The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - WOW! House alarm went off... How did you do?

ScottieG59 · October 17, 2011, 10:43 PM

In the Army, we had battle drills to deal with many contingencies. In my civilian world, it is not as easy and the rules of engagement are a lot different. I am not at my best when I am asleep. In the past, it has helped to have a larger dog who can take point. However, when it comes to hearing the intruder, the big dogs seem to sleep as heavily as I do. The mix I came up with may seem strange, but I went with Shih Tsus as the alarm dogs, since they are unbelievably alert even in their sleep. They would wake up our English Mastiff, who would respond. They made such a great team.

I just cannot count on waking fast enough without a decent early warning system.

I do security checks after everyone else is in bed. The kids have a tendency to leave doors unlocked despite my warnings. Also, if people are watching, they may notice someone is moving around.

I usually carry a Glock 27 with night sights and a Crimson Trace LaserGuard, loaded with Speer 180 GR HP. My flashlight is 180 lumens and has strobe and dim settings. I also carry two extra magazines. I keep this all bedside.

Realistically, in my area, everyone in armed and has dogs and only someone with a death wish would do a home invasion. Typically, the breaking happen during the daytime, when people are at work. In those cases, you might bump into someone who has broken in. I always come home armed and alert.

I have cleared houses several times, though not in a long time. It is way easier with a dog who takes commands. They can smell where an intruder is. The first time I did this was when I was maybe 13 and our dog and I both thought something was wrong. He moved ahead searching as I followed with a rifle. Luckily, we found nobody there.

Now, we have kids that like to lurk around after bedtime. That adds some risk to the reaction. In past years, we had a teenager who would go out after we were in bed and come back just before school. That added the risk of possible open doors and her sneaking around the house at strange hours. Now she is grown and has her own place and kids to worry about.

Things can get complex when there are others around. We have a newborn now too and my wife is lurking around in the dark at all sorts of hours.

All of this points to my conclusion that a couple alert dogs and one or two large dogs in the house is a good start.

October 17, 2011, 10:43 PM	#28
ScottieG59 Member Join Date: December 22, 2010 Location: Kansas Posts: 61	No battle drills yet In the Army, we had battle drills to deal with many contingencies. In my civilian world, it is not as easy and the rules of engagement are a lot different. I am not at my best when I am asleep. In the past, it has helped to have a larger dog who can take point. However, when it comes to hearing the intruder, the big dogs seem to sleep as heavily as I do. The mix I came up with may seem strange, but I went with Shih Tsus as the alarm dogs, since they are unbelievably alert even in their sleep. They would wake up our English Mastiff, who would respond. They made such a great team. I just cannot count on waking fast enough without a decent early warning system. I do security checks after everyone else is in bed. The kids have a tendency to leave doors unlocked despite my warnings. Also, if people are watching, they may notice someone is moving around. I usually carry a Glock 27 with night sights and a Crimson Trace LaserGuard, loaded with Speer 180 GR HP. My flashlight is 180 lumens and has strobe and dim settings. I also carry two extra magazines. I keep this all bedside. Realistically, in my area, everyone in armed and has dogs and only someone with a death wish would do a home invasion. Typically, the breaking happen during the daytime, when people are at work. In those cases, you might bump into someone who has broken in. I always come home armed and alert. I have cleared houses several times, though not in a long time. It is way easier with a dog who takes commands. They can smell where an intruder is. The first time I did this was when I was maybe 13 and our dog and I both thought something was wrong. He moved ahead searching as I followed with a rifle. Luckily, we found nobody there. Now, we have kids that like to lurk around after bedtime. That adds some risk to the reaction. In past years, we had a teenager who would go out after we were in bed and come back just before school. That added the risk of possible open doors and her sneaking around the house at strange hours. Now she is grown and has her own place and kids to worry about. Things can get complex when there are others around. We have a newborn now too and my wife is lurking around in the dark at all sorts of hours. All of this points to my conclusion that a couple alert dogs and one or two large dogs in the house is a good start.