my dog

Question
Some how my dog barks when i turn on an electrical appliance such as my R/C car, he jumps around and barks at it. Additionally he actually gets into fights with other dogs because he sat down next to me growling to another dog as if to say get away. So how is this possible that my dog barks and defends?

Answer
While Siberians are well known for lacking a territorial or protective instinct, they are still dogs and will act in certain ways.  One of these is to protect their "possessions" and react to strange stimuli.  A full pure-bred Siberian will usually be incapable of a true "bark" vocalization, but can produce sharp yips that can often be deep enough for most people to consider them a bark.  It's mainly an issue of definitions, but the difference is minimal.  While we say Sibes can't bark, they can make similar sounds, but often times the voice you hear when a Sibe "barks" is nothing like you would expect from a dog of that size and stature.  In any case, they don't have the same vocal ranges that most dogs do.

The growling when other dogs approach can be a myriad of signals, including play, defense, aggression, etc.  It would be difficult to say what is is, especially knowing that many Siberians growl when being petted as a sign of affection.  (Think a cat's purr).  So often times signals are mis-interpreted in these cases.  Additionally, a dog that has had previous experiences or conditioning will react differently than a dog who has not been exposed to certain events.  Siberians are still canines and are conditioned-response animals (Pavlov).  Therefore, a runt of the litter who was picked on as a puppy or a dog that has been in a scuffle or two with other, more aggressive dogs, might feel that being aggressive himself is safer to his own preservation and well-being.