Does your dog like strangers?

[crazedACD]

Do they like strangers, at home or out and about? What happens if someone walks in your house or yard unannounced?

I have people walking in my house unannounced all the time now... all four of my dogs are perfectly fine. Fiona is usually crated if I'm out of the house but anyone can come in even if I'm not here. They might get a few barks but once the person has been in the house for a minute or two, they settle down and finish napping or whatever. Fiona can be a little overbearing and isn't the most polite, I've been leashing her when guests are over to work on manners a bit more.

Out and about...totally fine. Skye maybe takes a few seconds to warm up to you, but she does like people.

 

[Laurelin]

Summer: yes, she LOVES every person ever. Wherever they are.

Hank: generally very friendly indoors or outdoors with people. He has a suspicious streak though, particularly at night or when people are being weird. Or when people seem to suddenly appear out of nowhere.

Mia: no, not friendly. If I'm around and the other dogs are around she's mostly aloof more than anything. She usually puts up a barking fit but isn't aggressive... just tries to keep distance. She can be a little flighty around really forward people who insist on petting her. She wants nothing to do with anyone. Mia is very unsure about people who are out of the 'norm'.

 

[BostonBanker]

Meg knows no strangers. She'll bark when people come up to the door, but otherwise is absolutely delighted to be in the presence of anyone.

Gusto is bizarre. He is very aloof in public, other than with a few friends. At home, he actually warms up to people really quickly, and recently slept on the lap of someone who came to visit (to be fair, they were in his chair).

 

[Equinox]

Out and about
It's a toss up. Sometimes he is crazy about meeting new people and absolutely adores them, sometimes he is happy to see them but less exuberant about it, and sometimes he acts as if they don't exist. Usually he's pretty excited to meet new people though.

At home (announced/friend)
Definitely. He'll do full body sniffing, lots of wagging and screaming, and will cozy up to any visitor on the couch and give kisses.

At home (unannounced)
Much less welcoming. He will rush at anyone coming in unannounced, do the whole deep barking into their face thing, body blocking, etc. It's all noise though, we really worked hard to prevent him from being territorial in any way because we do have guests coming in unannounced frequently. We can call him off no problem and they could even probably push past him and march right on in.

 

[Linds]

Traveler has never met a person that wasn't his very best friend ever.

Didgie pretty much loves everyone but they are second rate to me.

Fergus takes a minute to warm up but if you have cheese he'll love you forever.

 

[BostonBullMama]

Toby is cool with anybody... he doesn't care who you are. You're more than welcome to walk in the door unannounced (no knocking, etc) and he'll jump off the couch and rush to greet you and jump all over you and then do zoomies to bring you all of his toys as fast as possible.

We don't have visitors often, but have witnessed this with;
Friends, Family, Police officers, Animal control (they had to make sure he wasn't a pitbull....), Maintenance workers, Neighbors (Toby breaks into other peoples houses just to make sure they're doing a-okay too!), and strangers he meets when he comes to work with me in a gift shop.

So yea... I kind of laugh outright when inexperienced dog people look at me in horror when it's brought up that I have a BULLDOG and CHILDREN in the same house ~ as if they're somehow in danger of being eaten by my vicious dog.

 

[Annabell]

Fable has never been in your face asking for attention, but she will politely go up to new people to get petted. If someone she doesn't know knocks on the door, she will growl, but once I open the door and talk to the person, she is all happy and asks for attention. If it is someone she knows knocking on the door, she will not growl, and will stand at the door wagging her tail until it is opened. I don't have a yard, so I don't know how she would react to someone walking into the yard unannounced.

If we are out for a walk, she will just ignore strangers unless they call her over to pet her (or they have food). She will not go up to someone and beg them to pet her, but she will happily oblige if they want to pet her.

Overall, she is accepting of strangers and doesn't ever show any aggression.

 

[Southpaw]

Juno is cautious of strangers, mostly men. In and out of the house. She does warm up eventually, especially if food/toys are involved. If someone comes in the house she just barks and stays away from them.

Lucy I'd say is roughly the same as Juno.

Cajun I'm still figuring out how she really feels about strangers lol. Overall she's very indifferent. She'll give a sniff and take treats from them, but isn't a fan of actually being touched or having to interact with them. And I feel like everyone outside of the people she lives with is a "stranger" to her... like no matter how many times she is around someone, she treats them with indifference.

Happy doesn't know strangers. And if you have food, you're immediately her BFF.

 

[Fran101]

Merlin loves everyone. Smile in his general direction and you are BFFS

I forgot to crate him and the apartment building people came in while I was at work to change lightbulbs and Merlin was like HELLO FRIENDS!!!

This is important because he has had to make friends quickly in the past, new dog walkers and stuff for example who just come on in and leash him.

 

[*blackrose]

Out and about:
Abrams is very meh. He politely accepts pets from people who approach, and he will show off his tricks if they have a cookie for him, but otherwise he tends to ignore people. Which is SO NICE and exactly what I love in a dog. We can be standing right beside someone and he just ignores them. Wonderful.

At home (announced):
He LOVES THEM SO MUCH. He acts a fool, runs around barking and growling with a toy in his mouth, leaps as high as he can, and generally is a pain in the ass. Once the newness has worn off, he becomes a mostly sane dog again.

At home (unannounced):
Very, very suspicious. He'll bark and growl if he hears people outside/near the fence. If people walk by the house talking loudly he goes to all of the windows and grumbles. If someone knocks on the door and we answer as if we don't know them he roars and throws a fit until we tell him to STFU. He's all noise and bluster, but he's impressive at times.

 

[sassafras]

Maisy loves all the peoples of the world.

Pip is suspicious of strangers and generally steers clear of them, but sometimes randomly (to my eye) takes an instant shine to someone. If someone tries to "make friends" with him, he probably won't like them. If someone leaves him the eff alone for a minute, he'll probably warm up to them in time.

Squash generally loves everyone. But he has shown some really appropriate suspicion a couple of times towards sketchy characters, which makes me warm and fuzzy inside.

 

[Oko]

Feist doesn't believer in strangers. Inside or out of the house. She's especially a sucker for guys. She's a horrible watchdog, we had someone on a ladder right outside my bedroom window painting, she jumped on my desk right in front of the window and wagged her tail at him.

 

[noludoru]

Once his senses say "these are people, we like people!" he likes them. Until then, he's been iffy. Hell, he's been iffy to me when I walked far enough away and then came back. I had to reach my hands out and talk loudly to him for him to realize it was me.

Slow intros with treats are the key. Unless it's a child. They can run in and out of the house with no unfriendliness whatsoever, and the roommate's child put his hands in the bowl of food tonight with no grouchiness on Middie's part.

 

[JacksonsMom]

He doesn't really like strangers in general. If someone walks in our house unannounced and I am home, and know the person, he simmers down pretty quickly once I let him know all is okay. But he definitely alert barks for at least 20-30 seconds. If I'm not home and someone walks in the house (that he is not familiar with), I've been told he barks non-stop and then goes and hides under the bed if they try to get too close. My close family and friends that he knows, he is fine with them being here.

Out in public? He's typically fine. He doesn't seek attention but if someone asks to pet him, he is generally okay with it. He does NOT want to picked up though and if he thinks someone is going in for it, he will back away. He never barks at people in stores or on walks etc. Occasionally if we are walking around at night and someone kind of pops out of nowhere, he will give an alert bark since he was startled. I think that's just because he's used to our house where we live with no neighbors and 100's of acres of farm behind us so nobody is ever around, he's just not used to it. But otherwise he's really great out and about in public places.

 

[Slick]

Yes, as long as they are not children. He takes a few days to warm up to children, but all other adults are greeted with enthusiasm.

When we moved to our house, he had a brief stranger danger phase even when invited into the house. But he has gotten a lot better about that after adjusting. He will growl if there is someone close to the front door and not coming in, or will growl if they just let themselves in unexpectedly (both good behavior in my opinion). But as soon as they are let in or come in with one of us, they are warmly welcomed.

Leo is actually a great dog for greeting (adult) strangers who are a little scared of dogs, because he has very obvious "friendly" body language when he approaches them. He also does well in leaving people alone who ignore him (i.e. not pestering for pets). I've had a few people love Leo who generally are a little scared of dogs.

 

[lancerandrara]

Lancer and Rara's requirements

MUST BE:

- EAST Asian
- female
- calm
- quiet
- between the ages of 18~25 or 40~60 (so either similar to me or my mom)
- not wearing a perfume, unless it's the same one I wear
- no overly floppy sandals
- no overly high heels
- no huge tennis shoes
- no long, painted nails
- no hats
- no heavy makeup
- no jumping
- no running
- no aliens

IF STRANGER DOES NOT MEET ALL OF THESE REQUIREMENTS, they may be subject to loud barking and general scariness.

 

[Georgygirl]

Joey - indifferent to strangers unless they have food. Then they're amazing.

Lucy - suspicious of strangers but can warm up to them in time.

Walter - Stranger? What's a stranger? Is that a friend you haven't played with yet? *butt wiggle* *butt wiggle*

 

[Toller_08]

Journey: She's up for meeting pretty much everyone and loves people. I am definitely her person unless we're with good friends (in which case I barely exist), but she is still plenty happy to greet strangers with a happy wiggle and does her goofy little macaroni dance and leans. Every once in a while she comes across someone she wants nothing to do with, which is odd (they seem normal), but 99% of the time she loves people. She is a little insecure in my house as she's not used to a lot of company and Dance gets weird so Journey feeds off of that a bit, but she gets over it quickly.

Dance: I think most of the forum knows that Dance does not love strangers. She's what I describe as people reactive. She's insecure but not really shy anymore, yet she still on occassion rudely barks at people who try to pet her or talk to me. She's a thousand times better than she used to be, but she's still pretty weird. Once you give her a chance to warm up to you though (pretend she doesn't exist), she's your best friend forever. She's the worst in my house. Outside of the house, she just ignores most people now as that is my expectation of her.

Ripley: He doesn't love strangers but doesn't not like them either. Just indifferent. He will let people pet him a will greet people when I tell him to go be friends but he's a family guy. Every once in a while in public he sees somebody that he just hates, too. Not sure why. At home he is really good with people. Just needily pushy for attention. However, he does not like strangers or people he doesn't live with leaning over him or hugging him. Which people shouldn't do anyway, but it happens, and he gets really uncomfortable.

 

[teacuptiger]

Oh god yes. She loves people so much! Out in public and at home, if someone makes eye contact with Roxie, I know it's a lost cause to try to get her to not interact with them. The second you make eye contact, Roxie turns into a puppy with a whole lotta licking tongue and full body wags. Happy happy happy!!

People who come in the yard or house uninvited, though? Oooh, boy. She is NOT pleased with that. I was extraordinarily surprised the first time that happened. Roxie becomes a whole 'nother dog. It's like she's this big tough molloser. She is very firm, and unless her family greets the "intruder" in an accepting manor, I am sure that she would not back down. Roxie doesn't put on a show, when there's an "intruder", she is serious. She puffs up and basically holds people on the spot with her eyes and posture.

But, she turns into her normal squishy self the split second that person is welcomed. She's pretty exceptional that way. It's like flipping a switch, and she came like that. We've never had a situation where anyone in the family has come under threat, nor has the house, so I am not sure what Roxie would do in a situation where an "intruder" was not welcome. She doesn't act like a dog that would back down from a threat, but she's also just such a lovely, friendly dog who is great with everyone she meets. I don't plan or want to find out.

 

[pinkspore]

Out and about Brisbane can be nervous about meeting people so I don't let him greet or call him away after a few seconds and treat him if he doesn't look completely comfortable. He particularly dislikes very tall men leaning waaaay over to pet his back, he has some spinal issues. He also occasionally tries to shark people when we walk past them out in public, with little warning and no provocation. That might be a reactive thing, but I haven't completely ruled out the possibility that he just really likes biting people.

I tried very hard to socialize Ru with strangers and had everyone we met give him treats, as a result he will happily prance right up to anyone to see if they have food. When he realizes they are empty-handed they immediately get ignored. Ulysses is happy to meet just about anyone, but sometimes gets tense when men crouch down right in front of him very quickly.

Announced guests in the house must be properly introduced to Brisbane and then they are forever welcome. Except service people who can just die. We once had an overly-friendly plumber insist that all dogs love him as he opened the bedroom door with the insane dog behind it. Briz chased him up onto the kitchen counter. Ru think everyone is ok, and likes them if I am standing up and they have a lap to sit on. Uly also loves everyone.

Unannounced guests are perfectly welcome if they are on the Brisbane-approved list, if not they will be messily devoured. Ru might barl. Uly would probably be happy to have a guest.