Friendly "Guard" Dogs

SeonHee and BokDol

I was inside the house when I saw a neighbhorhood walker come up to the backyard gate.  She started to sweet-talk SeonHee who was loose in the yard.  SeonHee, who is normally an overtly friendly dog when I'm around to okay it, was having none of that and started to vigorously bark at the person from only a few feet away.  When the lady made attempts to offer a hand, SeonHee would dart and circle back, all the while barking her head off.

A few hours later, BokDol was loose in the backyard by himself.   The neighbor is having some workers clear the dead avocado grove behind my property and they had to stop to unlatch a barrier which was near my backyard gate.  BokDol gave a few of his tough enraged-dog barks and followed the guy and then the truck as they moved parallel to my back fence.  BokDol is normally the softest, shyest dog around.  He even likes the neighborhood walker that had set off SeonHee earlier.

Are either dogs good guard dogs?

Right now, I would not consider SeonHee a good guard dog but a good watch dog.  She has good suspicion and refuses to be bribed, but she lacks confidence to hold her ground when the intruder  approaches and escalates the encounter.  That may change with increased age and experience, but for now, she's at the watch dog level.

With BokDol, he is a Poongsan and they are not people-guard dogs.  They are animal-guard dogs.  BokDol can't maintain the strong suspicion towards people and can be befriended by a complete stranger over time.

Surprisingly to me, BokDol held his ground in the case of today's workers.  He is normally a very shy and soft dog.  My best guess is that he has the experience of knowing that people can't reach beyond the fence that gives him that confidence.  I wouldn't rely on him keeping his ground if someone were to jump the fence and enter the yard though.  At best, he may try a bite from behind the person.  

Based on my old male "Jindo", HwangJae, my expectation of a good guard dog is one that is suspicous of unusual activity, can't be bribed, and is willing to "take it to the intruder."  This is the same HwangJae that was the first Jindo to earn both the American Temperament Testing Society certificate and the American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen certificate.  He was also a Pet Expo dog with a rock solid temperament.