If you want to keep intruders out, keep people out!

[Cosmoline]

I'm always amazed when visiting other people's homes how slack they are about really basic security issues. The most frequently violated rule is allowing all kinds of people in and out of the house and property. If you want to secure your turf, don't let anyone into it without having to go through a locked door and getting your permission. I remember helping my friend sell guard dogs to folks who swore up and down that they wanted a REAL guard dog, then got upset when the dog guarded against all the neighbors, kids, contractors, and just people off the street who felt they had permission to just wander right in. A lot of AMerican homes are like this.

Watch a few episodes of "To Catch a Thief" on Discovery for some good examples of this.

If you want secure property, you must SECURE it. ALl the alarms, locks, firearms, dogs etc. mean nothing unless you first SECURE your property. Make sure there are no meters or other items to be serviced or read within your fenced confines, for one thing. Keep doors locked at all times, and let noone in without your express permission each time they come in.

Be mean, be ruthless, be rude. Nobody gets in.

 

[LAK]

I agree entirely. People who do not maintain absolute control over who enters their property have only themselves to blame when things go missing, family members get hurt - and worse.

I'm always amazed when visiting other people's homes how slack they are about really basic security issues. The most frequently violated rule is allowing all kinds of people in and out of the house and property. If you want to secure your turf, don't let anyone into it without having to go through a locked door and getting your permission.

Heh - some nations suffer from this lapse of reason and logic as well
--------------------------------------------

http://ussliberty.org
http://ssunitedstates.org

 

[John Hicks]

I'm having this conundrum with my dog now. He barks at everything that comes near the house and everyone at the door (especially the UPS man -- man he hates that guy).

I want to encourage the "alert" and vigilance, but also train him to settle down after I acknowledge his alarm. It's tough, since no matter what we like to think , our dogs don't have the reasoning ability humans do.

As for letting people in, when I got a nice TV and stereo at my old apartment (which wasn't in a bad neighborhood, but was close enough to a few) I didn't let anyone in. It made deliveries and stuff interesting, but I didn't want anyone casing the place under my nose. I've become a bit more lax now that I'm in a better neighborhood, but I still like to get ID and document the visit of any contractors, repair men, etc that see enough of my house to "inventory".

A little paranoia isn't necessarily a bad thing (no matter what my wife says )

jh

 

[Declaration Day]

This is a great thread, Cosmoline. My mother would be alive today if she had followed your advice.

In my house, doors are kept locked, always. I have three dogs who would take great offense to any stranger wandering in. Actually they bark like crazy if someone even walks on the sidewalk past our house. It is annoying at times, but given the potential benefit of advance warning, I'll deal with it. My gate is always locked, my garage is always locked, my windows are always locked. There is a creative warning sign posted on my front door.

Remember that many criminals are professionals. Just as any of us, in our respective professions, are one step ahead of everyone else who doesn't do our job, the same applies to criminals.

The key is to make sure you stay one step ahead of them.

P.S. When I lived in my previous neighborhood, which was not a good one, all it took was for me to forget to lock my garage door just once, and somebody helped themself to my Snap-on tools.

 

[porterdog]

I want to encourage the "alert" and vigilance, but also train him to settle down after I acknowledge his alarm.

That can be tricky, but it's doable and IMO is the optimum solution. You've undoubtedly got a general 'no' command for him/her, so my strategy would be this:

Arrange for a neighbor/coworker/UPS guy/child to activate the dog alarm. Once alarm is activated, praise dog. Then give the 'quiet down command' (which, according to most trainers ought to be a word not normally used in conversation). Likely at this stage the dog will continue to bark. Issue the generalized 'no' command, firmly, immediately after a bark. If the dog stops, praise! If not, repeat the no perhaps with a physical correction like snapping the lead. You need to interrupt the bark loop, and then reinforce the resulting silence with praise.

I wasn't quite perfect when teaching my dog this, and usually had to command him away from the door to get him quiet.

 

[Terrierman]

I want to encourage the "alert" and vigilance, but also train him to settle down after I acknowledge his alarm. It's tough, since no matter what we like to think , our dogs don't have the reasoning ability humans do. jh

Dogs do not have any reasoning ability, but they do have the ability to learn. Get thee to a qualified trainer. Or buy and read a book on training. Its not advanced training to have your dog "settle" when you give him the command. But it will require some effort and repitition on your part, and basic obedience training is certainly a prerequisite.

 

[TallPine]

I try to keep the doors locked all the time, but here on a country place it is kind of hard and inconvenient when one or more of us is going in and out, doing chores and stuff. We do have a routine of "it's me!" (for the person coming in) and "Hello...?" (usually me sitting at my desk) - otherwise the person coming in is likely to be facing a gun (that hasn't happened yet)

Anybody shows up in the drive - the gals have orders not to open the door unless it's somebody (safe) that we know, and to call me from my office.

We got permission from the new owner of the property behind us (who lives out of state for now) to put a locked gate across his driveway that goes across our land. That has given us a lot of peace of mind after all that we have been through with that place.

As far as dogs go, we have a young Golden Retriever (~8 months). Those are generally a friendly and "safe" breed, but a few days ago my daughter was coming back from the corrals after checking on the horses early one morning, and he dang near bit her before she spoke and he recognized her. So I guess he'll do as a guard dog

We just don't have repair people come around. I do most of the fix-its around here, and if I needed help I know plenty of people in business that I likely would not be calling a stranger. Of course the power or phone people come around occasionally but they have no reason to come in the house. As I pointed out on another thread, in Montana they are pretty careful about making themselves known before wandering around on your land .

Out here we read our own electric meter and submit the number when we pay the bill. They are supposed to come around once a year or so and double check so that you are not shorting them, but the only time that I've ever seen them do that is right after we moved in and took over the account from the previous owner.

Most of the folks out here are not near this security concious, but we have had some "issues" both with relatives and former "friends" which is part of the reason we moved way out here. But we didn't know when we moved in "next door" (40 acres) to the former neighbor what a mess we were getting into He is in prison now and hopefully his old buddies will no longer come around, especially now that the driveway has a locked gate across it.

If you are one of our friends, there is plenty of time for me to smile and say "howdy" after being suspicious at first.

 

[Sindawe]

Spot on Cosmoline. I keep my front door locked and deadbolted unless I'm passing through it. Windows locked unless they are open for air. All strangers are viewed with suspicion, and friends have long since learned that drop-ins get to cool their heals on the porch.

I'm also a stickler for knowing who lives around me, and running off those who don't and are loitering, which happens often since I live near a High School.

 

[odysseus]

Dogs do not have any reasoning ability, but they do have the ability to learn. Get thee to a qualified trainer. Or buy and read a book on training. Its not advanced training to have your dog "settle" when you give him the command. But it will require some effort and repitition on your part, and basic obedience training is certainly a prerequisite.

Anyone have any good books or references in regards to this? Most easy to get to nearby classes are not about training for guarding, but for actually how to be a friendly and sociable dog. All that is good, but they don't get into say guard dog training.

On the subject matter, I too find that people keep themselves way too open. Often friends will notice how perimeter minded I am and also how I wouldn't say leave a garage door open unless I am there and need it open for a reason. If they are a friend, when we talk of these things - usually they come out of the conversation thinking a little differently. Yes, most often people leave themselves too open. I find it's the simple things people don't keep up on the basics. Like they leave doors open and walk away, leave doors unlocked even though they are not using them. They let anyone who is near their property easily see what they are doing, what they have, where they are - the sort of "house of glass" kind of living. These same people open doors to strangers first and have conversations, easily trust sales people and people who appear to be "in authority", and often say they don't "want to live scared". Of course it's not about that though...

It's a socialization issue. Often people who live in close bunches don't want to appear odd or "paranoid" to those around them. However with clear lines, clear thinking, you can be this way and do this without appearing too "odd" to those who care of such things.

 

[whm1974]

but I still like to get ID and document the visit of any contractors, repair men, etc that see enough of my house to "inventory".

Just because someone is dressed as a repair man or meter reader doesn't mean he is one. Or for that matter, criminals have taken those kind of jobs to scope out marks.

Personally I think living rooms or whatever
you call your room past the front door should be bare. Nothing that tells anyone looking past your front door that you have anything worth stealing.

-Bill