For the Fourth of July holiday we decided that since we still own the house with the pool, we should make use of it by having a party. Loose plans were made, text invitations were sent and while trying to get a party planned for a remote location, Kevin and I came to a severe disagreement on the dogs to which I will fully acknowledge right now, his way made the most sense.
Not a Party Animal
I fully intended to bring both Ray and Julius to the house for the pool party since chances were great that we’d be gone 8-9 hours that day and since Kevin and I were driving down separately with our vehicles loaded, I was determined to have my way while going through the motions of having acquiesced. I took Ray for a special trip to Pet Smart for a few last –minute needs and then he and I took a nice walk around the neighborhood so he could check his pee-mail and leave his own messages.
At the very last minute, I realized the decision to leave Ray at home would be best. He would still have full run of the house, have a bowl full of food (that I knew he wouldn’t touch) just in case, a full bowl of water and a nice long bully stick. The other house has a lot of lava rock in the landscaping that always cut at Ray’s feet and with the two boys there romping about; Ray would surely reinjure his leg, so home he stayed.
Heading to the party!
Julius, on the other hand, would have had to be crated and is much more easy-going, so he got to attend the cook out with us and I must say he was a HUGE HIT. Ray can be pretty clingy with me whereas Julius is so social that he likes to interact with everyone, but also spent a lot of time gnawing on the frozen marrow bone I packed for him as well as just sprinting up and down the fence line whenever the neighbor’s dog decided to flex a bit of her bark muscle. (That in it’s self would not have been good for Ray’s ACL.)
Party Animal
Of course, my little Juli Bean was so charming that nearly everyone wanted to take him home; one person offered me $200 and his dog in trade and someone else wanted him to stud so she could have one of his puppies. That was a nice opportunity to wax poetic about the value of neutering (“Why? Both of them are boys, so why bother?) and speak to the fact that I actually had Julius neutered before we had even decided that he was staying with us forever as opposed to being a foster.
Naturally, there were also many conversations about Pit Bull type dogs, which brings me to pose a question to the Blogosphere before I address some of the conversations: what type/breed of dog do you have and is he/she protective of your home?
Peace-a-bull Assembly 
I have two shelter dogs (DNA tests said one was a Chow/Samoyed mix and the other is a Lab/Husky mix) and both are very protective of our home.
We have two pitbull-type mutts. Ed is very protective of the house and does try to intimidate guests if they’ll let him. Tess on the other hand greets everyone that comes in (although I think she might act differently if she felt malicious intent!).
I’ve been propositioned for Kaya and Norman pups in the past too and have the same conversation with people:/ They are not in the least protective of the house but I sometimes put Kaya in the yard when new people come over because she is so excitable. She settles down quickly but some people can’t handle it at all. I wish we knew enough people to have a party like that!
Nice to meet you 🙂 Your question seems the perfect ice breaker for us!
We have Sam, he’s a pretty big German Shepherd. He gets lots of public attention, which is of course lovely, but it often leads to ‘do you breed from him?’ ‘can I buy him?’ and even ‘is he part wolf?’ He is castrated, and has been since he was adopted as a pup. As for guarding, GSDs are a vocal and guarding breed. So he makes his presence known in the garden. Once you’re in the house, he’s a super laid back dog, but his general size and loudness means people will call us at the gate ‘number 17, are you in?’ before they enter!
I have a cairn and a welsh collie. Yes they are both protective of the house and of me in their own right, but not in a way I need to worry about – if that makes sense?!
We had 3 American Bulldogs (now 2), 1 Pit, and 1 Mix. 1 of the ABs, Alli, and Shelby and Tommy are protective of the house, but nothing to worry about…they all LOVE people, so as soon as a strange comes is, all is well. They would all be protective of us, but there has never been a need for them to act protective, especially Argus and Sasha, these two were the best at reading people’s intentions and knowing whether a sound was cause for alarm or not.