A Deterrent To Home Invasions

[Jayhawk]

Doug - I seem to recall you have allergy issues, but I agree with many posters that a good dog is one of the best burglary defenses. This link has a list of dog breeds that a vet recommended for folks with allegries:

http://www.petplace.com/dogs/top-dog-br ... page1.aspx

Our two dogs (one of which is a wheaten mix - he doesn't shed, ever, but does have to go to a groomer) create a sound so wild you'd think there were 3 to 4 dogs when they hear something outside...my wife sleeps soundly when I'm out of town.

Now...why are her police buddies recommending a handgun because of home invasions? Are they common in your neighborhood/city/area? Burglaries can and do happen (remember when they were just "break ins" and not the fear inducing, media created "home invasion"?), but if you've made it this long without a gun is there really any reason to think you'll need one now? We'd all be better off with a nice M-16 or M-1 Abrams in case of military invasion, better off wearing bike helmets 24/7 because you're much more likely to hit your head falling down stairs or when driving your car than elsewhere, and on and on.

Eric

[ElPollo]

Also remember this:

What you fear is what you create.

If you get a gun, you will be more likely to end in a situation where you will want to use it.

Let's say you hear a sound in the house, you pick up the gun for safety, notice a shadow moving and pointing something at you....

[Doug_Tipple]

Our two dogs (one of which is a wheaten mix - he doesn't shed, ever, but does have to go to a groomer) create a sound so wild you'd think there were 3 to 4 dogs when they hear something outside...my wife sleeps soundly when I'm out of town. Eric

I agree that a dog would be a good deterrent, however, my wife is a serious cat person with cat photos (no cat, though) all over the house. Several years ago I did live with a Wheaten Terrier for over a year. I should have paid closer attention to the comments at the Humane Society where we got Murphy. Shall we say that Murphy had a problem with her nerves and liked to find the most expensive rug in the house to relieve herself. Yes, I remember, she did bark at every sound. However, I didn't like $75 bills for the periodic clipping that was required, and I also didn't especially like carrying a little plastic bag of dog poob with me on our frequent walks in the neighborhood. I can see why people like dogs, though.

Thanks, everyone, for telling me that I am an idiot to even think that a fake gun might possibly be a deterrent. Probably the most original suggestion that I have received came via a personal message from a chiffer who recommended that I leave two-foot-long pieces of pvc pipe laying all over my house at appropriate places to use as a club. All joking aside, thanks for all of the helpful suggestions. I have never had a gun in my house, and I don't think that our present security situation warrants getting one.

[hyldemoer]

We backed our outside motion detector lights with a professional security system inside.
We also replaced all our basement windows with glass bricks, planted unfriendly plants under some windows, have various lights around the house turned on and off by timers, and never leave the house without leaving the TV turned on in the livingroom.

My neighbors bought a dog to protect their house.

I'm afraid that if I got a gun their high pitched barking and yelping all day dog would be dead and I'd be in jail.

[Dale]

Our house was broken into awhile back and the police recommended a big backyard dog.

To avoid a home invasion, I'd opt for a dog, outstanding locks, a security system, and the good sense that I know you already have to be very cautious about answering the door.

[Cork]

Probably the best home alarm system I've ever seen was where a friend of mine had about eight Beagles, not just one Beagle but about eight of them, his own dog pack. A knock on his door would set them all off at once, and what a racket they could make!

Also, they are relatively small dogs, so, in terms of feeding them, several of them likely eat little more than one big dog. Beagles don't seem to have the same reputation as some other, big, toothy dogs, so the insurance company likely wouldn't raise an eyebrow, and if a situation could develop where a criminal could file a law suit against you, a pack of little Beagles would instantly put the jury on your side, no doubt!

[hyldemoer]

Probably the best home alarm system I've ever seen was where a friend of mine had about eight Beagles, not just one Beagle but about eight of them, his own dog pack. A knock on his door would set them all off at once, and what a racket they could make!

Yeah
but Cork, I'm thinking with eight dogs left alone in a house while the master is gone what would there be left intact and worth stealing?

[Mitch]

All forms of physical defence are also apt to attack.

Dogs are carnivores - the relationship is one of convenience.

Guns? As was previously mentioned - to own a gun is to entertain the thought of using it - it will attract trouble.

If you are unfortunate enough to be at home when it is "invaded". you have 2 options - kill the interloper and have somewhere to dispose of the body - no questions asked, 2 have somewhere to hide where you can get to it half-asleep, somewhere you will not be found.

Home invasions muck people up - it can take years to get over the sense of violation. Don't be a target.

There's a deeper infuence to deal with - why are home invasions on the rise on your part of the planet? Is there suddenly a need for some people to predate on their fellows for survival? Has a school of thieves opened-up in the district? Or has some genetic foible just turned a lot of trailer-trash ornery?

People generally predate on their fellows through some real or percieved threat to their survival. There are some remedies for that.

1. First and foremost is education. Ensure that your district provides affordable and adequate secular education for all citizens - I say secular because most religeous and exclusive "education" organisations are quickly infiltrated by those who harbour hate and resentment - secular education is the underpin of civillised humanity as we know it (if you are a hater, you can be identified by the gun or pit-bull you own). Education provide the means to transcend hardship and hatred. It's your country - divide it or unite it as you see fit.

2. Invest in social psychiatric services - available to all. There's an expensive number. Some of the broken can not be fixed, some can (if you get to them in time). Guns and hate break people every day - for these poor souls, all they have waiting for them is our judgment and condemnation. "But for the grace of god - there goes I". When you get pushed to the wall (and beyond) - what do you do? Do you buy a gun and go a-robbing? Do you bash your subordinates? Kick a dog (or a jew, black, Islamist, trailer-trash ...)? Which of you here can say you are safe from the test? Is your own personal monster suitably in chains? Or just waiting for its opportunity? If you fall - who will pick you up?

Here's the key to all that stuff:

"The occupants of hell have free licence to torture each other.
The occupants of heaven are free to bless each other."

Heaven and hell are not after you die - it's too late then. You can have heaven or you can have hell - now. Or you can drift at the tides - free-game for the awake people (good and bad).

I'm no Christian, but a good thing got said: "Thy will be done on earth". Heaven is here and only here - your choices make it so.

And in heaven, no one breaks into your house.

3. For the genetically damaged and sociopathic, we keep the police - these are trained psychopaths that are happy to co-exist in the niche we provide them. They are akin to dogs. Keep them on a short leash (they associate with lawyers).

4. Don't be a rich person. Being rich demonstrates that you have siphoned the value from others - will you be thanked for that? Will poor policemen thank you also? Ostentatious displays of wealth lead to resentment - remember - for every rich sucker driving a gas-guzling hummer there are 100 poor sods who work every hour they have and still can't feed their children every night of the week. If you have wealth - be seen to be helping your community, or hide it - dress in rags. A hundred righteous souls might find good reason to invade your home.

Frankly, Doug, I think your police are demonstrating the very principle that is giving rise to the crime-statistic. Their answer to the crime rise is to make the citizens do their job for them ("hey dude - buy a gun! We can't help you! And don't forget to donate to the policeman's ball this year!") - they are defeated and too pride-bound to scream for help. Perhaps the criminal element has sensed that and are "making hay". Time for better (not more) police? Perhaps better trained police? Talk to your congressman - get an inquiry. Maybe the police are backing the crime? It wouldn't be the first time. Perhaps your congressman thinks it's OK to piss your taxes up against the tyre on his Hummer? "Hell, no-one TOLD me we had a problem! (Pass more caviar garstone!)".

Buy a man-killer? Only if you believe that the world is over-populated and a cull should be called? Adolf thought so.

Unfortunately, Gaia owns the cull and is not kind to pretenders. (If you are unlucky, you might find yourself as an agent for Gaia - better to use the gun on yourself. Respect your armed forces, they are sacrificed lambs).

When I was rich - I had robbers and despoilers, now I am poor - I serve my people and life is mine.

[missy]

Mitch -

I can't answer for Doug, but he's not too far away from me, and I can tell you the "typical" person who commits break-ins here.

Usually it's teens. As I stated, it's usually empty houses, during the day, when the occupants are at work and school. Most of the time the thief is in the house less than 90 seconds. They take electronics or other quickly grabbed things that are easy to fence off.
Most of the time when caught, these are kids that have dropped out of school (it's still legal to do so here at age 16).
Most of them are "working" for someone who fences the stolen property and they either get small payments (less than $20) or drugs for the property.
They will concentrate on one neighborhood until the police presence is too high, or they "saturated" it, then move to another.
They usually do NOT have weapons on them.
They usually will not hit a house with a dog - not because of being bitten, but because of the noise.

Another biggy that has started happening here is stealing metal for turning in for cash. Copper pipes, aluminum siding, catalytic convertors cut off cars, etc.

Home invasions are a different thing - usually these are adults, they don't care if someone is in the house, and they almost always are armed with a gun. They are after money or drugs. They are often "gang initiation" situations. Or "payback" things and they hit the wrong house.

[dwest]

[CountryKitty]

Hi Doug,

DH and I have had guns in the home for 20 years. We practice with them regularly. Carry them on long trips and during night travel. Have used them 5 times in those 2 decades...3 to put down injured animals, one to shoot at a fox leaving the hen house, and once to scare off a hawk that was after a hen.

While we are prepared to use lethal force if necessary to protect ourselves and our kids, we think of lethal force in the same light as war--neither is ever a good thing, but both can be the lesser of 2 evils.

If the police--who have seen plenty of accidents with guns as well as the grisly details of crimes--are saying a gun is a good idea, what they are really telling you is that in the balance of things, you having a gun to defend yourself is the lessser of all possible evils.

Do seriously consider their advice even if you aren't crazy about it. Someone on one of the forums I frequent teaches gun classes and one of his students was at home when a man broke into her home. He saw her gun, announced that she didn't have the balls to shoot and kept coming--woke up in the hospital with his shoulder blown apart...but both he and she lived.

That said, I agree that the best deterrent is a dog. A few years ago someone was breaking into homes in the immediate neighborhood--the man next door and a couple behind us were both robbed, and guns were taken from one house (no one was at home at the time). Several other houses were hit. I had a red chow at the time, another neighbor had a shar-pei mix, a third neighbor had a mini-dachsund who thought he was bigger than our dogs combined--our homes were unmolested. Oso, Taz, and even little Mickey were too alert to allow a trespasser to go unchallenged--i.e., unnoticed by people...there were enough people coming and going in that neighborhood that they didn't bother about any yard but their own.

The advice some people give is to place the biggest dog bowl you can buy on the porch, with "Killer", "Satan", "Conan", "Hulk" or other impreessive name on it....but thieves tend to check out a target before-hand and may well recognize the bluff. Poodles are non-shedders/hypoallergenic as well, tho' can be high-strung--they will also raise the alarm if someone tries to break in at night, giving you the opportunity to dial 911, grab a weapon for defense (be it gun or pipe) and hide. A Poodle cross might work well for you, if you are prepared to do the occasional trim job yourself rather than go to a groomer.

Another thought...an elderly lady who couldn't afford to put real bars on her windows had a friend make some--out of 1x2 frames and 1/2 dowels bainted black. They at least gave the impression of security to the windows (a frequent point of entry), making her house look harder to enter than others in the neighborhood.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

[sbfluter]

My boyfriend lost everything he had in a wild fire. He learned that almost everything you own is really just garbage and can be replaced, and the few things you have of irreplaceable value aren't usually the things that robbers will want to take anyway.

[peeplj]

First, I think there is some excellent advice in this thread regarding guns in a home defense roll.

Believe it or not, that's not what I'm going to post about, except to reinforce that if you are going to have a gun in your home, you need to be trained in its safe use and care by a competent professional, and you need to practice with it frequently, so that its safe use becomes second-nature to you.

What I am going to point out is that having a dog for home protection actually shares a lot of the dangers of having a gun.

Not every large dog has the temperament or the ability to make a good guard dog. A dog that is suitable will need to be trained, and you will also need to be trained along with your animal by a professional.

This is very important!

Just as with guns, a guard dog is a dangerous weapon it its own right, and without proper training and care, is more of a danger to your family than is the possibility of being randomly chosen to be robbed.

There are no small accidents where guard dogs are concerned, as many families have found out to their grief. Such dogs, improperly trained or poorly kept, are a significant danger to all family members.

However, when both owner and animal are properly educated and trained, a guard dog can be both a wonderful addition to your family as well as significantly increasing your personal safety.

--James

[Jayhawk]

James is right on about "guard dogs", but my post was only about having any dogs...it's not the aggressiveness that burglars report being the problem (although never knowing if a dog could be aggressive is a deterent) - it's the noise factor plus the possibility the dog could be aggressive that make dogs so effective when dealing with burglars. Burglars want to not be noticed by the neighbors...and dogs howling and barking like mad are too much of a risk for most would be robbers.

Eric

[ElPollo]

If you plan to get a gun, ask yourself this question:

Am i prepared to take away another persons life, and live with having done that?