Okay, why is wireless easier to bypass? First off, if you just stick the things on the windows, they are big and easy to see. You can sort of break out a section of the window that doesn't have the contact on it, leaving it place, and head on in. Ideally, you would install the wireless component above the window and run a wire to the window. The contact would have, say, a 10" wire going to the wireless component. If the contact is visible or not, you can and should weave a thin wire through the window screen and include that in your circuit, just series it in. This way if the screen is contacted too, and it is cut or removed, the alarm goes off BEFORE the window itself is violated. You can series both contacts and the window screen together and tie that directly into the wireless switch. Just make sure you get wireless contacts that can be used this way, where you can run your own wired switch to it instead of only using the built in reed switches. Make sure you get smart ones too, because having a low battery that goes unnoticed makes it useless. Lots of problems with wireless, many have been addressed, but you have to know what to look for. Get a hybrid system by a GOOD manufacturer that carry a full line of smart wireless components that directly program into the hybrid panel. What I mean, is do not get a wireless receiver that connects to panel zones. You want it all made by the same maker and to all work together. This will take some studying and research on your part. I'll throw in DSC and DMP as my vetted choice, you can go to their websites and get some info. Maybe call them. Try calling local alarm supply warehouses, you may even get one of them to sell to you. You can also look online, lots of people will sell that equipment to anyone. Just get the best hybrid you can afford, but don't get 48 zones unless you need that many. Get the best system you can that has slightly more zones than you need, both hardwire and wireless.
Some wireless can be jammed, despite what they say. Depends on the equipment used by the crook and by you. Make sure you get the good stuff. DSC makes some good stuff, I have a lot exp. with them, DMP does too. I am sure there are a lot of other very good ones, maybe better ones, but I can't vouche for them all. Some even make concealed wireless contacts, called "tampon" switches because that is what they look like.
If you have to use wireless, use it. Most definitely. But get a hybrid system that uses both hardwire and wireless. You'll have a place where you can put the panel hidden well with a keypad and outlet close by where you can run the wires concealed (you may have to get imaginative, go under carpet or pull baseboards even). You'll need to get a wire to an outdoor siren too, even if you have an interior one. Always, always get an outdoor siren (but wait until you've been using a week or two to make sure you don't have bugs that cause false alarms --then tie it in). So even wireless isn't ALL wireless, and the ones that are all wireless, well, I can definitively say that THOSE are most assuredly JUNK! To bypass that, all you have to do is go in the entry/exit, tear it off the wall, and rip out the wires. Presto, dead alarm. Never, ever, ever get panel with a built in keypad. Those two parts should ALWAYS be separate and hardwired.
Dogs. When I say keep them out of range I mean that you need to keep them in an area where the motion cannot see them. Like in the bathroom if it has no motion. Or in a kennel crate. The other thing you can do, depending on the size of the dog, is to use a room that he stays in while you are gone and it has a pet immune motion rated for OVER his weight. But beware that even if you take lots of precautions, that dogs sometimes manage to set it off anyway. If they jump up on a counter and the dog is big enough, long enough, well the motion can interpret that as a person.
Some of the newer IR pet immune motion detectors work very well with people and smaller dogs. I've seen a cocker spaniel not set off a DSC Bravo 3 Digital motion detectors, but there was no way a person couldn't (well, there is, but I'm not saying).
I DO NOT advocate installing motion detectors upside down 3-4 feet off the floor. That is not secure at all. They need to be installed such that they can cover as much area as possible. They work best in every room (except the bathroom, that is for the dog, put a glassbreak in there if you have a window, right under or next to it).
Another good bit of advice is get two keypads or put the one in your bedroom. This way you can arm the system a different way at night where you can move about in your bedroom and go to the bathroom without setting it off. The level of security you can do at night depends on if you have kids, no master bath, etc. Basically you want to arm everything you can at night. My alarm tells me where the intrusion happened, I know where to go. If you have kids, you can contact all the windows and you'll never have to worry about them sneaking out.
Doing homework, research, getting the stuff yourself and really putting time and effort into doing it right can save a lot of money. But you have to look at the installation as an art and not just and installation. How to books on alarm installation are available and may help you if you go the DIY route. Unless you are rich, you aren't gonna get a fortress unless you do do it yourself and then just get monitoring and rent the radio.
