Was I rude?

[AjasLipstick]

We have a large dog and live in Australia. Our dog doesn't really bark at all unless he feels threatened. The only times he has had a little barking fit was once when some young lads came down our drive and my youngest DD was playing there (She's 10) and once when a man came to read the electric metre and tried to climb over our gate.

Anyway...this evening I could hear him barking loudly and it was a warning sort of a bark.

So I opened the front door as I could hear that the dog was at the gate which looks out to the front.

It was fully dark so I saw nothing but heard a male voice imitating his bark.

The man sounded like he was on the other side of the road...the dog would bark three times and then the man would imitate him.

I listened and this happened three or four times then the man said SHUSH and laughed.

So I called out "You shush! He's only barking because you keep replying...stop it and he will"

There was instant silence but now I am worried if I was rude...what if it was a neighbour and now they think I am awful?

The dog was quiet from as soon as I told the man to stop it.

Op you should keep a massive flood lamp torch by the door so you can beam it at dog harassers and put them right on the spot

Definitely not rude - HE was though! Worratit.

Your clever, clever dog was doing his job of guarding his territory and warning you of intruders. That is what dogs do. He did not attack, he was just your excellent early warning system. Glad you rewarded him.
Give him a good ear-rub from all of his MN fans, please, OP.

Maremma sheepdogs

Currently we have our front door open and the porch window open too.
So pooch, who is spread out asleep but has mega hearing will, every so often leap up run to the porch and bark at the window. Usually when a cat gets on the wall. So now instead of saying “shsssh Rox” I am going to say” She’s aunly baaahkin cos she doyn like yas”. I am gonna keep practising till I perfect it,

Bat yes

Rocky definitely!

My husband goes outside and tells the kids to clear off when we realised they were deliberately winding her up, running up to the window getting her to bark.

Rox

Aw So interested in something out there!

Whoever it was, them making a barking noise teased your dog and made him bark all the more. I expect it was someone who'd had a couple of drinks and thought he was being funny. Sod him, he was lucky you didn't tell him to "Shut the fuck up, you muppet". I would have done haha

The dog must have barked first though, for the man to imitate it. But you weren't rude.

Of course the dog barked, there was a random man hanging around their gate as OP already explained. He was a good boy to bark.