We’re looking to rent a house and have found a great one; location, building, storage all perfect!

However, the house is part of a converted barn in the grounds of a large manor house. The manor house owner has two Alsatian guard dogs which divide their time between patrolling the main house grounds (walled and gated, but with a gate onto our barnyard), being in a walled garden (somewhere else in the grounds, effectively two walls away and half a k away at least), or being in a steel barred cage within our court yard.

We have a four year old child. Do you think this sounds reasonable? We would be introduced to the dogs.

Would be far more worried if the dogs were the increasingly popular but foul [generic pit bull] terriers than Alsations, which while big don’t actually have a terrible reputation for mindlessly attacking children.

or being in a steel barred cage within our court yard.

Add a large bag of value sausages to the weekly shopping and get the kid to feed the dogs every day.

They’ll be the kid’s guard dogs by the end of the week.

so they are kennelled next to your house? I’d be more concerned with them barking all night long.

depends on the dogs tbh
Well trained I would be fine
a numpty with an aggressive pair of unpredictable beast it would be a no from me

Do they have kids?
What have they said as it seems unlikely the dogs can get out or they would want them to
Lived next door to a guard dog for a pub and I agree that feeding and stroking them does indeed make them your friend

Barking and whining (all day and night) guard dogs belonging to our drug-dealing neighbour was what drove us to seek medical help and move house as soon as we could. The house was re-sold three times in the next four years. Absolutely no way would I move into a house with guard dogs, especially if I had a small child. Why is the house on the market?

so they are kennelled next to your house? I’d be more concerned with them barking all night long.

Apparently they spend nights in the main house. They come to the kennels when the cleaner is in the big house because otherwise they’d eat her they get in her way.

Well trained I would be fine

We were told they are professionally trained dogs, whatever that means.

Barking and whining (all day and night) guard dogs belonging to our drug-dealing neighbour was what drove us to seek medical help and move house as soon as we could. The house was re-sold three times in the next four years. Absolutely no way would I move into a house with guard dogs, especially if I had a small child. Why is the house on the market?

Basically, there’s a big estate with a huge (7 windows by 3 windows facade) mansion house and all the associated outbuildings. The estate is managed by a chap who’s been there for 20 years and he has done up the two barns as rental properties. The people in one barn have been there 5 years, in the other for 3. I don’t know why the folk who were there for 3 are moving.

I feel there’s a difference between the two guard dog situations, but am also aware I might be seeing only what I want too!

Have you asked the existing tenants about the dogs? I think if everything else was perfect, and the existing tenants say everything’s fine with the dogs, then go for it.

We were told they are professionally trained dogs, whatever that means.

they only bite who they are told to…

IMO look at the owners, not the dogs themselves. Dogs are only as good /bad as the owner.

To be honest I think its irrelevant whether they are good or bad dogs. The fact you are asking the question means you will always be worrying about. Personally I wouldn’t want to be worrying about my kids like that all the time.

they only bite who they are told to…

Because they always do that dont they 🙄

I wouldn’t want my children or family anywhere near. Dog lovers will tell you everything is fine and look for every positive however you should do your own risk assessment. They are potentially highly dangerous given what you have said and for me the risks are too high.

I wouldn’t want my children or family anywhere near. Dog lovers will tell you everything is fine and look for every positive however you should do your own risk assessment. They are potentially highly dangerous given what you have said and for me the risks are too high.

Tbh, much as I’d like to say it’d be fine, I would agree with surfer. You’d just be worrying about it all the time. It would hinge on a frank discussion with the existing tenants or the ones leaving. They’re a worry enough all by themselves without introducing another thing to be fretting about.

being in a steel barred cage within our court yard.

This would make me not go ahead with it.

I hate dogs and am scared of them. But Alxatians are not bad dogs unless police or army land sharks. Professionaly trained guard dogs on an ocupied estate so used to interacting with tennants etc , i would not have a problem but i would specifically ask the out going tennants about this issue and insist on my kids being introduced and having regular contact/ feeding the dogs . Personally i would also look into the excrement issue . i once did not rent a property not because of the guard dog itself but because it cleary took it’s daily dump rightoutside the patio doors.

Personally I would ask the outgoing tenants (face to face) why they are leaving, and mention your concerns over the dogs and your child. If you don’t get any alarm bells I wouldn’t worry about it.

Like others have said, if you are introduced and feed them you will become accepted, as you are supposed to be there. Also if the dogs are professionally trained the will be very expensive and an investment so the owner is going to look after them, so there aren’t likely to be wild rabid beasts that some people on here seem to assume all dogs are.

Most people would consider it an upside of living in the country to have guard dogs around, as it makes your house less of an easy target for opportunists.

I know my girlfriend was glad of our dog when this bloke was spotted hopping over a wall two doors down from our house http://walesandwest.com/convicted-murderer-on-the-run/ and she found 3 Policemen searching our garden and looking in the woods behind the house incase he had decided to hide somewhere, and she was told to lock the doors and stay near a phone incase he came back.

surfer – Member
they only bite who they are told to…
Because they always do that dont they

I wouldn’t want my children or family anywhere near. Dog lovers will tell you everything is fine and look for every positive however you should do your own risk assessment. They are potentially highly dangerous given what you have said and for me the risks are too high.

I am sorry your talking shit, if all dogs were that dangerous they would have been made extinct (by us) a long time ago. Just because you have an irrational fear, don’t assume your weakness is actually a fact.

an irrational fear

I’m not sure a fear of trained guard dogs is that “irrational”.

If it was “irrational”, dogs wouldn’t be trained to guard would they? The idea is that they prevent scoundrels and rogues from breaking in because they’re a bit scary. And if said scoundrels and rogues are too silly to take their chance (in other words, are being a bit “irrational”), then they might get their arses munched.

So all in all, being a bit scared of guard dogs is entirely rational.

I am sorry your talking shit, if all dogs were that dangerous they would have been made extinct (by us) a long time ago. Just because you have an irrational fear, don’t assume your weakness is actually a fact.

So in summary I think you appear to be talking S*** and I made no mention of my fear or not of dogs.
I stated that the OP needs to do his own risk assessment however when the stakes are so high I would err on the side of caution. What ever you choose to do with your own children is entirely up to you.

One of my neighbours has an ex-Police dog Alsatian as a pet / employee (he does Guard dog work). It’s a viscous f***er and goes for anyone and everyone. He spends his whole time pulling like hell on the lead to keep it under control. Barks all day long as well if he’s not around and when he is around he shouts endlessly to try and get it to behave. I suspect there is a training issue here, but it has put me right of Alsatians for life.

I’ve lived with big family dogs all my life and I’m not afraid of them. I’d be wary of a guard dog though, because it’s there to protect a territory and I wouldn’t want me or my child to blunder into the dog’s protected area.

if all dogs were that dangerous they would have been made extinct (by us) a long time ago

So there are no dangerous animals because we would have made them all extinct
Pretty convincing argument when you look at the evidence 😕

hey only bite who they are told to…

Because they always do that dont they

well, yeah, if they are professionally trained Alsatians.

Very, and I mean very occasionally a working Alsatian may have a nip at someone if wound up and in a stressful situation, like a riot. But asides from riots in a quiet country manor estate I would have no qualms about it.

I Know a couple of people who have worked with Alsatians all their lifes. Very, very predicable dogs, why do you think the police and army use them?

well, yeah, if they are professionally trained Alsatians.

Very, and I mean very occasionally a working Alsatian may have a nip at someone if wound up and in a stressful situation, like a riot. But asides from riots in a quiet country manor estate I would have no qualms about it.

I Know a couple of people who have worked with Alsatians all their lifes. Very, very predicable dogs, why do you think the police and army use them?

Ok I’ll bite (see what I did there)

Even professionally trained dogs are often indiscriminate when they attack. Their use is largely as a deterrent or for tracking given the relative lack of control even a trained handler has in a stresfull situation as they are simply unpredictable.
I’d like to see your source for “occasionally a working Alsation may have a nip” (love the use of “nip” instead of bite as well :D)

This one “nip”ped four people!

Nip

I was raised by a pack of wild dogs and my surrogate mother was an Alsatian.

She used to lie down next to me, snuggling into me, keeping me warm during the dark, cold, winter nights.

One night she approached me with a glint in her eye and a slight smile, THEN BIT MY FACE!!!!!

I’ve never got over it and have hated Alsatians since. Keep your kids away!

Police dogs will bite anyone who is not known to them. They are not predicatable at all, they are really dangerous. As soon as the warning goes over the radio that there is a furry torpedo loose, all the bobbys get in the car and lock the doors.

Alsatians have been continually bred as guard dogs in our recent history – more than any other breed .

Why is that ?

Do you feel lucky ? Do you ?

So there are no dangerous animals because we would have made them all extinct

I have to admit I am struggling to think of many/any domesticated animals that people have had in their homes for centuries for would be classified as *dangerous*.

As if they were, people would have killed them; that’s how *we* work.

Only thing I can really think of insofar as dangerous domesticated animals are cattle, and I’ve never heard of anyone not moving somewhere because they have seen some cows around, even though there have been ~500 people attacked by cows in the last eight years in the UK.

Alsatians have been continually bred as guard dogs in our recent history – more than any other breed .

Why is that ?

because they are easy to train, and there is a reasonably large genetic pool available to ensure that you can select healthy specimens?

Hilarious! You mean Police dogs are also trained to open car doors? Must ask my cycling copper neighbour about this!

So all in all, being a bit scared of guard dogs is entirely rational.

Fair enough, good point well made.

Ok I’ll bite (see what I did there)

Even professionally trained dogs are often indiscriminate when they attack. Their use is largely as a deterrent or for tracking given the relative lack of control even a trained handler has in a stresfull situation as they are simply unpredictable.

Bollocks, I know someone in Afghanistan who has worked with attack dogs (not guard dogs) and they are completely discriminate in who they attack.

If they weren’t they would be completely useless, as dogs aren’t fire and forget weapons as they come back! If a weapon is as likely to maul the dog handler as the *targets* they would never be used, as what would be the point in putting all the effort into training them.

Same with Police dogs, if they were that wild and uncontrollable there would be thousands of stories about them biting people rather than the handful you can find, as they are used every day.

Get a grip.

Great thread!
How can anyone on here possibly make a judgement from the 100+ words you’ve typed without investigating the situation in full??

Oh yeah, cos all dogs are safe/unpredictable dependent on breed!
Mental.

Ooh, look all Alsatians are HEROES!

Thanks all. We’ve decided not to go for it.

This isn’t just based on the dog situation. Unmentioned in my original post, the property lacks a secure outside space for playing in, meaning I couldn’t just shunt little one into the garden to play for half an hour while I cooked dinner.

Also, the agent phoned us to say that the owner of the estate had called her to say he was ‘concerned’ about the situation and wanted us to understand that these were working dogs that he had for a very specific purpose – to protect him and his house. Even without the above, I think we would have erred towards no – I’m a worrier (FunkyDunc’s words rang true to me!) and however low the risk posed by the dogs, any event would likely be ‘high impact’.

One day we’ll hopefully have a dog of our own (I’d like an alsatian, but Mrs Markie would like a border terrier!) and that will be ace.

Cheers all.

How can anyone on here possibly make a judgement from the 100+ words you’ve typed without investigating the situation in full??

I didn’t ask for others to make the call for me. I was keen to hear what other people’s thoughts were on living near guard dogs. Of course they don’t have full access to the facts – but then neither do I – I know only what I’ve been told by the groundskeeper about the dogs and have no experience on which to judge his words. It was very helpful to be able to see what others thought of the situation – and even in fact to see that there were a range of views!

Also, the agent phoned us to say that the owner of the estate had called her to say he was ‘concerned’ about the situation and wanted us to understand that these were working dogs that he had for a very specific purpose – to protect him and his house

From that bit alone, sounds like you made the right decision.

Skip to 1:27 for the action
Could have been a child’s face!
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHLnjiISsOo[/video]
AFAIK Police Alsatians when let off the leash to attack will do so indiscriminately so other bobbies keep well out of the way as said earlier.
Also probably more relevant
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-21380963
Police dogs are probably the best trained but can still go bad.

Get a grip.

Wow you must really like dogs

If a weapon is as likely to maul the dog handler as the *targets* they would never be used, as what would be the point in putting all the effort into training them

Who said this?

Or this?

Same with Police dogs, if they were that wild and uncontrollable there would be thousands of stories about them biting people rather than the handful you can find, as they are used every day.

They are used in certain situations where they add value. That seems to have passed you by.

Bollocks, I know someone in Afghanistan who has worked with attack dogs (not guard dogs) and they are completely discriminate in who they attack.

Maybe they are special ones 🙄

Markie,
I think you made the right decision there.
I hope you find a nice place and get a lovely dog one day.
Awwwww,don’t you just love a happy ending

Markie,
I think you made the right decision there.

Agreed!

Maybe they are special ones

I suspect you are a bit ‘special’ tbh.

I think you need more “special” people in your life, just to give some balance and stuff 😀

Hilarious! You mean Police dogs are also trained to open car doors? Must ask my cycling copper neighbour about this!

No, don’t do that! You’ll look a right plonker, it was a joke. Police dogs can’t operate car doors.

Police dogs can’t operate car doors.

I beg to differ

Markie, I don’t suppose this place is near York is it ?

It sounds exactly the same as a place I used to live (until 3 years ago addly enough)

Pwned 😳