Vigilance or paranoia?

[Fish_Scientist]

The scenario:

The dogs go ballistic after the sun sets for no reason. The lack of streetlights nearby gives you no ability to see anything outside the house (you live in the country), but there are no trees/brush near the house, either. A nearby neighboor, who runs a Buddhist compound (other neighbors think they're David Koresh-like kooky), uses his private business to run a non-profit, criminal-rehabilitation outreach program.

Is checking out the perimeter of the house in a situation like this vigilance or paranoia? The dogs rarely lose it at night over nothing. When they do, it's over a deer walking through the pasture that they can see and their barking is directed at such. I have one neighbor a few hundred yards away (very nice guy as long as you're straight with him; same guy who thinks the compound folks are kooky) who, whenever an unexpected car pulls in his driveway at night, is "locked and loaded."

What do you think is an appropriate response? Check things out outside the house? Cut all the lights indoors and investigate from inside? Do nothing and let the dogs growl and bark themselves out?

Thoughts?

[hogdogs]

So many variables...
If I had 2 of the 3 catch dogs inside, I am going to turn them loose without hesitation...
I have one indoor dog that will police the place in an orderly fashion and if she goes to growling or baying, she is looking someone down. I would then back her up "locked and loaded"...
Brent

[Hook686]

Why not put up some motion detection lighting outside ?

[Maromero]

If you have a fence release the hounds or get a flood light or flashlight with those 1 million canddle power units.

[.22lr]

But if you believe yourself to be living next to a dangerous cult:

1) Perhaps moving is an idea to consider, even at financial loss.

2) Sounds like a great reason to set up some outdoor lights / cameras.

3) Call the police!

My response will probably be the same as my usual response, gather the family, hunker down, call police, wait.

[Fish_Scientist]

But if you believe yourself to be living next to a dangerous cult:

I don't necessarily think they're a dangerous cult, just that there is a very dynamic leader who seems to have quite the hold over everyone. It's really my neighbor (old-timer country boy) who's not that fond of them.

The dogs aren't "attack" dogs per se, but just pets who bark at out-of-the-ordinary things.

High-power flashlight is a good idea.

[KingEdward]

1) stay inside locked up tight.

2) if dogs agitated then simply be alert and always have a plan
(phone/firearm(s)/safe room in case there is any forced entry or
trouble.

3) it is USUALLY easier to protect home and family inside and it is
NEARLY ALWAYS better legally after any incident if you were inside defending
than outside investigating.

[ZeSpectre]

Fish_Scientist,
I chewed on this one for a little while before the reply. Any comments I make are strictly in the vein of "constructive criticism" so please don't read any snark or personal into them.

The dogs go ballistic after the sun sets for no reason.
In my experience there is ALWAYS a reason. Maybe not a good reason to us as humans, but always a reason.

The lack of streetlights nearby gives you no ability to see anything outside the house (you live in the country), but there are no trees/brush near the house, either.
Get light(s) set up. On motion sensors is great but also have an override switch so that you can light it all up if needed.

A nearby neighboor, who runs a Buddhist compound (other neighbors think they're David Koresh-like kooky), uses his private business to run a non-profit, criminal-rehabilitation outreach program.
Um, okay. Let me add a video surveillance system to the lights you need to put up around your property. One with good 24hr recording capability. Also you need to keep running documentation of anything suspicious you might see. Maybe he's rehabilitating the criminals and that would be great, but no need for you to depend on the intentions of whomever he has on his property.

Is checking out the perimeter of the house in a situation like this vigilance or paranoia?
Vigilance. Paranoia would be skipping sleep to walk an armed patrol around your property all night because you "know" they are coming to abduct you.

I have one neighbor a few hundred yards away (very nice guy as long as you're straight with him; same guy who thinks the compound folks are kooky) who, whenever an unexpected car pulls in his driveway at night, is "locked and loaded."
If I knew a neighbor was running some sort of criminal outreach I think I would tend to be on high alert myself especially whenever someone showed up after dark.

What do you think is an appropriate response? Check things out outside the house? Cut all the lights indoors and investigate from inside? Do nothing and let the dogs growl and bark themselves out?

I think the appropriate short-term response is to light up the outside like the Las-Vegas strip and then investigate from the SECURED interior of your house.

I think the appropriate long-term response is to get lighting and video surveillance set up and running and to beef up the "hardness" of your house.

[comn-cents]

Let the dogs bark, turn on all the lights, (so if there is somone outside they know you are there) Go back to watching the tube. Most BG don't want a confrontation and if they are sneeking around and all the lights come on, it makes it hard for them to sneek.

[markj]

Lock the doors up. Some folks I know staple little cat bells on the windows so if they move it is audible.

When my dogs go off I hit the floods which lite up the area around my house and out buildings. Dogs are loose so anyone in their area is in for it. A few simple items can offer you a lot of security, think about what you need and go for it without going over board, ask some security minded folks questions if you want a straight answer.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

Have you talked to local law enforcement about this organization, incidents and the perceived risks they are aware of? Maybe, cranky grandpa is just a touch off.

Buddhists, in general, aren't known to be violent - at least in the USA.

However, lights are a great idea - exploring at night is really a bad idea.

[Mello2u]

Fish_Scientist

Vigilance or paranoia?
The scenario:
The dogs go ballistic after the sun sets for no reason. The lack of streetlights nearby gives you no ability to see anything outside the house (you live in the country), but there are no trees/brush near the house, either. A nearby neighboor, who runs a Buddhist compound (other neighbors think they're David Koresh-like kooky), uses his private business to run a non-profit, criminal-rehabilitation outreach program.

What do you think is an appropriate response? Check things out outside the house? Cut all the lights indoors and investigate from inside? Do nothing and let the dogs growl and bark themselves out?

As ZeSpectre suggests spotlight lights to illuminate the area around your house (point the lights so they do not illuminate the house) are good. They can reveal a problem without revealing you. Home Depot has some for $22. Wiring is another matter.

You are placing yourself at risk by leaving the concealment of your house to go out and investigate. Going out to investigate in the dark puts you at a serious disadvantage. That is why the lights are such a useful option.

As for the dogs, what would they do if you released them outside in an agitated condition? Perhaps you should consider getting some fencing which would limit how far they could go? Post signs on the fence "No Trespassing" and "Beware of Dogs!".

[Dwight55]

First, . . . I do not have the dogs (wish I did, . . . planning to remedy that in forseeable future), . . . but I do have 4 electronic friends.

I also have darkness as a friend. There are no lights on around my house for anything closer than about 1000 feet, . . . and there is a tree line between it and my house.

That said, . . . there is a motion activated light on the driveway side of the house that activates if anyone is there.

There is also a driveway motion detector that lets me know (think buzzzzzzzz) any time someone approaches from that direction.

My third electronic friend is a $100 infra red scope that I bought at Harbor Freight a few years ago. It is perfect for finding anything as big or bigger than a basset hound and it can be perfectly pitch black outside, . . . it shows up anything less than 150 feet.

My 4th electronic friend is my Sony 8mm video camera that has an IR setting to take movies at night. I can turn it on, . . . point it out the window, . . . anything that moves is caught in the video screen, . . . and when I push record, . . . I have a record of it.

I also rely on the fact that anyone coming around our place needs to bring his own light source, . . . which I can see from the house.

May not be everyone's nirvana, . . . but it works for me.

May God bless,
Dwight

[Chindo18Z]

Fish_Scientist: Have you considered contacting your Buddhist neighbors to see if they are experiencing anything similar?

You might compare notes and use the opportunity to establish rapport.

Until they prove undeserving of your goodwill, a policy of being a "good neighbor" often goes a long way...

Don't go wandering around in the dark by your lonesome. Make trouble come to you. 911 is your friend.

Lights, dogs, cameras, locks...as mentioned by others...all good.

Perhaps put in a small "decorative" border (2-3 feet across) of sand, pea gravel, or fine soil around your exterior walls or other likely prowler pathways. This will show footprints (or, more likely, animal tracks) from any night-time visitors.

If you can't afford (or easily wire) a surveillance camera system, consider adding a battery powered game camera mounted to an innocuous location (under eaves of roof, mounted to a pole/tree, mounted to a stake hidden in some bushes, etc.). You might catch a human in a flash photo...or just a coyote.

[peanut88]

In my experience w/ dogs, always listen to their bark.
A dog will always bark differently to people than animals.

As a precaution, always have a back up for those unforeseen moments when the pooch is going nuts.

Cheers

[Glenn Dee]

VIGILANCE

[Fish_Scientist]

Have you talked to local law enforcement about this organization, incidents and the perceived risks they are aware of? Maybe, cranky grandpa is just a touch off.

From what I've been told by my other neighbors, local law enforcement isn't aware of the criminal rehabilitation side of the operation. It may be worth talking to the local sheriff and giving them a heads up.

It's not the group itself (Buddhist compound) that I'm worried about. I've met many of the neighbors and while a few of them do seem a bit "off", they appear to be pretty harmless. It's the folks who aren't rehabilitated that I'm worried about. Not that all ex-cons are dangerous, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

Thanks for all the suggestions. Four spotlights and wiring are going in tomorrow. It makes complete sense to stay inside and hit all the lights--inside and out--and keep a phone handy.

Steven

[jrothWA]

NOW!

Position them to cause max illumination to farthest reach AND causing anyone between you and the lights to be silhouetted.

Put lights on house at highest point to down-wash the outside but not affecting you.

Have reliable cell phone? get one if not. Use an earbud or "jabra" type to keep hands free.

Check the doors and locks are they sturdy, is the frame reinforced?

Do an in-person with local police or sheriff, body language says a lot.

[IZZY]

well a property full of convicted felons as a neighbor is not exactly ideal.

I'm sure some of them are still "rotten apples". I would be as Vigilant as I would be in any high crime city area.

You hve certain advantages: IN the country you should have no trouble putting up barbed wire fences :D

Keep your guns in a safe / or well secured in case of break in. Most of the given advice, such as motion sensor lights/ are "sound and true."

Get a CCW permit for areas outside your property, and carry ALL the time.

Get more dogs... the guard protection type and train WITH them.

Get your family involved in personal security responsibility.

Keep Kitchen knives and dangerous tools that could be used against you secured from un-authorized use. These are a fav. tool of the common home invader.

[bambam1723]

I'd say that's vigilance. Grab the cell phone, lock the house, let the dogs loose and go patrol your property...armed for whatever you may find.

[output]

At the least, I would take Glenn's advice (we are very lucky to have guys like him on the board) if local law enforcement couldn't help as you mentioned talking to the sheriffs office might... Good luck with the spotlights and wiring, make sure you test it!

I would not leave the confines of my own home OR let my dogs loose (and I have trained protection dogs) to ‘investigate’ something outside especially if I have no idea what is going on out there. My dogs alert me, and I make the decision(s), unless someone has already broken into our home…my dogs main purpose is to serve as a deterrent. I would not put them in harms way unless I absolutely had to, and I would not deploy them blindly as that could cause some huge liability issues.

By staying inside of your home you have much more of an advantage then you would by stepping outside into the unknown.

[threegun]

Most covered already......Lights, contact law enforcement, harden your house, etc.

I bought my house which already had burglar bars installed on the windows still I added an alarm system. Then had Tampa electric install a street light. Then I added motions around the house exterior. 10 years later without a problem a thug kicks my front door in @ 12 noon only to run away at the sound of my alarm going off. This did alert me to my deficiencies so I added burglar bars to the front and back doors (similar to those sold at home depot for 350) to prevent the return of the thug and to prevent a speedy home invasion......(no more quick kick to get in and gonna make a lot of noise to get in now)

I just ordered a 16 channel DVR with 11 infra red color cameras that see in total darkness and all the wiring to hook them up plus an upgraded hardrive in the dvr for 1750.00. They will record for a week or better without overlap plus I can monitor my perimeter from my bedroom (or any TV in the house for that matter) and I can monitor it via the internet from anywhere in the world with internet access including my cell phone.

Little by little I have put together a system that will make it very difficult for my family to be victimized either physically, emotionally, or financially. Took a lot of saving for that dvr system though............could have bought a bunch of guns on the wish list with it LOL.

[Skans]

My dog barks at squirrels more than she does at people. So, I automatically assume that there is a squirrel taunting her somewhere. Not going to get the gun out for that. Now, if it's 1:00 a.m., I'm getting the gun out and searching my house.

[Terry A]

If we called the police every single time something went "bump" or, if we had dogs and we called the police every time they acted up, the police would think WE'RE the problem. BUT, you also don't want to be running outside yourself every night.

I read some very good posts in this thread. ZeSpectre's response was my personal favorite. He summed things up nicely.

By the way...Vigilance. You never can tell....

[markj]

Dogs been going off every nite this week, full moon coupled with late harvest and the rut is on them deer come right up to the house and graze the remaining plants in the garden. Flood lites dont faze these dumb deer. Had elect fence but they run right thru it. Would be bad to call 911 every time they go off.