+1 on an alarm.
+10000 on a layered approach.
No one thing is going to make your home safe. But layers of security will make your home less likely to be chosen / gone through.
Don't RELY on:
Dogs, they can be easily out smarted or dominated.
Alarms, they can be bypassed.
Safes, they can be cracked.
Locks, they can be picked.
Neighbors, they can be out, lazy, brain dead, etc...
Secret squirrel hiding places, they can be found.
But if you have a dog, an alarm, safes (bolted down), good locks, and a bunch of other low cost precautions; you just made it much more of a hassle for some scumbag to get in and/or get away with anything good.
For you renters, Look at NextAlarm. It's better than Laser Shield IMO. It's not too expensive to set up and you can take it with you. If you have a landlord, like mine, who was happy for ME to spend the installation fee so THEY could have a permanent alarm system, you might look into them. You can take their wireless alarms with you and the battery life of the devices is not too bad. It's not as good as a professional installed one, but if you can't stand the thought of spending more $$$ to benefit you landlord, it's a nice compromise.
The alarm is customizable and they have pretty fast response. After several months of having the system, I finally tripped it coming in. I hit the wrong button on the key fob and walked right into the path of one of the motion sensors. I hit the disarm within seconds. Not a minute later they called and asked all the security questions.
I’d rather have a wired system but I don’t intended to stay long enough justify giving my landlord an amenity to raise my rent over.
I wish “It Takes a Thief” was still on. That will get you paranoid REAL FAST.
