My home alarm system&Home Defense weapon

[Nordeste]

Just want to let know to The Firing Line's community what I use for home defense and what my alarm system is .

As for an "alarm system", this is what I got:



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On top, a female West Highland White Terrier named "Lola", 6 yrs old. Right below, a Yorkshire Terrier, female, age 6 months, named "Bimba". The two of then form a state-of-the-art alarm system. Whenever my neighbour comes home, they let me know well in advance (I live in a block of apartments, I'm not sure but I'd say you call this a "condo" in America), needless to say, they do the same and bark harder when someone unfamiliar is around.

That when it comes to "alarm systems". Should things get serious, my PX4C 9mm would stand ready for action:



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The photo is from the day I got it. That rubber grip (horrible one in my opinion) is now gone.

And those two, plus a good steel plated door makes a heck of a combination . The dogs live indoors, so they will carry out their "early warning" task efficiently and wake me up as soon as there is a wanderer behind my door, in time to let me reach my Beretta in my nighstand drawer.

Those two are the dogs we have with us currently. Not long ago, we had a female American Staffordshire Terrier who passed away one year and a half ago, at age 11, due to a heart attack. Her name was "Urka". Best dog I ever had, probably won't have a better one in my life. A little tribute to my fallen comrade, always in my heart:



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Now seriously... , no matter how expensive your alarm system is, a dog is always a good idea. They will stand 24x7 with their sharp senses always at the ready. You don't need something big or scary, a little one can do, and will make your life happier. I say this because those dogs that are more often used as watchdogs, such as Rottweilers, Mastino Napoletano, etc... often need an experienced owner who knows a bit about dog training and behaviour, whereas a small Terrier will always let you know if there's anyone around and won't require that much training and care so as to be able to integrate successfully in your family and community.

Hope you've had fun with this. I did!.

[egor20]

WE have my wife's 13 year old Corgi, Its half deaf ie: it can hear a car coming through the gate that's 250+ yards away. but can't hear me say "get off the couch".

[Nordeste]

WE have my wife's 13 year old Corgi, Its half deaf ie: it can hear a car coming through the gate that's 250+ yards away. but can't hear me say "get off the couch".

That's a funny one

But I can tell you, "Urka" was the second AmStaff I had. Before I had an impressive black male who had to be put to sleep at age 3 due to a spine illness. Both those two, even though regarded "dangerous" somewhere (there are no dangerous dogs, there are bad owners) were so much easy to train and obedient than the two small ones we have now.

[C0untZer0]

I believe that dogs do have certain behaviors bred into them. Every Boston Terrier I've ever seen was a natural ratter. They have an instinct to immediately kill any little creepy crawly thing - moles, voles, shrews, snakes, mice, hamsters, salamanders, you name it.

I've seen Border Collies herd kids, yep that's right - keep em in a group and try to keep them all heading in a straight line - this collie did it by nudging them - not barking.

A friend had a Blue Tick coon hound, and if you took it for a walk it would immediately start tracking. That dog had a thing for raccoons. I remember it got on a trail once, my friend had it on a leash, and we followed it, we eventually came to a creek with coon tracks all over – some clam shells and crayfish remains. That dog could have tracked anything – coyotes, armadillos, skunks, opossums, whatever – but it just always zeroed in on coons.

I had a German Shepherd that actually patrolled our house periodically at night – she had a route she traveled that took her to each bedroom where she would look in on the occupants, stops at the front window, back window. She would stop and listen and sniff at each door and then return to her sleeping spot at night which just happened to be the choke point in the house. Every German Shepherd I’ve owned were natural guard dogs.

My cousin has an American Staffordshire Terrier – the dog looks like pure muscle, a head like a bowling ball with these hug jaw muscles. He’s a really nice dog and my kids love him. Someone either trying to steal him or just cause trouble opened the gate to my aunt’s yard and he got out. He almost immediately attacked another dog – some retriever mix / and nearly killed it. The witnesses say he just charged in and attacked the dog.

I don’t know about good dog / bad dog, but I do know that some things are bred into them.

[Lost Sheep]

Say what you will about the efficacy of firearms for home defense, but you can't warm your feet in bed at night on the back of an 870.

A good dog is also an excellent psychiatrist/counselor and will never divulge your secrets.

They are difficult to carry concealed outside the home, but do have the advantage of being self-propelled.

Dogs. Gotta love'em. They always love you back.

Lost Sheep

[irish52084]

Dogs are the best, cats just aren't the same in companionship department. The added bonus of their senses and theft deterrence are second only to their joy to have around the house.

[JimPage]

Long ago I had German Shepherd that was soo devoted to our family. I can't imagine a more devoted animal. When we brought our first born home from the hospital, he immediately started sleeping under her crib. When she started to waken he would come and get us up to tend to her.

When she and her sister were toddlers, we could let them out of the house to play. That dog was always between any car or stranger and the girls. No one could get near them. When we had one of them in a playpen in our front yard one day, the neighbor kids came to see the baby. He kept circling the playpen, shouldering the kids away from it.

When he passed, I decided he was irreplaceable. What an animal!! I'll never forget him. I still get a lump in my throat when I think of him.

[Nordeste]

My cousin has an American Staffordshire Terrier – the dog looks like pure muscle, a head like a bowling ball with these hug jaw muscles. He’s a really nice dog and my kids love him. Someone either trying to steal him or just cause trouble opened the gate to my aunt’s yard and he got out. He almost immediately attacked another dog – some retriever mix / and nearly killed it. The witnesses say he just charged in and attacked the dog.

This behaviour that you describe happens sometimes, and fits within all you mentioned about breeds having natural tendences to do this or that. I've also seen shepherd dogs herding children and adults. They just can't help it, they have to keep the group together . A friend of mine's pitbull (female), wouldn't let his daughter (aged 5 or so at the time) get into the sea water any further than she deemed was safe (around knee level) and blocked her way into the water. "Urka", the one you see above, was the leaning point where my cousin's two small ones learnt to stand up and walk. She would walk beside them and not move if they stopped, just in case they'd fall down.

Pit-Bulls, AmStaffs, Staffie or Bull Terriers make for excellent, outstanding family dogs, particularly indicated for children. They are so patient and caring with them. The drawback is that these breeds were used for what they were used... fighting other animals, cattle catch dogs, keeping critters at bay at farms, hunting, and sadly, fighting other dogs too. There's a marked "prey drive" in them and a tendence to fight other dogs, but when properly socialized and trained, this is not a problem. This is particularly true amongst males. Females are usually less troublesome. If it is not already, suggest your cousin to sterilize his dog. Sounds bad, but it's simple surgery and helps soothing out that temperament.

These breeds, the Bull-type Terriers, deserve a chance and a place in our societies. They've paid a blood tribute to serve us as working dogs, and awfully enough, fighting amongst them to death for the sake of some barbarians' entertainment. They have proven useful, unique, and exceptionally faithful and brave. Have a look :

http://www.hot1047.com/andys-blog/28...-homeless.html

http://onlovinganimals.blogspot.com/...ra-killed.html

http://dogsinthenews.com/stories/070301a.php

Say what you will about the efficacy of firearms for home defense, but you can't warm your feet in bed at night on the back of an 870.

A good dog is also an excellent psychiatrist/counselor and will never divulge your secrets.

They are difficult to carry concealed outside the home, but do have the advantage of being self-propelled.

Dogs. Gotta love'em. They always love you back.

Man, that was funny. I've laughed to tears with the "they are difficult to carry concealed but have the advantage of being self-propelled" thing. Great one. My congrats on that sense of humour

When he passed, I decided he was irreplaceable. What an animal!! I'll never forget him. I still get a lump in my throat when I think of him

I can understand those feelings. I felt exactly the same way, but, you know what?, it's worth getting another dog. The one you had had those qualities, the one to come will have some others that will be equally pleasant and useful. They are all unique as people are.

[T. O'Heir]

"...can't hear me say "get off the couch"..." Female? You're being ignored. snicker.
"...cats just aren't the same in companionship department..." Wrong. They're just particular about who they want to be around. Had one that would put his head in my hand while I was reading in bed. If I sat down he was on me. The cat we had when my da was on his death bed didn't move from the bed except to eat and use the litter box. Got itself run over about 5 months after he died too. The current one will sit and watch TV with me. After walking across me to get onto the couch. She's a pretty good alarm too.

[8shot357]

You all keep talking about dog's and not firearms, so before this gets closed, I have a Chiwawa, mixed with an English Corgi, And he barks like a Banshee Warrior. It's enough to startle just about anybody, even me still sometimes.

But he's just the back-up for the apple heads. They are the first line of defense.

PS: He struts like John Wayne.

[dannyb]

A couple of posters have mentioned dogs that they could never really replace. I have a 5 YO rat terrier - home defense, psychiatrist, and my heart dog. He will nap in my wife's lap, but if I get up so does he. He'll sort of listen to my wife (half deaf?) but does listen to me. When I say "get down" he does.

As for watchdog, he sleeps in the bedroom with us. When he hears something he doesn't like, he jumps on the bed to let me know. I put on amplified shooting muffs, pick up the Sig P238, open the bedroom door. He slips out to investigate while I hold the top of the stairs and listen. So far, no yips or barks or some stranger saying "YOW!" thank goodness. But I think the routine should work if something not right does come in. In extremis, my wife backs me up with a Mossberg 500 in 20 gauge.

[Capt. Charlie]

You all keep talking about dog's and not firearms, so before this gets closed,.....

Yep.

Closed.