Perimeter Security Question

[Hartkopf]

We have two small dogs in our family.. Their names are False and Alarm. False woofs softly which sets off Alarm into the loudest ear piercing bark you've ever heard. Great dogs but they have half pound triggers so we never really know if there's an intruder on the property.

 

[bassjam]

I have never met a dog I didn't like but some are definitely better than others for security work.
I am currently raising my first German Shepherd. He is now 4.5 months old & he is already a good watchdog but he does not like the heat. We are having a bad heat spell and he definitely feels it. I've also had Dobermans & Rottweilers as well as some small & mix breed dogs. It's too early to declare a verdict on my young German Shepherd but leaving him out of the mix I have to say that my Dobermans may have been the best security dogs I've had.
There are many fine dogs that are willing to give their all to protect their home & family. However regardless of how good a dog is at watching over a property dogs are a warning & a deterrent but they should not be counted on to fight off a determined intruder.
Even big strong dogs like mastiffs are no match for the intelligence & technology of well prepared & determined humans & it is not fair to expect them to fight off trespassers.
In my house my dogs warn me. After that it's my job to grab my weapon & do the rest.

That's about where I'm at. I have a Golden Retriever and a lab/beagle mix that stay outside unless it gets above 95° or below 15°. These aren't aggressive guard dogs and in fact they both love people, but they also bark so much that delivery people typically don't get out of their car, they honk and wait for me to come outside. And that's all I ask of them, to alert me to what's going on.

An outside dog is a possible, but because of the local chiggers, ticks, and fleas do not want a dog indoors. Chiggers are really bad things

Frontline or Advanticks topical treatments or Seresto collars. I've got a large yard and my dogs often go back in the woods with the kids. As long as I stay up on the applications and don't buy treatments from Amazon (I think I've had some counterfeits that didn't work) they don't get fleas or ticks or chiggers. Everyone's been telling me this is a bad year for ticks, and I've only found a couple and they were both on my son.

 

[CapnMac]

Not sure OP needs much of a driveway alarm if the front step is only 25 feet to the road.

 

[Hondo 60]

Big, loud dogs.

My Great Dane scares the crap outta people that come by.
My disabled wife sleeps in the living room
And my boy lets me know if I need to get up.
I pity the poor sucker that tries to mess with my wife.

Normally he's a big teddy bear, but DO NOT hurt the momma!
I told her of this writing & got a big smile from her.
Bucky will not let anything happen.

 

[Trunk Monkey]

Was there a property survey done at time of sale? (States vary on this as a requirement.)
The reason to ask is to see if there is a road easement, a Right-of-Way, legally defined across your property.
(Such things are considered a detriment in property sales, as you often have to pay property taxes on a "community" asset, like a road.)

If this was just a driveway to the property, that was extended to the other paved road for the owner's use, that does not necessarily make it a "County" road (other than by adverse possession, which is a topic for a different forum).

If that latter is the case, you can just put up a gate on one of the sides of the "through road" (you will likely be required to leave one open for 911 access. The gated side would need prominent "Private Property" and "No Trespassing" signs; the "open" end would need "Private Property" and "No Outlet" signage.
Maybe.
Perhaps.
(Might take some lawyering, too)

Now, if it's an easement, and especially if your property is divided into legal lots on either side (which would be ideal as you would not be paying taxes on a public road) then the road is the road.

However, that does not mean you have to have no barrier to the road and those using it. And, rather than a fence you could just put in plants and have a hedge, instead. A person could find some local to WV vegetation that would be perfectly in place, but under-inviting to the uninvited. Simple things like thorny holly or even wild rose varieties can be placed to be a detriment.

Now, the other sides are both simpler and more complicated. out of the swampy areas, I'd be inclined to create a mown strip as close to the line as I could. I'd buckle down and get stakes and one strand of wire up, too, if only to hold up No Trespassing signs. In the swampier areas that's tougher sledding. But, if you don't give people a clue, then they can plead ignorance.

That's 2¢, spend it as you will.

I agree with CapnMac. Before you do anything else you need to find out where you stand with that road. Once you have that information you can determine where to go from there.

Assuming you find out that you own that property gating the road could cause its own issues in terms of having people cut your locks but there are ways around that too.

Having said that though, you need to find out where you stand before you can really go any further.

 

[Kleanbore]

That's good advice.

Pending that, there's little more of substance to be said.

Let's put his to bed, and start a new post when the question has been addressed.