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Burglars' Advice on Protecting Home

8K views 36 replies 24 participants last post by  Muskeg 
#1 ·
#2 ·
That was interesting, thanks. I think the sound of my two would deter anyone thinking of breaking in. (I hope)
 
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#3 · (Edited)
I'm doing ok--several big dogs and a radio left on:smile2:

I believe that someone did try to break in when I first moved in. The bottom of the door was dented-like it was kicked and Midnite shredded the wall with his nails right next to the window. I think they kicked the door--heard the bark and then went to the window where Midnite gladly met them face to face.

I have never had another issue!
 
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#4 ·
My very first night when I moved out here we got the last load in very late. We didn't unpack the van as most of it was my dog stuff, paperwork, expens, grooming tables, etc. I simply put Shiloh, my Doberman's crate right inside the front door, too tired to carry it all the way to my bedroom and we all collapsed in beds. I got up to find my van stolen. Shiloh hadn't made a sound. The toy dogs had all gone off but we'd ignored them as we'd also picked up a small dog on the side of the woods on one trip. A new dog moving in a crate is enough to often have the others barking. They were only about 15 ft from the door. Shiloh had been trained to be quiet in her crate. I then had to retrain her to bark if she heard something...


Now my house is known for having dogs and always a lot of cars/trucks parked here. I think I'm safe, as I can be.
 
#5 ·
Well, this tells me two things, assuming the results of this survey are generalizable: 1) I'm absolutely safe in assuming that a lot of these people who seem to have very weak reasons for being at my door may well have nefarious intentions, and 2) I was right to teach my dog to bark until I give her the command to stop.
 
#8 ·
Good info - thank you for sharing. My concern where I live is that burglars sometimes poison the family dog, then enter. I assume those are yards where dogs are kept loose outdoors within the fenced yard. Our dogs are able to run in and out while we are home, but are crated inside when we leave to shop or whatever. What does everyone think about posting one of the German Shepherd dog signs - good idea, or stupid?
 
#14 ·
What does everyone think about posting one of the German Shepherd dog signs - good idea, or stupid?

I was told by a friend who is a deputy with the sheriff's department to never have a Beware of Dog sign as it says I know I have a dangerous dog, that I'm advertising it bites and this can be used against me if the dog bites someone, even if they are breaking into my house. He said I could be sued, even by the burglar and lose in a court of law. Instead I had a sign with the silhouette of a Doberman and one of a GSD with the words 'I can get to the fence in 2.8 seconds, can you?'
 
#9 ·
Maybe I should remove the gun signs from around my house. Ditch the NRA stickers. There are always cars in my drive but anyone with half a brain can figure out that I am in my work van while working. All of my dogs are crated 20 feet from the front door but will still bark if anyone knocks or rings the bell. Don't know if just the dogs barking would deter a thief. Have to make sure the blinds are closed. Seeing 3 dogs in crates isn't real scary.
 
#10 ·
Great article!
 
#13 ·
A friend of mine posted this on FB the other day. I thought it was interesting too. We're doing a lot of things right, lol!

Doors kept locked.

No real valuables to steal and not the kind of neighborhood where a burglar would expect to find any (nice, but modest, middle class).

2 big dogs.

Lights and/or stereo on when we're not home.

Vehicle in the driveway.

Densely populated, with small lots - homes are very close together and front doors are easily visible from the street.

Good outdoor lighting.

No regular daytime schedule (hubby at least).

Neighborhood watch program.
 
#21 ·
I don't know. I have a GSD sticker on my minivan, and a GSD weathervane on my front fence post. All subtle signs of dogs at my house.
 
#22 ·
We don't have any signs announcing the presence of a dog, but we do have an alarm system and have those signs/window stickers.

The dog announces herself; she will sound like she wants to tear you apart when you knock on our door. I am okay with this, in fact, I've basically reinforced/trained "make a huge ruckus until I tell you to stop making a ruckus." I've had people I suspected were up to no good blanche and back all the way up to the public sidewalk when they heard the noise and I opened the door with my hand on her collar and they saw her. With invited guests or delivery people, she's trained to stop barking on command (impulse control is still coming but she knows the command and starts trying to cut the noise when she hears it).
 
#23 ·
I HATE people knocking at my door. Gives me anxiety.

Through a combination of the dog picking up on my mood and my reinforcing his escalation... we have a "respond to door knock" routine I am happy with.

The dog hears a knock and let's out a sound closer to a roar, then he body slams the front door, barking and growling, after which he jumps up onto the window sill and stares them down.

Literally haven't had anyone knock on the door in months.
 
#24 ·
It works!

I don't get anxious about people knocking, but I do become suspicious unless I've invited them somehow (guest, service provider like cable or plumbing, delivering my food). We've had some shady characters try to gain entrance at inappropriate hours.

Initially I had planned to train my dog to be quiet and bark only on command. When I saw how effective of a deterrent she was for people ranging from the truly shady to the "Can we talk to you about your vote?" folks, I changed course. We work on quieting on command, but if she starts by barking the house down, so much the better. If I don't want to talk to whomever it is (e.g., the political doorknockers earlier this year), I just never give the command to be quiet.
 
#25 ·
I've always wanted mine quiet because they go to hotels with me, so I don't want them barking at the sound of people walking by or noise from the parking lot. I've found when I answer the door with my hand on their collar, the person backs up fast. I had one once that barked and I spent every night constantly having to tell them quiet. Which they would stop barking, but the next person walking by would have them barking again.
 
#26 ·
I don't live in a great neighborhood. I moved here with my partner around 2010. 2 years ago his mom became very ill and he moved back to his family home to help care for her and his grandmother. Maybe like 2 weeks after he moved out some dude would come around at 2 or 3 AM and knock on my door. This went on every couple days for almost a month.

I finally got stupid/brave enough to confront. Dude was all like "hey baby can I get yo number? I know
yo man ain't round anymore and a sweet thang like you shouldn't be lonely"

Yeah.

I've periodically gotten other late night knocks. The most recent one was over the summer. Some guy trying to either buy or sell drugs... he asked me to do something about the dog so I could open the door all the way... Yeah right buddy. I told him the dog was doing exactly as he should be and if he didn't get the BLEEP off my steps I WORLD open the door. Oh and by the way... he's been trained to go straight for the 'nads. Then I commanded the dog to platz. And the guy got all wide eyed realising the dog was actually trained with "police commands" and he backed off real quick...

So I am totally fine with my dog acting bat poop at people knocking on the door.
 
#27 ·
Great article. My approach is a bit different however.... I've got 2 GSD that I love, 2 nosey neighbors that I love, however I keep my curtains open just in case the deterrents and the neighborhood watch doesn't work, I'd like prospective burglars to know that there are only plants and books inside - don't waste your time ;)
 
#32 ·
by the way, I know a gal who told us about the time she had someone break and enter into her home. She was asleep on the couch and the miscreant boldly came in through the front door. He was greeted by a groggy owner and three Dobermans staring at him. Needless to say, the crook changed his mind and left.

She said she was surprised since she thought for sure everyone nearby must have know about her dogs. Must have been an out of towner.
 
#34 ·
I have this posted and in arizona if you have a sign posted and someone still enters you don't pay anything and they go to jail happen with my Fila brasileiro (brazilian mastiff) guy hopped the fence zues never barked and was solid black 192 lbs and shutzhund trained didn't turn out to well but since then zues passed and I got a shepherd much smaller dog
Way more drive but boy do I miss all the power behind zues Dog Mammal Vertebrate Dog breed Canidae
Mammal Vertebrate Dog Canidae Dog breed
pics of zues
Dog Mammal Vertebrate Canidae Carnivore
Vertebrate Dog Mammal Canidae White




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