Joe: I’ve read this whole thread, which I find to be one of the most disturbing threads on dogs that I have ever read.
I remember years ago when my husband had to move to another state for a job, and I had to stay behind to sell the house. We lived far out in the country in the deep woods. We had just finished installing garage doors and touching up paint before he boarded the plane. We did not shut the windows all the way so that the new paint wouldn’t stick.
That night, my Golden Retriever kept waking me up by barking. I was so irritated that I told her to lie down and be quiet. The next morning I found that thieves had pried the newly painted windows open in my garage and stole all of my husband’s tools, plus several cans of gas. I should have listened to the dog! (Although getting the sheriff out there in the middle of the night would have been impossible.)