God love him, Bailey is such a nitwit........

[lindrusso]

So, I'm upstairs on the computer when I hear the oil company come to fill up our tank. After they are here for several minutes, Bailey decides to bark a few times. Good, he's finally barking for a good reason.

After the truck is gone, however, Bailey starts to bark and growl ferociously. Without even going to look, I know EXACTLY what is going on. As I go downstairs to check, yep - there, stuck in the door is our bill - they put it in a plastic baggy and stick it into the door frame and it's flapping in the breeze. And there's Bailey, barking and growling up a storm, backing away and quite frightened by this very threatening interloper................ :rolleyes:

He backed way off when he saw me go to grab it and pull it inside, but was all too happy to prance around the house with it in his mouth once I showed him what it was. :rolleyes:

Well, I may never really feel protected by the big chicken, but I do love the moments where he makes me laugh until I cry!

[TKay]

Oh my gosh, that is hilarious. Don't you love it?

We have a black Great Dane. She looks imposing and her bark is commanding, but she is the biggest chicken ever. Dh had a friend come by a while back. He was sort of hesitant to come in the house because Molly was barking that big bark at him. When he walked in, he said hello to her and put out his hand. And what did the big bully do? She wet herself right there on the floor. I would have laughed until I cried if I didn't have to clean it up!

Go, Bailey, go! You big toughy.

[ellery]

We're not lucky enough to be owned by a dog (yet), so I love hearing stories from those that are. Thanks for the smile. :)

[Miss_Liss]

And there's Bailey, barking and growling up a storm, backing away and quite frightened by this very threatening interloper................ :rolleyes:

He backed way off when he saw me go to grab it and pull it inside, but was all to happy to prance around the house with it in his mouth once I showed him what it was. :rolleyes:

And what did the big bully do? She wet herself right there on the floor. I would have laughed until I cried if I didn't have to clean it up! Go, Bailey, go! You big toughy.

You guys (and your dogs) never fail to make me laugh.

We're not lucky enough to be owned by a dog (yet), so I love hearing stories from those that are. Thanks for the smile. :)

I second that!!:D

[PoppyJ]

I love it. I can just see him doing that.

My big yellow lab boy can look and sound very imposing. But what cracks me up is that he will bark his deep bark at someone who comes to the door and then run to get his pink stuffed bunny to show the person. I have told him time and time again that it is not very manly, but he will not listen. :p

[lindrusso]

My big yellow lab boy can look and sound very imposing. But what cracks me up is that he will bark his deep bark at someone who comes to the door and then run to get his pink stuffed bunny to show the person. I have told him time and time again that it is not very manly, but he will not listen. :p

:D :D

Bailey too has a big, deep, imposing bark. I can only hope that possible intruders would be scared off by that before they realized that he really barks more out of fear than anything else...... :o

[foodfiend]

Alysha -- I bet that plastic bag was scared out of its wits, though!

[alinnell]

While I don't get the big, barking "protector" my Chico sure doesn't present me with a feeling of security when he is afraid of.......feathers!

[Robyn1007]

I frequently dog and house sit for my aunt and uncle and this summer I did it even more since I was unemployed and hiding from roommates. One late afternoon I'm sitting on the sofa and somebody comes to the door (it's all glass so there is no ignoring it). Obee (a black lab) charges the door jumps at it and barks wildly. I open up the door just a crack while trying to hold Obee back (the guy just keeps talking to me, ummm, don't you think now is not a good time).

The funny thing is that Obee is so scared of people that if the person had reached out and tried to pet him he would have run for cover. :eek: It took me months for Obee to let me pet him, much less get him on a leash for a walk. I used to have to look away while handing him a treat because he was too scared to take if I was looking. Of course, now I'm one of his favorite people and as soon as he sees it's me at the door he rushes me, grabs my arm gently in his mouth and tries to take me to show me something. However, don't get a foot near him, he will freak out, no matter who's foot it is. It makes me so sad to think of what someone must have done to him before my aunt and uncle got him at the pound and I still wonder what made him be okay with them there because they had no clue about the problem until the first time someone came over after they got him.

And, you just reminded me that this nut of a dog will be in Vail with me this weekend! Yippeeee! :D Dogs are the BEST therapy, I can't wait until I have the lifestyle to support one.

[leightx]

Our chocolate lab Moose is petrified of balloons. Whenever he hears the kids blowing one up, he looks very worried and tries to squeeze himself into my lap (not easy, since he's at least 90 lbs).

[erinlovesmarc]

Hilarious!!!

We had one of those laugh-until-you-cry moments with Biscuit, our pup, this weekend - he's not scared of anything (sometimes not a good thing) and he's very affectionate. We were at a dog park and there was an older dog that didn't want to be bothered and Biscuit kept going up to him and licking his face as he likes to do with people and other dogs. The older dog would show his teeth and growl and then Biscuit would lick his face and run away. After a few times, after the older dog showed Biscuit his teeth again, Biscuit decides to lick his teeth...needless to say the other dog was not happy and tried to snap him, Biscuit pulled away just in time and it was NOT funny but DH and I were practically rolling on the floor...what possessed our pup to lick another dog's teeth, I have no idea but it was FUNNY!!! :rolleyes: :D

[erinlovesmarc]

I love it. I can just see him doing that.

My big yellow lab boy can look and sound very imposing. But what cracks me up is that he will bark his deep bark at someone who comes to the door and then run to get his pink stuffed bunny to show the person. I have told him time and time again that it is not very manly, but he will not listen. :p

Oh My God....LOL! :D

[Cookin4Love]

Our lab sounds ferocious, but he's such a pathetic love-hound when anyone comes in that we figured he'd never be any good if we were in real trouble. Imagine our surprise when we saw the shadow of someone coming over our back fence one night while he was outside. I can tell you that the sounds I heard coming out of our backyard made the hair on my neck stand up. He was a ferocious beast, and the would-be ne'er do well was screaming and flinging himself against the house trying to get away. I don't know what happened to the guy, but our stupid boy came in inordinately proud of himself. Come to think about it, I probably should overlook the way he destroys my house at every opportunity just for that one night.

[LakeMartinGal]

Our two golden boys were barking at birds landing on the driveway, yesterday! :rolleyes: The funny thing is that Toby starts it, and no matter where Riley is, he has to join in! So, he's all the way across the house, barking furously at... whatever! :D

When we were last at the cottage in Canada, Toby, who has a tenor bark, started barking ferociously one morning as B was on her way out to the outhouse... when we looked, there was a bear out there! Toby has been her hero ever since!

I was out front, just looking into the woods when I saw an armidillo. The boys were right there, and didn't pay any attention! :eek: Great watchdogs! Then I noticed that the armidillo was on the other side of the invisible fence! Guess they know the boundaries better than I do! ;)

[Robyn1007]

Our lab sounds ferocious, but he's such a pathetic love-hound when anyone comes in that we figured he'd never be any good if we were in real trouble. Imagine our surprise when we saw the shadow of someone coming over our back fence one night while he was outside. I can tell you that the sounds I heard coming out of our backyard made the hair on my neck stand up. He was a ferocious beast, and the would-be ne'er do well was screaming and flinging himself against the house trying to get away. I don't know what happened to the guy, but our stupid boy came in inordinately proud of himself. Come to think about it, I probably should overlook the way he destroys my house at every opportunity just for that one night.

That's a great story! It reminds me of some old friends who had a huge german shepard and 2 cocker spaniels. Well, the german grew up around the cockers and never found his deep voice so he barks like a cocker. One time somebody tried to break into a neighbors house and was trying to flee through friends yard. He heard small dog barking so he jumped over. Imagine his surprise when he met a police trained german shepard. :eek: :D Needless to say, the cops caught the guy since he was cornered until they got there.

[Home Chef]

The termite people put a little white flag in the yard a couple days ago and it was so windy on Sunday that my husband had to go out and get it. Maggie, the Great Dane, was protecting the house by barking at it.
Of course when people came to the house on Sunday afternoon she was so tired from barking, that she never heard them until the doorbell rang and woke her up from under the afghan on the couch. I think she was scared awake!
No pink bunny here, just a giant, bright green octupus she take to the window while she barks.

[Peweh]

I think your Bailey and my Izzy went to the same school for Watchdogs with OCD. :D One day she was ferociously ROOOOOOOOOing in the sunroom, hair up on her back and all... I finally figured out, it was the gas grill propane tank I had filled and set on the patio in the 'wrong' place. :p

She has also been known to corner DH's golf clubs when he sets the bag out to load in the car... and the Mosquito Magnet... an empty bird's nest that fell out of a tree... the list is endless. But it is SOOOOO funny every time it happens!!

Funny thread!

[mbrogier]

These stories are so funny.

I don't have a dog yet, but I do have 3 cats. Macavity is the oldest and a huge scaredy cat. He will run and hide under our bed if anyone comes over or we run the vacuum cleaner.

One night I was having extreme pain from a kidney stone, and Rob was out of state. I called the ambulance at my doctor's insistence because I kept feeling like I was going to pass out. The EMTs and police arrived a few minutes later. I had opened the front door for them before I sat in the floor. Macavity stood between me and the front door and growled ferociously and even barked. The EMTS and police officer were about to wet themselves from laughing so hard at the cat. He wouldn't leave me, though. I called his name and told him that I was ok. As soon as he realized that these scary men weren't going to hurt me, he fled the room and hid under my bed. :D

I thought it was so funny and cute that he realized I wasn't ok so he wouldn't leave me. I did need the ambulance because my blood pressure was 90/35. (you read that right) The EMTs had the lights and sirens going and even checked in on me in the ER through the night when they came back. They couldn't believe I stayed conscious. They also told *everyone* in the ER about my cat. :D

[lindrusso]

I think your Bailey and my Izzy went to the same school for Watchdogs with OCD. :D One day she was ferociously ROOOOOOOOOing in the sunroom, hair up on her back and all... I finally figured out, it was the gas grill propane tank I had filled and set on the patio in the 'wrong' place. :p

Yes! He does notice anything that's out of place like that! But then if there's a dead squirrel nearly under foot or a rabbit nearby, I often can't get him to notice if it were right under his nose. :rolleyes: Guess his sniffer didn't come from the HOUND lineage.......... :rolleyes:

Macavity stood between me and the front door and growled ferociously and even barked. The EMTS and police officer were about to wet themselves from laughing so hard at the cat.

That's hysterical! :D

[newcook]

My little Mini didn't know she was small. One day a workman walked by and Mini took off barking and growling at him and charging him. But the minute she got close to him she started licking his toes (he was wearing sandals). Both the workman and I broke down laughing.

[pointerhaven]

I call my Toby, the Chicken Dog, because he's afraid of folding clothes. The other day I was in the LR folding and looked up to see Toby hiding in the corner, trying to get behind a plant. JeeZ! And if one barks, they all bark and most of the time Nate, the old man hasn't a clue why and Scout the Blind one, just joins in for the funn of it...LOL

[MISSINDI]

Alysha -- I bet that plastic bag was scared out of its wits, though!

LOL.

We have a Bernese Mountain dog -- big and intimidating, but scared of his own shadow. When people come to the house, he barks up a storm and scares them a bit, but as soon as they walk in, he shrinks away, and creeps up to them, trying to get their scent, wagging his tail all the time. At least his size/bark scare people away, because licking them to death when he gets to know them certainly isn't going to help. ;)

[Gumbeaux]

Nitwit? Probably not!

Retrievers are one of the smartmest breeds there is and why they are one of the few breeds used as seeing eye dogs. My guess is that Bailey is smart enough to know when to act stupid so that he can achieve his objectives. ;)

[LakeMartinGal]

Retrievers are one of the smartmest breeds there is and why they are one of the few breeds used as seeing eye dogs. That would be true, if you average them out... unfortunately, my Riley is WAY below average... we call him 'dozer, short for bulldozer, as he will knock you over with exuberance, and his epilepsy has robbed him of most of the brain cells he had... which weren't many!:o But when I broke my ankle, he sat right beside me the whole time it was being splinted, and gave me something to hold on to! He's a sweet boy, just not bright! ;)

[AvrilH]

I have learned to not discount the usefulness of a barking but cowardly dog. My life long beagle was small and a big suck. But when we loved in a remote town, our house backed onto the bush. Twice that dog went nuts in the back yard late at night, howling and jumping at the back fence. When we dragged her in she barked from the house all night, baring her teeth and slobbering.

Both times, we found out that the neighbour's BBQs and snowmobiles had been stolen. Hard to believe a fat old beagle could be a decent watchdog.

[lindrusso]

Nitwit? Probably not!

Retrievers are one of the smartmest breeds there is and why they are one of the few breeds used as seeing eye dogs. My guess is that Bailey is smart enough to know when to act stupid so that he can achieve his objectives. ;)

Well, he can be a smart nitwit, can't he? :p

Sure, Goldens on average are intelligent, but it's not really intelligence we're talking about here - he's a big chicken - there' no getting around that one. His fear makes him act like a nitwit, so I stand by what I said. :D

But here's an example of his intelligence - I trained him to follow basic commands and also a few little tricks. As is common, I used treats for reinforcement. So, now he knows several useful and cute tricks, but he'll only do them for treats. I can sit in front of him and ask for a high-five until I turn blue - he'll just sit there, glancing around like he has no idea what I'm talking about. The minute I get a treat, however, he suddenly recalls what "high five" means! :rolleyes: :D So, this has become our little "show" for guests.

Truth be told, though, it's probably my fault for not taking his training far enough so that he learned to throw the trick without a treat - apparently lavish praise just isn't good enough for him............ ;)

[testkitchen45]

I grew up with a pretty big yard. My Weimaraner would race all around the perimeter of the yard, over and over, for no obvious reason (she actually wore a track in the grass), until some sort of doggy alarm went off in her head and she decided it was time to stop. She'd hit the porch at a full run and go into a lock-kneed, 4-legged skid all the way across the porch until she body-slammed the (lightweight, thankfully) porch furniture. Then she'd shake her head a little and walk away.

She was the Edith Bunker of dogs. :)