Are dogs effective home invasion deterrents?

[retired]

Originally Posted by maggie06

It's left pawed

The fact it was in a cross draw position implied that. I was referencing the fact that I believe a cross draw position is not as safe or effective as strong side draw. I never had mine holstered in position during my le career and never met a fellow deputy that did. Just my opinion.

Plus, it makes her look heavy.

[FanTactical]

Originally Posted by ElvenSoul

There was a news story a couple years ago of some Chihuahuas that cornered a Mountain Lion in a garage. Don't underestimate the little yappers.

Funny. I recall living in FL as a kid. Occasionally, I saw a guy that drove around town in a flat bed truck. He would park it to go in the store with the windows down and the keys in the ignition (not to mention the shotgun in the gun rack). He might be gone for 10-15 minutes, but no one went within 20 feet of that truck.

Laying on the bed of the truck right by the cab was a full grown panther with a thick leather collar and a massive chain. Nice puddy tat.

[Endless]

Originally Posted by Blue Ridge Reef

I sleep way more soundly (and know my guns are protected when I'm not home) because of my two dogs. Could an intruder just shoot a dog? Sure. But then they have made even more noise and alerted every neighbor within earshot. Dogs make your home a far more difficult target.

I agree with you. Most crooks are low on money or broke, thus robbing for money or material items to trade for drugs, but if you have the professional robber then a dog can be taken out with little to no noise and some trained individuals can kill a dog in seconds. There are 2 spots on a dog that are instant kill/disabling points regardless of how big they are.

I have a dog that would probably warn me by sound but could not stand up to a pro. Your drug addict thug maybe.

[Rugersworld]

Originally Posted by fawndog

Yes

GREAT pic

[Quickdraw559]

Training, training, training, training.

A 15lb noise maker is a hell of a lot more useful than a 75lb "lover-not-a-fighter." Also, poison is a fairly quick and quiet way of dispatching your protector. If you have something of value and a group of thugs really wants it, they won't hesitate to just kill him. Teach your dogs not to take food from strangers, ESPECIALLY from your alley or the side of the house.

My cousin in Fresno just had a neighbor who lost his Chevelle, his gun safe, and everything of value within his office. A week or so before the robbery, he'd been noticing his dogs were out on the streets EARLY in the morning almost every day. Well, after this happens for about a week, his house is broken into. This time, the dogs didn't finish all of the RIB BONES the burglars brought with them.

Basically, they ended up finding pieces of rib bones all over the front yard, obviously not fresh, and they've come to the conclusion that the intruders had been hand feeding the dogs nearly every morning. When they showed up for the dirty deed, the dogs were happy to see them, thus no barking ensued.

Training, training, training, training.

[Firemark]

I have 3 Labradors with a 5 year age spread amongst them, While very friendly and good natured, they very easily picked up on training for alerting and challenging new comers (to the house). They will never be attack capable due to their breed good nature, however they are amazing alert dogs. Having 3 of them lends some beneficial bonuses to protection.

Being a small pack, the Alpha always goes towards the possible threat, the submissive Omega always hangs back. The middle Beta dog, always trying to move up in rank, seeks out a different route to get to the threat, so someone at the front door, cues the Beta to check the fence and back door for a better way to out perform the Alpha.
While not prone to actual biting or attacking they will get in the way of any intruder providing more time for me or family to prepare for defense.

IF one dog is good for home defense, in my instance 3 is much better, not to mention they deal with being left alone better than a single solitary dog would.

Downside, x3 the cleaning, food bill and vet costs.

[vflores915]

Any dog can be your first alarm, not only can they hear better than you, but they can also sense when someone is approaching.
You can get the biggest baddest looking dog, but without training he is just there for looks. It is proven that a dog with no training won't defend you.
I have a 6 year old pit bull that is fully trained in defensive training. Since I deploy, and train often where I leave the house for days or weeks at a time. So the wife needed some protection. We started his training at age 4, and before he wouldn't do what you would expect from a guard dog. Now he is on point!

[vflores915]

My wife can command him to stand guard, show aggression, and at her will snap out of it. He can head on a dead sprint towards a target and if she calls him back in the middle of it, he will stop the attack! Can't do that with a bullet...butwe have his back with our Mossberg and Glock!
If you are in San Diego county check out Spot-on-K9, great training!

[vflores915]

Downside, x3 the cleaning, food bill and vet costs.[/QUOTE]

If you get the dog licensed as a Service animal, ALLof those costs are tax deductible at the end of the year!

[350skylark]

i for sure think they are, that being said, i think an untrained dog is pretty much good for alerting and barking not actually fighting them away, some dogs are naturally more protective then others though, i remember seeing a video where they had untrained dogs walking with there owners kid and then someone come up and take the kid or get aggressive towards the kid they didnt do anything and just shuddered away (i also think they were trying to promote their dog training program a little bit). I can see my dog barking and getting up in the persons face but not actually attacking and taking him down

[vflores915]

Originally Posted by 350skylark

i for sure think they are, that being said, i think an untrained dog is pretty much good for alerting and barking not actually fighting them away, some dogs are naturally more protective then others though, i remember seeing a video where they had untrained dogs walking with there owners kid and then someone come up and take the kid or get aggressive towards the kid they didnt do anything and just shuddered away (i also think they were trying to promote their dog training program a little bit). I can see my dog barking and getting up in the persons face but not actually attacking and taking him down

Yes! I have seen the same video! It makes a great point!
That's what I was talking about on my reply!

[Sheepdog1968]

A good friend of mine has two Rotweilers. Have been very good and sweet dogs to friends and family. They are all business if they hear a strange sound. It's actually a bit unnerving to see them in defense mode. I have absolutely no doubt that those does will aggressively defend the family and are willing to die to do so. That's the only breed I can speak of from practical experience. It's the breed I want when they are no longer rug rats in the house.

[njineermike]

Originally Posted by Sheepdog1968

A good friend of mine has two Rotweilers. Have been very good and sweet dogs to friends and family. They are all business if they hear a strange sound. It's actually a bit unnerving to see them in defense mode. I have absolutely no doubt that those does will aggressively defend the family and are willing to die to do so. That's the only breed I can speak of from practical experience. It's the breed I want when they are no longer rug rats in the house.

I raised several generations of Rotts. Fearless, intelligent, and VERY protective. Add in the fact that the good German stock can be rather large and imposing, and you have quite the security system. The biggest one I had topped out at 160 lbs, and played with bald tires we cut the steel belts out of as chew toys. We would take him in our delivery trucks when we went to crappy neighborhoods to work. We were never robbed, but watching people try was hysterical. Nothing like getting to watch a would-be criminal find out the hard way he just stuck his arm in the open window and the dog inside was almost bigger than he was, and had a head as big as a 5 gallon bucket. One guy in Compton walked up while we were in the gas station paying, stuck his arm in to steal something, then ran into traffic backwards when that head came out the window and he was barking.

I watched on of our smaller ones (if you can consider 100 lbs "small") allow someone to come into the yard (hopped the back fence one night) and wait until he got all the way in before he attacked. We heard a noise, and saw the guy hop the fence and wondered why the dog just backed up out of sight into the shadows. Turns out the dog wasn't about to let a perfectly good chase get spoiled by being too anxious, but he also enjoyed killing squirrels for fun, so evidently an ambush hunt seemed like a good idea to him.

A note: If you're going to get Rotts, take someone who KNOWS Rotts along to examine the pups. Just because the AKC says it's a good dog does NOT mean it's actually a good dog. I've seen some inferior dogs with poorly shaped heads, small in size, the wrong temperment, and bad coloring due to poor breeding being passed off as "AKC", that I would have spayed/neutered and given away for free with no paperwork, or put down to avoid diluting the breed itself. Rotts go back to the Roman occupation of Germany. The selection and care in maintaining that breed for almost 1000 years is one I have great respect for.

[vflores915]

Originally Posted by xodus31

My home security:

I have been looking for a harness like the one on your dog! Can you help me out and tell me where you got yours please...

[k9enroute]

yes they do! Generally joe**** the wrag man would rather be shot than bit by a dog. 4 nights ago my partner deterred a home break in around 4 am while my wife and I were asleep.