I am doing a lot of thinking lately about how easily I can be caught off guard even though I am prepared for many eventualities. Food, lots. transportation, a four wheel drive, guns yes, and on and on I could go. BoB's for each member of the family, I would have to consider colour co-ordination to upgrade. Lots of tools, all that stuff. So what is the problem?
A few nights ago a knock on my door at 3 AM jolted me awake. Standing there was my neighbour, very drunk. Someone suggested in another post that trespassers could be deterred by a dog that attached itself to an intruders crotch. Great plan, but my dog was asleep. My unwanted guest even made it into the porch announcing he would leave after cooking some bacon. When I told him that wasn't going to happen, he woke up everyone in the house with "F" this and "F" that, and "the whole community was against him". Although his senior by 30 years, I did manage to get him out of the house, and then had to usher him down the driveway to keep him from throwing rocks at my car because in his mind I had done him wrong. That's the end of the story, next morning he remembered nothing. But it was a wakeup call.
For one thing I didn't have a big stick by the back door, a can of bear spray, or such. I was totally unprepared. But there is a problem with being too prepared . We preppers live in two worlds, three if we count the grey one. On one hand we are in a society that still operates under the rule of law where it is frowned upon to shoot your neighbour in the leg while he is knocking on your back door, or walking up your driveway in the middle of the night appearing to be drunk. "Reasonable force" is a term we throw out a lot, but a court can interpret that entirely different from the way I do. The second world is much clearer to define. I have fantasized with the best of the preppers. In my fantasy I am on the hill behind my house raining down sniper fire on the hoards who have arrived at my gate wanting to take my food, or I am standing boldly in front of a 250 pound muscled neolith and I deftly take off both his kneecaps with a swing of my mighty club which I repurposed from a peeves handle I found at a yard sale. But I wonder if I have the guts to live in this brutal second world. As for the grey world it makes me uneasy. It is the situation where you can take violent action, know just how far you can go without landing in jail Every situation is different, no one size fits all, a judgment call every time. There is room for overreaction, under reaction, regrets.
Back to my dog. He is the family pet and we will keep him, but I think I need another one as well, one that will scare the hell out of anyone who comes into my yard while I am away, or sits between me and an unwanted guest who insists on cooking bacon at three AM. He will be growling, baring his fangs, ready to spring to my defence if I give the command. A perfect companion for the grey world.
What kind of dog do you have? And what kind are you thinking about getting? I have a rottweiler. My second one. Very good dog. Very smart, we have him in training classes. Good with the kids. Very friendly. But also very protective, and territorial. His bark alone would scare all but the dumbest away.
Be very careful when it comes to having a dog that will attack people “on command” as that has been interpreted by some courts as using a deadly weapon.
The best way to keep unwanted guests from entering your house is to make getting in difficult. Doors that are kick in proof and windows with bars on them come readily to mind.
I do not understand a dog sleeping through an unwanted door knocker but that is between you and your dog. I had until recently 2 Chihuahuas who at the rap of a knuckle on our door or an unusual sound outside immediately start barking and continue until I either told them to be quiet or I let the person into the house. That is all I ever wanted from them and they did themselves proud. I didn’t want them to protect me, just to make sure I knew that something was amiss and then I would looki into it.
If you decide you are going to get another dog and you want defense and you have lots of room there is one dog that is not well known but is a real “man stopper,” and that is the Caucasian Ovcharka.
When my wife and I find our property we are going to look into getting at least one if not two. They grow to at least 90 pounds and have been known to get up to 160 pounds. They are big height wise as well and grow to between 26 to 32 inches at the shoulder.
They are used as sheep protectors in Russia and all along the Urals and protect sheep from everything including wolves.
If you want a fearless and capable dog they are something to think about.
Noli Illigitimi Carborundum
(Don’t let the bastards wear you down)
I understand your dilemma but I must speak quietly or she might hear me. I have an eight year old Siberian Husky. She big for a husky, looks like a wolf and has two blue eyes. Most people are terrified of her at first sight. However she is exceptionally friendly and hardly ever barks. Not a guard dog at all.
She did earn her keep a couple of years ago when a couple of local wannabes tried to break into our house at 3:00am when the whole family was home and sleeping. As they were breaking in through the door was one of the few times she ever barked. Enough to scare them away. After a 1km chase they were "apprehended" turned over to Police charged and convicted. It scares me to think what would have happened if they had made it all the way into the house.
Most of the time I have to rely upon my neighbors dog, a Yellow Lab, to inform me of "visitors". They seem to be good dogs as do Rottweiler's. My daughter had a Rottweiler and she was great with my grandchildren. I have been thinking seriously of late of a addition (sounds better than upgrade) to my canine family (security system in prepper talk). I am pretty sure that we have decided on a German Sheppard. They make good guard dogs and can be very smart.
The following link may be of some help: http://www.justdogbreeds.com/guard-dog-breeds.html . It also rates each breed by very useful criteria.
One thing that must be seriously considered is the environment in which you live. Undoubtedly big dogs make the most formidable guard dogs. However, big dogs need a big space. If you live in a city apartment forget it. Tthat would be verging on cruel. If you have a big garden then obviously that would be much better. If you live in a rural environment then you have no problem.
Good luck with your quest and keep us posted as to the outcome.
That is an awesome website, thanks for that!
We have;
a German Sheppard (protective of home and yard)
a Doberman (protective of owner they have bonded with)
a Miniature Schnauzer, which is of the terrier family (mean, noisy, alert bugger)
It has been our experience that the schnauzer alerts the other two, sometimes at the expense of our peace and quiet. The other two are the deterrents.
I've wanted a Giant Schnauzer for a while now... I'm glad they scored so well on the chart as our Sheppard is 10 years old this year and sleeps most of the day already.
Yeah it is a good website. I was glad to see the rottweiler scored so high. They really are smart dogs. Although it is true they dont bark much, I dont think they should lose point for this. They do bark when someone approaches the house. But they dont bark at every single thing that moves. They take a moment to observe. When they do bark you hear it and they mean business. Im looking to get a second dog by the end of the year. Probably going to get a german shepherd.
Does anybody here have any expierience with training their dog to cart pull? I was watching some videos and I was thinking it would be really cool to train my dog to do this. Some of the carts I was looking at online are pretty impressive looking. A dog could pull quite a bit of food and water and might work very well with some peoples bug out plans. Dog sledding is another good idea for the seasonal bug out.
Here is two articles I thought interesting for those who have livestock and wish to upgrade their dogs.
http://rurallivingtoday.com/livestock/livestock-guardian-animal-need/
http://rurallivingtoday.com/livestock/livestock-guardian-dog/
Hello from the Fraser Valley.
My wife and I have been protection training mostly Rottweilers,German Shepherds and Pitbulls for over 15yrs now. We have clients across US and Canada.
I also have a 4yr old son and an 11 yr old daughter and they can both control our dogs. We don't train "loose cannons"
The dogs we train are nothing short of machines and honestly in some cases have made police dogs look like poodles. They are awesome family pets but make no mistake, they are fearless protectors as well.
My wife is a Certified Master Trainer.
We have also had carts built and can help you with this as well.
Just remember that a trained dog still cannot out run a bullet but that he/she (the dog) can buy you the precious moments that it takes to get your family to safety and that deployment of this weapon should always be used with caution.
If you have any questions about K-9 security please don't hesitate to ask.
Thanks
Shovlhd
Thanks shovhld. thanks for this info. Did not know what k-9 security was. i am guessing one of these dogs is very expensive??? Keep safe, shovhld
These dogs can be expensive. But the keyword would be Barter.
Plus there could be deals made because we both seem to support the same cause.
Alot of our clients pay huge money for the dog and pedigree plus the training.When honestly some of my best dogs have been rescues that cost me nothing. You just need to know what you're looking for if you get a rescue dog. Most dogs at the pound are there for a reason so be sure it's a happy dog with no" issues"
There are ways to get a good dog at a reasonable price
I'll help wherever I can
Shovlhd
THANKS for this info. I have teen age kids whose faces I don't want chewed off, and we have a fair amount of traffic in and out of here. A big family of relatives drops by quite often during the week, I don't want a dog that runs off the property, and I don't want to keep any dog tied. had two black and tan german shepherds once, loved those dogs!! But both developed hip problems when they were ten. "Barter" is such a nice word. Anything we have as services up here, etc. that you would like to have drop a line. Have appreciated your input
Chilcotin,
A dog that hasn't seemed to make the list here is the Komondor, http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/komondor.htm . While not a common dog and perhaps not the most attractive to the eye, they are very tough and strong with a sharp sense of who is supposed to be on it's property and who is not. There coat allows for it to survive cold harsh winters and defend against predators... My parents have raised these dogs and others and for property management and protection they rank in the top of chart. Once introduced to a person they seem to be able to recognize their place, though with strangers, they would need to escorted until deemed a not threat. And any threat would soon not be one, they have shown an ability to know how much persuasion is needed in any given situation.
Tjhoofing