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El Rey Del Castillion sounds like an awesome dog! I swear that Samson understands plain English, as in "Go eat first and then you can come inside..." And sure enough, back to the food bowl he goes...and then he comes to the door...

VM177 - Hamlet is a great looking dog!

VMI77 wrote:Mine is at least 10 (got him from the pound, so not sure exactly how old he is) --still in good shape, but starting to show signs of old age when getting up and laying down.

Our dogs could almost be brothers, every time I see your avatar I think of Samson, see the resemblance?

Keith B wrote:[And, I am not sure they would have taken him. He was a trained guard dog and very territorial. He was very friendly to anyone you let in, but he would NOT let anyone in the house. When my sister moved out into her own place I borrowed one of the dog jackets from the pound one night after riding patrol. I called her and told her to unlock the door when she heard me and saw me pull up in front of the house. I put the jacket over top of my head and barged in the door only to make it about halfway in before he had me on the floor and pinned down. Luckily he recognized my voice and backed off when I gave him his command for down.

Over time, he did a pretty good job of keeping away door-to-door sales people away. When the doorbell rang and they heard the amazingly deep and loud WOOOFFFF, they would move on before you could ever get to the door.

Yeah, Danes are amazing animals. I do not worry about my wife being home alone when I have to travel, the bark and sheer size keep most folks very far away. I wrestled with him when he was younger, he got up on his hind legs (now we are looking eye to eye) and started boxing...seriously...he got me with a left hook...it was impressive...I am not making this up, it was crazy...he is very territorial and protective but when he's away from home turf is when he turns into "mr. social"...funny story - he tend to make friends with small dogs (Jack Russells, Chihuahuas, etc.). They tend to gravitate towards him, next door neighbor has two Chihuahuas, he is very protective of them. An across the street neighbor's dog (Golden Retriever) gets loose and comes over to say hi to all the dogs...my Dane is friendly but then the Golden starts snapping/barking at the Chihuahuas...one of the little dogs is so scared that it wets itself...Samson goes after the Golden with a big old bark, pulls the neighbor gal to the ground (she's holding his leash, like a scene out of the cartoon Marmaduke). Samson only has to go five feet but he made a lasting impression on the Golden...it took off RUNNING away as fast as it could down the street and out of sight! The Golden's owner had to get in the car to go get it...I guess the Golden learned a lesson, don't pick on a little dog, it might have a big buddy that will look after it! I swear that Samson has a conscience. Anyway, sorry for the long-winded posting...but he's such a great dog, and he's 8 years old...so I know that the clock is ticking faster...

A total stranger could take my dog, a 178-lb Great Dane...he's sweet and gentle...but I have a feeling that they would bring him back after feeding / cleaning up his mess after just a few days...