Yipe!! Savage Watch-Golden Retriever???

Oh my goodness. This afternoon I went over to my son's house to let the arborist, Luis, into the backyard so he could work on a tree that's threatening to remove the roofing shingles. It's really hard for me to get the back gate open so I invited him to come through the house.

My son's golden retriever, Charley -- who's about as mellow as a mushroom on a log (not THAT kind of mushroom, either!) -- started to bark angrily the minute Luis set foot in the door. Luis had already indicated that he wasn't very comfortable around dogs, but I told him Charley was laid-back and friendly.

Believe it or not, this giant cream puff actually SNAPPED at Luis.

You couldn't find a nicer man than Luis if you mounted a global search. He's about as benign as they come, an old-country gentleman. But apparently Charley didn't think so. I had to drag Charley into a bedroom and shut him in, so as to get Luis into the backyard.

That was WEIRD. Have you ever had a dog that's totally laid back do that? I had a German shepherd once who recognized when a stranger meant us no good -- that animal was quite the judge of human character -- but I don't think that's the case here. In the first place, I do not think Luis is secretly an ax murderer. And in the second place, Greta the GerShep had a measurable IQ. This dog...not so much.

Greta was never wrong about people -- never. And yes, she did go ballistic when the cat burglar got in the house that one night. But unless there's something I don't know about Luis, he's not the sort she would have desired to eviscerate.

Some folks have remarked that their corgis can be prickly with strangers. Not so with Cassie the Corgi and Ruby the Corgi Pup. The pup's response to strangers is exactly the same as Cassie's: if you stand upright on two legs, they want to love you into submission. Neither has ever growled or barked angrily at a new person, much less threatened to remove his hand.

What on earth? Have you ever had a dog appear to threaten someone you invited into the house? If so, what did you do about it?

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Permalink Reply by Anna Morelli on May 15, 2016 at 6:30pm

I am partial to the dog, it's not a question of IQ, it's a question of instincts and I would trust that the dog as picking up on something. That does not make Luis an ax murderer, so I would not hold it against him, on the other hand I'd be honoring the dog and letting him in through the gate next time :-DD

When I was teaching classes, one of my students said her dog was friendly with everyone, except one man who lived next door. If the man came out into the adjacent yard, he barked very aggressively, but never with anyone else. She wanted to know what to do. I told her to trust the dog! This sounds like a similar case.

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Permalink Reply by Vicky Hay on May 15, 2016 at 7:26pm

Yeah...no question dogs pick up on cues we humans don't sense. And sometimes they're right.

I can't unlatch that gate. So the solution was simple: put Charley in a bedroom and close the door. Fortunately, Luis proved not to be an ax murderer after all, so all turned out for the best.