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I've spent countless hours looking at purchasing a guard dog that will simply do it's job, walk the perimeter. Yes, I have a weapon but I'd probably shoot to maim and end up killing someone (I do a pretty bad job of getting to the gun club on a regular basis).
Okay, so we've got a little pack with large-dog barking going on. Pretty much a crappy way of guarding the house if the perps are on meth or whatever the nutty-brain-is-in-the-hatchback-of-my-recently-stolen-vehicle crowd. Cameras are in place but big deal if you're dead. Machete on each floor - yeah, we're really rural.
What I found to be the biggest deterrent in purchasing a guard dog(s), besides the cost (up to $80k), is the limited 2 year guarantee-warranty on the health of the animal. The other issue is that we'd have the extra expense of bringing in the trainer for a min. of 2 days to a week or more to keep the animal in shape. And the deal-breaker was the fact, that I found, is they don't give you a break money-wise to change out the animal every year or two. I wasn't looking for a pet, I've got those. They also break down the guard dogs into class i, ii, or iii. A class three can supposedly hold off two humans until you give the "break" command, supposedly gives you enough time to ready your weapon. Not a good choice for us as the meth-heads already have weapons and pretty much total disregard for your expensive guard dog. The guard dogs are usually from Germany (strict laws regarding breeding), no US,CAN dogs are used for many of these training centers. Also, the training is typically someone standing and walking to the residence with a, for lack of a better description, butcher's apron and training arm-piece, really - how many perps go into a property like that, nutty training.
Cameras, weapon, alert neighbors, walkie talkie to nearby nieghbor, a dog that is an alert system-doorbell is fine by me.
I've spent countless hours looking at purchasing a guard dog that will simply do it's job, walk the perimeter. Yes, I have a weapon but I'd probably shoot to maim and end up killing someone (I do a pretty bad job of getting to the gun club on a regular basis).
Do not shoot to maim; do not shoot to kill; shoot to stop. That means firing at the center of body mass. I don't know what your specific laws on self-defense are but this is the safest course for you if you expect a legal action in the US.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SunsetBeachFL
Okay, so we've got a little pack with large-dog barking going on. Pretty much a crappy way of guarding the house if the perps are on meth or whatever the nutty-brain-is-in-the-hatchback-of-my-recently-stolen-vehicle crowd. Cameras are in place but big deal if you're dead. Machete on each floor - yeah, we're really rural.
What I found to be the biggest deterrent in purchasing a guard dog(s), besides the cost (up to $80k), is the limited 2 year guarantee-warranty on the health of the animal. The other issue is that we'd have the extra expense of bringing in the trainer for a min. of 2 days to a week or more to keep the animal in shape. And the deal-breaker was the fact, that I found, is they don't give you a break money-wise to change out the animal every year or two. I wasn't looking for a pet, I've got those. They also break down the guard dogs into class i, ii, or iii. A class three can supposedly hold off two humans until you give the "break" command, supposedly gives you enough time to ready your weapon. Not a good choice for us as the meth-heads already have weapons and pretty much total disregard for your expensive guard dog. The guard dogs are usually from Germany (strict laws regarding breeding), no US,CAN dogs are used for many of these training centers. Also, the training is typically someone standing and walking to the residence with a, for lack of a better description, butcher's apron and training arm-piece, really - how many perps go into a property like that, nutty training.
Cameras, weapon, alert neighbors, walkie talkie to nearby nieghbor, a dog that is an alert system-doorbell is fine by me.
It seems that your territory is statistically very dangerous so I would take any necessary precautions to protect myself and mine including my pets. Perhaps moving from the Virgin Islands would be the best course.
OP has stated that they no longer want a guard dog.
But for anyone else reading and considering a guard dog, not only is the dog expensive, but the training must be ongoing. You are looking at a couple of hours a week to keep the dog tuned up and performing as trained. The person who wants the protection has to participate in the training.
So, a good dog is valuable for protection but he will not be a time saver. He's high maintenance equipment.
If OP wants a dog, I suggest something quite small that can be exercised inside the house. An adult dog that is not high energy but will bark if someone comes around. But not bark too much; it sounds like maybe OP is in an apartment? And why not a dog that can be trained to perform some service dog tasks. Might as well, as long as the dog is there.
If you have a dog who is confident and kind natured, there is an extremely good chance that the dog will come to your aid in a desperate situation. I would not count on a timid dog, but an outgoing, friendly dog will generally back you up.
Do not shoot to maim; do not shoot to kill; shoot to stop. That means firing at the center of body mass. I don't know what your specific laws on self-defense are but this is the safest course for you if you expect a legal action in the US.
It seems that your territory is statistically very dangerous so I would take any necessary precautions to protect myself and mine including my pets. Perhaps moving from the Virgin Islands would be the best course.
Yes, the territory can be dangerous but not if you're taking regular precautions, as you would anywhere you live. We have more cars than people which is a good deterrent, dogs, cameras, weapons, one neighbor nearby so we feel we have done as much as we possibly can.
But when we lived in Florida, coastal, heavily-populated area, we still had dogs, cameras, one weapon and very alert neighbors. So regardless of where we live or have lived, we don't wear a lot of bling, don't go out and get wasted, never out later than 10pm (by choice since we're too old to party on into the night and need our sleep).
Shooting at the mass versus to kill is not going to stop a meth-nut from doing what they can while they can and they may not even know they're hit. Laws here are pretty much the same as Florida, "stand your ground".
I did re-read the thread and see this woman really just needs a smallish pet, probably more for companionship and she might feel safer with a real alarm system and reaching out to neighbors. I hope she finds what she is looking for.
And thanks for the shooting for the mass advice, I know it but I'm just not that good. Need to make more of a commitment to the gun club, thanks!
I agree for you a gun & a cell phone is a better option.
Having said that,
Cost,
A real dog that is trained properly and matched to your needs will start in the 75k range and quickly go up to and over 100k +is not out of the question.
There are a lot of misconceptions in this thread of what a "guard dog" is.
it can be many things, and most I see get their Definition from TV.
I have trained SchHIII (schutzhund) titled dogs all of them are fine in a room full of kindergarteners.
It doesn't take a hard headlining to train them many women do it.
You just have to know what you are doing.
The uneducated opinions are rampant in this thread.
In the pic 2 SchHIII (guard dogs) attacking our grand daughter.
OMG!!! How cruel you are to let your "attack" dogs devour your grand daughter with kisses!
I think the OP misunderstood the neighbor. All he/she needs is a companion dog that makes noise when someone attempts to break in. The dog doesn't need to be a trained guard dog. When I went back to school, we moved into a house about 2 blocks from a main arterial known for drug trafficking. We had a German Shepherd that made her presence known. She made a game of watching people walk up the hill as she would then run to the fence corner, hidden by bushes. Just as they got to the corner, she'd rear up barking. People learned to cross the street before our house and then cross back after passing. We had neighbors houses broken into multiple times while we were never bothered, even when we were gone for a period. In essence, our GSD made other houses an easier target.
There are an entire class of "Guard dogs" that require no guarding training. The class is the LGD or livestock guarding dogs. I personally think they are the very best guard dogs there are because well bred examples of these dogs only react to threats and they are uncanny in their ability to know what constitutes a threat. I had a Kuvasz that was just amazing in that regard. The breeder told me a few times, "NEVER second guess this dog". Well after the fourth time I was completely wrong about someone I said to her, "Alright Zora, if you don't like someone I don't like them either and will not let them on our property".
These dogs will die protecting their own and believe me if you don't have a gun you don't want to get into a fight with one. In BC where they use them for sheep they have killed bears. My girl was just a 110 pound big fluffy ball of love unless of course if you happened to threaten her people, her cats or her little small dog companions.
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