To want a dog for home security?

[goldielookingchain]

We had an attempted break in last night. Noticed handle off back door, looked back on CCTV and they had a good 12 minute attempt to get into front door, kitchen window, then bifold doors were broken but luckily they didn't gain entry.

I have a 3 year old and a 5 year old. It was 3am and we were all in bed. I'm petrified that they will come back.

Our neighbours have CCTV, the burglars spent 14 secs lurking at their property compared to our 12 mins.

We would very much care for a dog as well but I've always been worried about the attention they need re walking etc. Plus we do like weekends away and days out.

Am I just panicking?

Thanks everyone for suggestions. I didn't know about window and door sensors. Will look into it as an add on.

And I know your all right just the thought of them in my house with the kids. These men don't give a shit do they, my daughter getting up for a wee and seeing them or even worse feeling threatened would scar her for life.

You can get alarms that work even if you have a cat - look into it.
We have two dogs and worry more about people breaking in to steal them than anything else. Dog thefts are too common these days

My next door neighbours dog to the left barks at everything: I ignore it. The other side barks at nothing - even shed arsonists and the 2 fire engines that followed. Get a cat: mine would trip up any burglar that didn't supply biscuits within 10 seconds of entering.

You need to put your safety before the cat. Do what you have to do.

We never put our alarm on as there can be up to six of us in the house, 3 dogs and 2 cats. If we're all away cats are at a cattery but I'm sure the sensors are set so they only trigger movement a good few feet off the ground.

Do you have a room without a sensor that you could restrict the cat to overnight?

There are proximity alarms that detect movement within a certain range and the alarm sound is a barking dog!! I have no idea if they work or sound as realistic as the marketing blurb suggests, but it might be worth a try. I nearly got one but thought it might be set of by the upstairs neighbour moving around their flat.

The window and door sensors that detect vibration were a big reassurance to me when we had a downstairs bedroom. You can also get alarms that detect someone touching a door handle. Depending on the make up of the handle and the conductivity etc, these can work very well too and aren't expensive. These types of alarms don't stay on for ages like a normal alarm system might, but do reactivate if the vibration/ contact is repeated and it would make it very hard to pick/ detach a lock or force a window etc.

Like your experience OP, I read that noise is the most off putting thing to a burglar and they will likely move on to an easier and/or quieter target.

Hi Goldie,
I'm sorry this happened to you and your family, you must be feeling awful.
Firstly I have been a owner of Rottweilers all my life but I must emphasis that I got my first pup because I worked for a breeder and wanted one as a companion not a guard dog.
My advice Goldie is do not rush out and buy a dog at the moment, instead upgrade your alarm and put the cat in a different room.
Yes CCTV is important but nothing distracts a intruder more than the shrieking noise of a alarm going off.
Going back to buying a dog, you have 2 small children so whatever Breed you decide on I would purchase it from a Reputable Breeder and as a pup.
Remember the pup grows up quickly, so you need to think about what Breed is suitable to be around young children.
I hope I helped.
Sorry for the long post everyone but I could talk about dogs non stop.

Speak to your local crime prevention officers, they will have far more useful solutions than a dog.

thisisbloody,
Your very right.
It's Shocking .

The thing is any dog will naturally protect its home and alert you when they hear a noise that is not familiar to them.

I had two cats. I used to shut them out of the downstairs rooms which were alarmed. I know too that you can get pet proof alarm sensors that require something considerably larger than a cat (ie, human-sized) to trigger them.

The thing is any dog will naturally protect its home and alert you when they hear a noise that is not familiar to them

Not necessarily. I have one who doesn't ever bark and one who barks so much we just assume he's being a tit and ignore him. If it's late and he doesn't stop after a second or two I go down and tell him to go back to bed. I never bother checking for intruders because I know I'll end up finding a stray carrier bag in the garden or at worst an innocent passerby leaning on the wall.

"The thing is any dog will naturally protect its home and alert you when they hear a noise that is not familiar to them."

You've clearly not met my dog then! He will bark at his own reflection or at a shady looking leaf in the garden but he will not reliably let me know who is coming in and out of the house. I once dropped a vase which smashed in thousands of pieces while the same room as him. He awoke from his nap, gave me this look --> and toddled off back to his bed.

I'm from Johannesburg. We had a series of guard dogs (Boxers) who mainly guarded my pet mice, the fridge and our car's tyres. A family member lives in Nairobi and has a Rottie x Mastiff who mainly guards the pantry against toast . gratuitous photo attached because i luff her

I'm sorry for what you've been through. I think s better security system is the answer.

My "guard" dog (softest labrador on the planet but will bark at literally everything including his own farts) has mastered opening the doors in the new house so every night at about 3am creeps upstairs and into my bed. I have asthma and dog hairs in the bed make it worse so every night at 3.0am I can be found arguing with the dog to bugger off back downstairs whilst trying not to wake up DS before giving up and letting him sleep in the bed. By morning he has taken over the entire bed and I am almost on the floor.
Is this the kind of life you want op?

Essential,
Haha,
Stunning,very strong Rottie head and jaw.

Don'tTouch,
That's a great story .

Honestly..

From a dog professional..

No. Don't do it.

Someone did some interesting study on dogs people expected to guard the house.

Most of them didn't but let the burglar in and out.

Some ran away and hid.

One or two let the burglar in.. and then prevented them from leaving.

Dogs that put people off tend to annoy the shit out of everyone - dogs that would genuinely bite an intruder or stop them entering will bite your guests and stop THEM entering too.

Dogs that look intimidating but aren't will do nothing, and a burglar determined to succeed might well just kill your dog or let them loose to roam the streets (And then if they cause an accident you are probably liable).

Dogs that are trained to guard property are less of a risk but, must be with a handler if loose and chained up if not loose and you have to have a proper licence for them and signs stating you have a guard dog on the premises.

So get a dog if you want a dog.

Do not get a dog if you want a burglar alarm, just get a burglar alarm.

Just thought I'd point out that you don't necessarily need a big powerful guard dog op.

I know a reformed burglar (did his time on the straight and narrow now) and he always says a small but loud yappy dog is enough deterrent.

They will avoid you like the plague if you've got a yapper

TheUnworthy,
Yes, he's 100 percent correct .
Me and my husband used to jog together and we always ran passed this house were Jack Russell's lived and no matter what time of day it was but as soon as we got to their front gate they would come charging out of nowhere barking their little heads off.
We used to bet each other if we could pass there without them knowing .
We never could.

If you want a dog for other reasons and you're 100% committed then yes, go ahead. But for that reason alone it would be ridiculous.
I had a wonderful family dog as a kid and I did take solace in the fact that had anyone ever attempted to gain access to our house she'd have barked the place down. She had a pretty mean sounding bark too. I think a barking dog is more than enough to put off most potential burglars. However had they ever actually gained entry she'd have been their best friend....

I've read a lot of cases where the burglar attacks the dog - I dont think I could leave a dog out / downstairs to man up to burglars who could quite likely stab the shit out of them, kick them or throw them a poisoned bit of meat to throw them off the scent. I have a borderline abnormal fear of being burgled by the way so I really feel for you - but can you get an alarm system where you leave it on downstairs when you go to bed so that if they tamper or try to get in that will set it off? Then lock your bedroom doors straight away and phone police. No humans or dogs near them! Burglars are getting more and more brazen these days I don't think cctv bothers them especially when they normally cover their faces anyway. Your best bet is most amount of noise possible (alarm) and locks on bedroom doors to provide a temporary buffer if they do get in. Also sensor lights in the garden - I sleep with the curtain slightly open so if there is a noise outside they go on I can tell the light has come on - so far it has just been cats but after your reading your post i often wonder has there sometimes been someone out there. Terrifying!!!!!! Basically if they have seen something they want and they want to get in they will - i can't remember the stats but something like 80% of burglaries go unsolved. Makes me feel scared shitless

Ps interestingly my mum has a jack russell too she barks for her life if a car or person even blinks at the house! But if someone got in i would literally race downstairs to get her because she is so small and she would probably just try to lick them to death - and they would want her to shut up!

user1469928875 if it's any consolation, from what I've been told, unless there is millions worth of diamonds in your mums burglars will leave it well alone in favour of a house with no jrt/alarm pretty much every time.