# Potential Adoptee: Barks at strangers who enter house?



## resca (Apr 24, 2013)

I've been wanting a companion for my golden retriever (and myself, of course!) since he was small but I wanted to wait until we were both ready. He's 11 months old, been completely housebroken for about 5 months, is fairly well trained and not destructive.. He doesn't have a guarding or protective instinct in his body and that is something I love about him, I didn't want a guard dog. He immediately wants to kiss and press his body against everyone he meets, inside or outside my home.

I haven't gone to rescues yet but I did find a potential new furbaby from an ad. I called about him, he was listed as free (I don't mind an adoption fee, though), and I've been communicating with his current owner. He is about 7 months old according to his owner and a shepherd mix. We plan on letting the dogs meet this weekend but after I got back to them with some more questions, I'm a little worried. I asked whether he resource guarded or anything, and he let me know that the dog does bark if strangers come to the door.. No problem, that's pretty normal, I thought. But then when I asked how the dog is once the person is welcomed inside, he replied back that he continues to bark and he has to go through a process of introducing them, then he /eventually/ calms down.

It just alarms me that a 7 month old has such a high guarding instinct already, that a 'process' is needed to calm him down.. I'm so used to my golden so maybe I'm just being unrealistic but is that normal or should I not worry too much about that? I had a bad experience when I was younger with one of my family's dog that reacted to visitors like this and it does make me very nervous.. But the pup sounds so perfect in every other way. I also feel guilty because the dog does need a home and the owner seems to really like the idea of me getting him, said that other people were interested but I was at the top of the list.

Thanks in advance for any advice.


----------



## BernerMax (Mar 15, 2013)

I personally would nt go with a male buddy for your young Golden-- espec the 7 month old male who is already guarding the door (that in itself wouldnt be no for me, but if you are a Golden owner and not used to this kind of dog, this will be a transition for you)-- they are both teenagers maturing into ... the dogs they will become often a bit of a touchy time for many breeds-- also in what ways does the 7mo old seem perfect to you (is it a size thing? what is it) that might help us give you better advice...


----------



## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

It could just be excitement added to a little "OMG, new person!"

Could be a little bit of insecurity or fear and that introducing the person calms him down by making him feel secure.

I don't think it is a bad thing for a dog to bark when a strangers comes through the door and I don't really think its necessarily a "high guarding instinct"

The good thing is that you have a change to see for yourself how the dog acts with strangers. When you go to meet the dog, bring a friend and leave the friend with your dog. Enter the house to meet the dog and see how the bark sounds and see what his body language is like. You can see how much of a process there is- is it a simple thing like the owner petting the dog and having the person wait to be sniffed?


----------



## resca (Apr 24, 2013)

resca said:


> I personally would nt go with a male buddy for your young Golden-- espec the 7 month old male who is already guarding the door (that in itself wouldnt be no for me, but if you are a Golden owner and not used to this kind of dog, this will be a transition for you)-- they are both teenagers maturing into ... the dogs they will become often a bit of a touchy time for many breeds-- also in what ways does the 7mo old seem perfect to you (is it a size thing? what is it) that might help us give you better advice...




So would you recommend only a female? I've taken him to the dog park and he's always played great with either gender so I didn't think it mattered. 

The 7 month old has been raised with kids which is important to me - I visit my family every few months with my golden and I'd like for the new addition to be good with the kids. I also want kids of my own. He is also a bit smaller than my golden but not much so I feel like they'd be a good match for playing - my golden's fine with smaller dogs but I feel like a dog close to his size would be better. He's also good with other dogs, which is obviously important!  And according to the owner, he is very sweet with them.


----------



## resca (Apr 24, 2013)

Shell said:


> It could just be excitement added to a little "OMG, new person!"
> 
> Could be a little bit of insecurity or fear and that introducing the person calms him down by making him feel secure.
> 
> ...


Well, the current owner said he was very protective of the home and that he definitely had a guard dog mentality - I forgot to mention that, it was their words so that's what concerned me a lot, too.

We were actually planning on meeting at the dog park, not their house.. I don't believe they want strangers coming to their home because of the young kids but I can definitely ask about that.


----------



## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

On one hand, I wouldn't suggest adding a young dog to a household with another young dog unless you are ready for a lot of work and for potential problems between them when they mature.

On the other hand, I always take things said by other owners or observers with a giant grain of salt. "Guard dog" mentality can be something totally different to someone used to dealing with actual trained guard dogs vs someone dealing with an insecure young pup and not knowing the difference.


----------



## BernerMax (Mar 15, 2013)

Shell said:


> On one hand, I wouldn't suggest adding a young dog to a household with another young dog unless you are ready for a lot of work and for potential problems between them when they mature.
> 
> On the other hand, I always take things said by other owners or observers with a giant grain of salt. "Guard dog" mentality can be something totally different to someone used to dealing with actual trained guard dogs vs someone dealing with an insecure young pup and not knowing the difference.


I agree with what Shell said,, and her previous post too (maybe the guard dog thing is overblwn)-- we just had a really bad 2 year period with same sex aggression.... but you could always give it a try-- but be prepared, that your sweet golden could end up second in command (which the golden, being a golden probably wouldnt mind....)....


----------



## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

Meet the dog, do introductions and see what happens. I have three male intact dogs in my house right now. One of them is only 6 months old but the other two are 3 and 6 years old. 

Not a batted eyelash from any of them. 

Dogs just... vary, based on personality, breed, etc. (My two spayed females are fine together, too - better than fine, even). Granted only the 6 month old is of a breed known for same sex aggression, but it's really, even with tons of fosters and dogs and breeds, only rarely been an issue.


----------



## resca (Apr 24, 2013)

Well, I asked that we meet at the person's house so that I can see the dog's reaction firsthand and I haven't heard back yet.. We would introduce the dogs at the dog park, though. It's definitely possible they just exaggerated it and the dog just needs to build confidence and be socialized more but we will see if they get back to me. But now based on you guys, I'm just wondering if it's better to either find a female or just wait until my guy matures more. Or would a 2-4 year old dog be fine, since they are past that stage? I'm not looking for only a young puppy - I just care about finding a sweet dog that needs a home and is able to keep up with a ~11 month old pup.. My guy doesn't have a high energy level either, probably on the lower end for a golden puppy based on the ones I have met.


----------



## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

Just my opinion, but I'd wait until your dog is closer to a year and a half or even 2 years old if you want to add a dog under 2 years old. Or if you really want a second dog now, look for a 2-4 year old dog that is basically trained and well mannered. 

I'm not super familiar with Goldens other than seeing them out and about and knowing a few as a kid, but to my knowledge they aren't really prone to same-sex aggression so male vs female likely isn't a big deal assuming you're dealing with adult dogs where you can see how the individual dog acts towards your dog.


----------



## resca (Apr 24, 2013)

Shell said:


> Just my opinion, but I'd wait until your dog is closer to a year and a half or even 2 years old if you want to add a dog under 2 years old. Or if you really want a second dog now, look for a 2-4 year old dog that is basically trained and well mannered.
> 
> I'm not super familiar with Goldens other than seeing them out and about and knowing a few as a kid, but to my knowledge they aren't really prone to same-sex aggression so male vs female likely isn't a big deal assuming you're dealing with adult dogs where you can see how the individual dog acts towards your dog.


I'll definitely do some research on same-sex aggression regarding Goldens, thank you. He's my first so I'm not sure myself - I was just won over by the previous Golden Retrievers that I have met and their reputation as family dogs. But I had two female boxers growing up and that resulted in some ugly fights - my mom later did some research online and found some websites saying it was pretty common among female boxers. But don't quote me on that because I've never looked it up myself!  But I'd hate for something like that to happen.

Thank you, I definitely appreciate your opinion. I feel guilty about all the back and forth that I've had with this potential pup's owner but maybe it's just not the right match and/or time.. So torn!


----------

