by Allison Levy

Created on: April 23, 2009

I will have to give credit to my 10.5 year old beagle. He has been the ultimate in watch dog. Teddy can hear the slightest noise (even now in his old age), and immediately barks if it is unfamiliar or coming from someone he doesn't know. He doesn't bark at us or our friends (so I hope that our friends do not break in), but he barks when he hears someone knocking, or pounding, or trying to break open a window or such.

And even though he is a dog, and in his 10.5 years on earth, he has NEVER bitten anyone (not even our "then" 3 year old who would constantly pull his tail and play 3 year old games with him).
He has a loud and authoritative bark that will scare you off (you would never know he was just a beagle). You would run.

We have moved a lot and Teddy has adjusted to the surrounding sounds and environment very well, so he does not constantly bark at all noises foreign. He barks when he feels a threat. He will even bark if my husband and I play to rough with each other. For those who think animals do not have feelings, you have not met Teddy. He protects us with his barking and with his pacing. If something is not right, or he feels danger, he will start pacing until we address the situation.

When Teddy becomes comfortable with his surroundings, he will eventually laze around most of the day, but boy when an unfamiliar noise is heard, he jumps up and goes to it, wherever it may be (inside or out).

We have never had an alarm system, and with our beagle, we will not get one anytime soon. And this is the advice coming from someone who has lived in Washington D.C. for several years with no incidence.

And not only does he keep us safe, but he also tells us when someone is knocking at the door (that we haven't heard).
In D.C., the house was laid out in such a way, that a knock at the front door could not be heard from the back of the house, or even upstairs. We eventually bought a doorbell, but not sure why, as Teddy would always let us know when someone was there. I guess we bought the doorbell for those times that Teddy went away with other family members for the day.

As you can tell, we love our beagle, our companion, our security guard, and find no need to replace him with an alarm system. With an alarm system, you have to install wires, or components, or such. With our dog, we just have to feed him and take him for walks, and he will protect us.

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