but i'm the only one who knows that.

shit the pit bull would hold the door open.

He thinks he's half human and half small-lap dog. He loves when the kids come in, but doesn't realize that his big, wiggly, happy self can knock them down so easily. So, when kids first come in we have calm him down a bit and once he's calmed and sitting, everyone can come over an pet him up.

But anytime he hears some car he doesn't recognize or anyone gets too close to the house, he barks like crazy. No one would even bother to try to break in with him going nutty like that. It makes it seem very unsafe to enter. My husband says its better protection than any security system or weapon; I agree, but the downfall to having a pet is that it makes it awful tough to "get away" for any length of time without paying someone to come to let him out or boarding him (which is horrible for him- he can't stand that- he doesn't understand why his humans have "jailed" him).

Anyway, I'm not wealthy, my home is small, electronic's re-sale is very minimum at a pawn shop.. and if someone really thinks they must get in to steal something, then I hope it is because they really needed my minimum amount of items to help themselves out. A real burglar who is into gathering valuables is going to have some skills and hit a wealthy person's home for their art collection, rare vintage wines, or jewelry (which most wealthy keep in a safe off of their property if its worth a lot, more likely they will have costume jewelry or smaller valuables at the home - they keep the good stuff insured and locked away - so someone with real skills would have to breach a home and/ or safe for any of the "good" stuff).

If you want a pet, be sure that you have the time and the means to properly take care of them (their food expenses, vet check ups, and general care will cost more because of their size), and make sure you properly train them. The "big-bad" dogs can be trained to be the sweetest animals and good around people and other dogs, but if they aren't properly trained and nurtured and loved, they can turn into killing monsters. At one point, I thought I might have to find a different home for my boxer/ rottie mix because he came "first", but second to my other dog (which was more like a "mother figure for him&quot and he came at 5 wks (which is a bit early). He was so small and tiny, I used to let all the dogs sleep up on the bed with me, by the time my husband made it home from 2nd shift, there was normally very little room for him to find a spot in the bed with us. But he was extremely jealous of my son as a baby, and he would purposely try to jump at him when I was holding him. We had to barricade the dog from the child. Once the baby started walking and petting him, he went into "protective" mode of my son and now, they are boy and dog. He's now about 11 yrs old, it will kill my son when that dog passes away (the other dog we had to put to sleep already and he still cries about missing her from when he was 3).

But choose to ultimately rely on good aim, training and the ability to determine real threats. The dogs just help augment the home alarm system.

The (totally indoor) cat and dog were both sitting outside on the front steps--looking rather lost and forlorn...

But, in all seriousness, dogs (and most of mine have been big dogs) ARE great deterrents. My life has changed for the worse since losing my last beloved furry girl, whose presence in my car gave me the freedom to go out without concern--even late at night. NO ONE (and I mean NO ONE) would dare approach the car with her in there, though she would immediately settle down and revert to tail-wagging "normal" if I gave the word. Gawd how I miss her. sigh...

And while most people would be put off to enter the house we have found not everyone.

Our dogs would never bite anyone but might drown them with drool.

After moving here I had a package delivered by UPS. Now we live on a farm in a very rural area so the doors were not locked.

We came home to find my package in the kitchen sitting on the table.

If I don't get to the door fast enough he will Open the door and bring the package in.
He wants to play with the dogs and they love him. Our male is 165 pounds and the others are around 135 to 145 pounds.

have two gig rottweilers. They are the poochiest dogs you could imagine..slobber, slobber.. but NOBODY is ever going to break into their home. :&gt )

Has a gaggle of geese. No one can come close to the house without them raising a stink. The lay eggs too.

1. Lock your doors. Sounds simple, but you'd be amazed at how many people don't do it. In my suburb, people leave their garage doors open because "they're only going to the supermarket." The problem is that they don't lock the interior door to the house, so in addition to having everything in your garage being "open season" for a burglar, they can now get inside.

2. Secure windows. A 3/4" dowel in the track does the trick.

3. Buy window shades. Keeping full visibility into your house is like offering thieves a showroom window. My neighbor has no blinds in his house -- fortunately for him, he owns nothing that any sane person would want to steal. Fortunately for me, he doesn't walk around naked.

4. Install exterior lighting. Burglars love shadows, so don't provide any.

5. Maintain low shrubs and bushes around your home. They provide cover for the bad guys.

6. Install sturdy deadbolts. They're not alike, and most aren't very good. Consumer Reports tested a variety of deadbolts and ONLY ONE really held up well to both prying and drilling.

7. Make a plan. If you hear someone entering your house, make sure you have a safe place and/or a safe exit route. And for God's sake, make sure you have a phone nearby (landline or cell).

But seriously, get a dog. When they're not protecting you, they play fetch. See if you can get a gun to do that!

or multiagency task force doesn't serve a no-knock felony warrant - they'll put those dogs down quicker than shit.

I love dogs, but it is delusional to think that a couple of large dogs will prevent a sufficiently skilled and motivated person from breaking in, if you have a high value collection or if someone wants you dead, the dogs won't stop them.

What the dogs will stop is the "casual" burglar, the one just looking for money and doesn't want a confrontation.

shot a puppy because it ran toward him.

i think it was 019 district.

cops get trigger happy around dogs.

They may climb all over you when they're feeling playful or thay may lick the bejeebers out of you & your family! You may also be swat by some wagging tails.

From all of my years as a dog owner (we have 2 cats now), that was a danger that I was willing to take!

PEACE!

and protective. I recommend this breed and the American Bullmastiff Society maintains an adoption service for orphaned bullmastiffs.

Which is something so remarkably common sense I'm surprised I didn't think about it before.

I never thought of that, either.

I joined the neighborhood association. A cop came to speak to our group about safety and security. His advice was to make your home one that burglars would skip. The tip I remember most was get a big dog, or if you can't get one, buy a big dog bowl, scratch it up, and keep it on your porch. Maybe add a torn up dog toy, a pair of large men's boots (some of us were single women living alone), and add lights on timers. I loved this idea!

if someone even walks past our house on the street.

I find that somewhat reassuring.