the house and someone breaks in they know it - not just by sound, but also scent, noise of footsteps and a shift in air pressure and circulation in the rooms. They don't get this add'l information when inside and the brief noise is outside. 

My dog will alert to outside noises when awake in the house and it's very quiet, but does she alert to every outside noise all through the night - thank heavens no - she's snoozin'. A motion sensor car alarm would be more reliable. I saw a demo of one the other day that mounts on the dash and any car movement triggers the cam to start recording. I think they're about $60.00. A good deterrent for sure.


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## Traveler's Mom (Sep 24, 2012)

Mine would only alert if it was a cat or squirrel breaking into our cars:blush:


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## Debanneball (Aug 28, 2014)

Welcome! I am also wondering about his hearing.. If you stand behind him and say his name in a normal voice or clap your hands, does he respond?


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

Well sometimes when a person breaks a window it makes no noise--spark plugs are one way. So if they knew you had a dog and you were targeted, I would think they would take the quietest way in and a spark plug is it. Nobody would hear anything. Did the neighbors dog bark?


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## finndog (Nov 20, 2015)

As someone else has said, they either have it or they don't. One of my old bitches would not bark at anyone. I mean no one. If we were being raped and murdered she would make them a cup of tea. Her son however, was ultra alert and protective until someone was close enough and accepted by us and then he was good as gold.

One of my other dogs would only bark at other dogs, yet my current boy is starting to bark at weird sounds, other people [until close to them] and animals, and he's only 19 weeks.

Different dogs, different responses. Unless he just didn't happen to hear it, that can happen too.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Yeah, that would be disconcerting. I too would be concerned about the dog's hearing. My dogs go nutso when anyone comes onto the property, long before they would ever get to my car. 

But then, I live in the country, where the Amish fellow walks down the street once a day, and the two neighbors get out and about and leave for the day, but otherwise it is quiet here. If there was regular traffic down the street, my dog probably wouldn't notice until it became unusual. 

I would also be a little concerned about hearing.


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