[T Minus Four]

We used to have a Lassie-style collie who never met a stranger, unless he thought my daughter or I was being physically threatened. We used to mess with his head by staging "fights" with each other, complete with shoving, yelling and wrestling. He would completely lose his mind! Not being able to bite either one of us, he'd run in circles, bark frantically, and then run over and bite the couch!

[Skooz]

My wife and I were washing the dishes one evening when my boxer was about a year old. My wife began to playfully hit me with a dishrag at some bad joke I made. Django (the boxer) got very upset, so I milked it a little and pretended to run away from the kitchen into a hallway. My wife pursued me, and Django jumped in between us, looking at my wife and yelping. He didn't threaten her in any way--he wasn't aggressive to her at all--but he would not let her pass. If she tried to get around one way, he would block her path; if she tried to get around the other way, he would move to block her on that side.

He stayed between us until he felt the crisis was over. I walked into a room from the hallway and Django just stood there until I called him in and gave him a big pat on the head. He truly thought he was protecting me.

[Phantom Lord]

My wife and I will do similar things. The female boxer just watches, but the male gets pissed and things something is actually happening. Though knowning his power and that he can't bite us he will put a ball in his mouth to bit down on and try to break us up with his weight.