Guard Dogs

My dogs. They provide stress relief on long tiring days. Their antics are a nightly comedy routine in the house, better than any show that comes on after 11:30pm. They are cuddly, sweet, and lovable. And sometimes, they do things that make me look like a very bad beagle mom.

They are great guard dogs- as long as you are outside. The beagles sit on top of the couch in the window, watching the comings and goings of the neighborhood. They watch dogs of all sizes walk up the street with their parents: Shih Tzus, Poodles, Akitas, Labs, and the biggest Great Dane you've ever seen. Then they watch these same dogs walk back down the street with their parents. The beagles serenade this dog parade with the vocal stylings unique to the beagle. Plenty of Arroos and barks. An occasional growl for the stray cats.

When people come to our house, Onyx has an alarm bark. It is a short, repeating yip. This bark sets Cobalt off. His alarm bark is a deep yelp. People are not supposed to walk past our house, and they most certainly are not supposed to walk up to our house and ring the door bell! If people make the mistake of ringing our door bell, they are often frightened off by the loud barks of the Beagles. When we order pizza, I watch for the delivery driver and step outside when I see him. The beagles then go into an even bigger frenzy, because they think Mommy is being hurt. I have seen men 6' tall turn pale at the sound and ask in a trembly voice 'what kind of dogs ARE those?' They never seem to believe me when I tell them 'Beagles'.

The beagles, when they are barking full-force, sound vicious. They sound like dogs you don't want to mess with. They actually scared off potential burglars a few years ago. I came home from work, and started to put up the garage door. I saw too much daylight coming under the door, so I quickly put it down and came in through the front door. The door to the house was partially open, the back door from the garage to the patio was wide open, the gates on the patio and the fence were ajar. Erich nor his parents had been in that way, so we called the police. The dogs were incredibly agitated. The police took a report, but nothing was missing. We think the burglars got to the kitchen door and heard the dogs and decided to find another victim.

Yes, the dogs are wonderful guard dogs. Until you get inside the house and pet them. Then they are putty in your hands. The beagles, especially Onyx, love to be petted. Most people reach out to the dogs when they come in the house. Which is what you should do when meeting a strange dog. Hold your hand out to the dog so they can sniff you. Let them accept you. When you hold the hand out to my beagles, they will sniff it, and then likely lick you. Once they do that, you are allowed to enter. And because beagles are adorable, people want to pet them. Petting my dogs is a good way to win their favor. The other ways are to bring them toys or preferably, beef.

We woke up this morning to find the furnace wasn't working. Erich was on the phone with the repairman as I left for work. When I came home for lunch, he said they were still chasing down parts, and the guy would be back. He came back while I was home, and the dogs at first barked, as he walked up to the house. Once he was through the door, they climbed all over him. This was his third trip in the house today, so by this point the dogs knew it was ok for him to be here. He happens to like dogs, and he leaned over to rub ears and offer full body pets. And that's when it happened. Onyx climbed up onto the arm of the couch to reach him better, stood on her hind legs, and licked his ear!

That is a move she normally reserves for her pack: Erich and I, his parents, my parents, the staff at the Vet clinic. It's different when it's family (or at the Vet's, where they expect dogs to behave like this). When it's the furnace repairman that you don't know, it's kind of embarrassing. I felt like a very bad doggie momma for allowing my dog to climb all over strangers. My face turned beat red. I reached over and tried to pry her off him while apologizing profusely. He actually laughed and said 'it's ok! I love dogs!'.

My advice to people wanting to visit me is that you better like dogs. My dogs are part of the family. They are allowed on the couches. Their preferred seat is on a human's lap. There is dog hair on the furniture. And my dogs will climb up your arm and lick your ears. They like people. As long as you're inside the house.