Anyone ever buy one of those fake dog. Barking machines?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Live in a safe neighborhood

Aren't the safe (i.e low street crime, higher SES) neighborhoods those are most often targeted by burglars. We live in one of those and I hear about burglaries quite often.

Those places are targeted by more sophisticated, experienced thieves, not the ones who see a target of opportunity. Very little is going to stop a professional thief once he has decided your house is a good target. That's where mitigation efforts (cameras, registries of your stuff, insurance, etc.) comes into play.

That being said, neighborhoods that have security patrols, limited access (ie only a couple of ways in and out of the neighborhood by car and limited foot options), lots of well-lit streets, houses that are relatively close (ie <1/2 acre-ish lots so you can actually see your neighbors' house), living on a cul de sac so the chance of being observed going in/out is higher, picking a house deep in the neighborhood rather than on the edge, and things like that all make a neighborhood and particular streets/houses in that neighborhood less likely to be targeted.

Anonymous wrote:I live in Bethesda, Bradley Hills area. Last week cops were all over my neighbors house who had been robbed. Turns out transients from another state had been stalking the neighborhood for weeks to observe routines. They got about 15 homes. Who did they not hit? Myself and any neighbor with a dog, according to police.

The close in suburbs are consistently the worst hit. Especially during certain times of the year. Moreso when you live near many major escape arteries at once, because that means the thieves could go any which way to escape, with less chance of being caught. Cut through neighborhoods are the most susceptible, for obvious reasons.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dogs, dogs, dogs.

Dogs are trivially easy to disable.

You don't need the dogs to attack the burglars or otherwise prevent the burglary. You need the dogs to make the burglars decide to go to the next house, which doesn't have dogs, instead.

This is a really important point.

Thanks, quoted PP here. That's what MCPD told us after we had a break-in at our last house while we (and the dogs) were on vacation many years ago. I've always had dogs because I love them, and no one should have dogs just for protection IMO, but they are a deterrent. The best deterrent is NRA membership stickers on your front door, but we're not going to go that far.

RE: the PP who asked about guns, this was a decade-long debate between my husband and me that I eventually lost. Our solution was to have a licensed, registered gun, stored loaded but locked in a combination safe bolted to a heavy piece of furniture with a combination only he knows, after he took a multiple days-long gun safety course.

Do not stick an NRA sticker on your house. That tells a thief "I have stuff worth stealing inside."

+1

Yeah, like guns!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dogs, dogs, dogs.

Dogs are trivially easy to disable.

You don't need the dogs to attack the burglars or otherwise prevent the burglary. You need the dogs to make the burglars decide to go to the next house, which doesn't have dogs, instead.

This is a really important point.

Thanks, quoted PP here. That's what MCPD told us after we had a break-in at our last house while we (and the dogs) were on vacation many years ago. I've always had dogs because I love them, and no one should have dogs just for protection IMO, but they are a deterrent. The best deterrent is NRA membership stickers on your front door, but we're not going to go that far.

RE: the PP who asked about guns, this was a decade-long debate between my husband and me that I eventually lost. Our solution was to have a licensed, registered gun, stored loaded but locked in a combination safe bolted to a heavy piece of furniture with a combination only he knows, after he took a multiple days-long gun safety course.

Do not stick an NRA sticker on your house. That tells a thief "I have stuff worth stealing inside."

I live in Bethesda, Bradley Hills area. Last week cops were all over my neighbors house who had been robbed. Turns out transients from another state had been stalking the neighborhood for weeks to observe routines. They got about 15 homes. Who did they not hit? Myself and any neighbor with a dog, according to police.

Anonymous wrote:Dogs, dogs, dogs.

Not even the extensive security of the Secret Service could stop the fence jumpers from getting to the White House. Vohen they finally sent out the dogs, Hurricane and Jordan, they fe,led the jumper in minutes. A doc is your best deterrent

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dogs, dogs, dogs.

Dogs are trivially easy to disable.

You don't need the dogs to attack the burglars or otherwise prevent the burglary. You need the dogs to make the burglars decide to go to the next house, which doesn't have dogs, instead.

This is a really important point.

Thanks, quoted PP here. That's what MCPD told us after we had a break-in at our last house while we (and the dogs) were on vacation many years ago. I've always had dogs because I love them, and no one should have dogs just for protection IMO, but they are a deterrent. The best deterrent is NRA membership stickers on your front door, but we're not going to go that far.

RE: the PP who asked about guns, this was a decade-long debate between my husband and me that I eventually lost. Our solution was to have a licensed, registered gun, stored loaded but locked in a combination safe bolted to a heavy piece of furniture with a combination only he knows, after he took a multiple days-long gun safety course.

Anonymous wrote:We live in a very safe neighborhood.

We have two big-ass German Shepherds. The sound of their bark is enough to deter an intruder. And they absolutely would attack if someone broke into our home.

I also have a gun.

I sleep very well at night.

I'm just curious, not trying to start a gun control debate, I promise.

I've often been curious about gunowners like you describe yourself - those that keep a gun in the house for security. I've read the studies that show that you are much more likely to kill yourself or have someone you love killed in an accident with a gun than to kill or scare away a burglar. Based on those studies, I would never sleep well at night with a gun in the house. So how do you reconcile this? Do you have special training with guns, or do you figure that the odds just don't apply to you?

Anonymous wrote:Ha sometimes I miss living in Argentina. Houses in our safe neighborhood were designed like fortresses and were basically robber proof. Unless someone followed you in, there was no way they could get in. Unfortunately we learned that the hard way when we left our keys inside and shut the front door which locks automatically. Not even the landlord has copies of keys. Just the way many houses are designed in that city.

I've never felt so safe and at times we had up to 15,000 pesos in the house!

How much is that in dollars? I assume it's a lot so why do you keep so much money in your house?

Anonymous wrote:Live in a safe neighborhood

Aren't the safe (i.e low street crime, higher SES) neighborhoods those are most often targeted by burglars. We live in one of those and I hear about burglaries quite often.

In addition to all the other good tips: look like you "have less" than your neighbors. Have the less nice car, don't leave any i-stuff in sight, don't have your big screen tv visible from your front window. Same principle as with the dogs: smarter robbers will pass on you.

Ha sometimes I miss living in Argentina. Houses in our safe neighborhood were designed like fortresses and were basically robber proof. Unless someone followed you in, there was no way they could get in. Unfortunately we learned that the hard way when we left our keys inside and shut the front door which locks automatically. Not even the landlord has copies of keys. Just the way many houses are designed in that city.

I've never felt so safe and at times we had up to 15,000 pesos in the house!

We live in a very safe neighborhood.

We have two big-ass German Shepherds. The sound of their bark is enough to deter an intruder. And they absolutely would attack if someone broke into our home.

I also have a gun.

I sleep very well at night.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dogs, dogs, dogs.

Dogs are trivially easy to disable.

You don't need the dogs to attack the burglars or otherwise prevent the burglary. You need the dogs to make the burglars decide to go to the next house, which doesn't have dogs, instead.

This is a really important point.