Mmmmm. Don't let the fear in her brew! I got bit by a Police Dog :cry: when I was in my teens (silly misunderstanding between me & the K-9, apparently responding rules over reason....go figure:rolleyes:) Anyway, long story short...I adopted a German Shephard a few years later, best dog I ever had ...we both learned the virtues of respect and "personal space". Any how, hard as it seems, getting back on the horse is best, or petting the dog as the case may be.

I have never had anything like this happen, but you always wonder what you would do if you found some one in the house. I know I could not pull the trigger on a gun and take a life. But I do have the Louisville Slugger next to the bed and would have no problem using that. You obviously did the right thing because you and your wife are safe. Everything else is just stuff that can be replaced.

I hope the second half of 2012 end up better than the first half for you.

lol that's true!

I never did take down the "beware of dog" signs on our doors. Perhaps that's a deterrent for some?

Yeah, I'd never shoot someone for just steeling stuff--that's wrong not to mention illegal. But if someone threatened my family or me, no hesitation. And you do have to make that decision before you think of having a gun for home defense, IMO.

Dog bites? A dog bit me while I was riding home from work one day. It took 3 courses of progressively stronger antibiotics to kill the infection. The last round killed all the good bacteria in my gut, resulting in yet another infection, requiring yet another course of antibiotics. Not fun.

Thanks all. I'd have absolutely no problem or hesitation shooting someone in my home, even if just for stealing; they undertake that risk when they break in at 2am. I'm sure this comment may irk some, but my tv has more value to me than the life of a home invader. My issue is logistic...is it likely to help? I'm not sure. I think, for us, a dog and security system is the answer. No judgement here, and I'm not trying to start a debate or anything.

I think a dog is discouraging them from entering at all...a gun is just going to help (if it helps) once they're inside. I've also never used a hand gun and I'm sure it would take time before I wasn't a danger to myself and wife.

Morally? Once they're in your home, it's a turkey shoot. They take that risk with behavior. My wife is different than me, I don't think she could use a weapon. One weird thing...I was talking to the head of our risk department, and she told me that burglars who have been bitten have successfully gotten insurance money and won law suits from dog attacks. I find this difficult to believe, but it's interesting.

Notes on dog:
-talk to them like a person, saying their name over and over again will not help them learn, saying their name followed by a specific command will do amazing things
-manage the poop size, make sure you really have the time for the dog, they will drive you crazy the more you leave them alone
-say no to springy reel in leahses, they're bs, get a 6 ft leather leash and be firm and if you tug, tell them a command so they know why, works wonders and will teach them where you want them
-If they bite you, accidental or otherwise, say OW and scold them a little so that if they bite someone friendly later they have the proper reaction to let go or ease up
-Accidents happen because they have no hands so see the not above, you will get bitten by accident, just be prepared and don't over-scold

Labs are fantastic because they can communicate with body language better than most dogs (i think part is the floppy ears). My dog would make noises to get you to look at him, then walk to the door and tap the doorknob with his nose. He's also walked every one of us to the front door every time we leave, got the paper in the morning (often causing passing cars to slow and watch), and would do his business on command (we told him to 'hurry' so as not to embarrass anyone). And upon seeing my dad drop something through a porch under construction, dad said "Cajun, fetch it" and he retrieved the CD in the case without damage.

Big dogs seem to be more at ease but they think they're small and their tail will smack thing off tables easily.

He only went after (offense, not defense) 1 person, and that person was three houses down and across the street. The person side-stepped the flying dog and Cajun sulked back home after hearing BAD DOG from a family member. He NEVER went into the street except to say hi to dogs walking by on our side like we trained him, but this one time it's like he just knew something was up, but still listened to commands once we noticed where he was and wtf he was doing. He has been a great guard dog (prevented painters from getting in the back yard unannounced on more than 1 occasion).

Here's my old dog, Cajun. Black lab with a mystery dad, topped out at 124lbs, notorious for flipping kids and running off, fitting 4 tennis balls in his mouth, and dragging the christmas tree around the yard after we'd take it down.
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=254896

Just remember, the more effort you put into a dog, the more you get back, it's really that simple.

In NJ it's a no no to shoot an invader in your home. Talk to a lawyer or know your States Laws very well before arming yourself.

What? I thought every state had the Castle Doctrine making it ok to shoot as soon as they were in your home without your consent and you feared for your life (ie anytime essentially).

As Cesar Milan says, "Exercise, discipline, affection. In that order." Absolutely right. I'm pretty good at the first and the third; not so good at the middle one.

The law definitely varies from state to state.

I heard one police officer say, "If you shoot them coming in the window, make sure they fall into the house." lol

If you're not familiar with firearms, training is a must. And there's techniques (I've never tried, thank God) that might reduce the risk of having to shoot someone, or being shot yourself. One is to lie on the floor, since that's not an expected target, and announce that you're armed. I have no idea of those have been tested in the real world, but it could help.

Aaron, just saw this... glad that you and your family are OK. Sorry to hear about this. I'm not sure how I'd react if someone was in the house like that.

Holy kay-RAP!

Very sorry this happened, on top of everything else.

I like the dog idea, and you've gotten some excellent dog advice, but who is going to walk the dog before your leg recovers?

Among the choices of pitbull, doberman, and german shepherd, I like the pitbull the most. But I believe they are all high energy dogs. A neighbor has a boxer, and she says he needs about two hours of very vigorous exercise every single day. If he doesn't get it, he makes trouble. She had to change her lifestyle for the dog.

I don't like most beagles, but it would be less trouble, and I take poguemahone's word for it that it would be at least as good at guarding. I've known lots of mean beagles.

But BREEDING matters more than BREED. You take your chances with a rescue dog. On the other hand, it's the right thing to do.

Another lesson is that you should use both belt and suspenders when you do backups. An external hard drive is nice, but backups in the cloud are generally much safer, though they're also expensiver. I use both an external and the cloud. And my external is on another floor of the house. I backup over the network.

Oh yea forgot to mention Jungle Disk. Great software, super encrypted, cloud accessible, and CHEAP!

Forget the dogs......
This is what you need:
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y44/BeckVFR/fatcat.jpg
Just remember to play recordings of roaring lions all night and the message will be complete to the thieves!

Chombi

If someone breaks into my home knowing that we are in residence, I would have to assume that they are willing to forfeit the lives of me and mine. To think otherwise would be foolish, and would put our lives in jeopardy. I would make decisions based on that assumption, and carry them out to the best of my ability.

Holy mother of God, that's a big cat!

I should have been more careful about backing some documents up to the cloud...many of them I'll be able to recapture in archived emails.

^^^ Doesn't that one do the Macy's Parade every Thanksgiving?

Best wishes!

After an intrusion / near invasion, thank goodness you're OK.

Our insurance company took pretty good care of us...in terms of monetary loss, it's not bad at all. The real hurt is the emotional stuff and losing so many documents. Life goes on...we had a GREAT year last year, this one is the balance. I told my wife to be meaner to me in order to avoid future problems.

Damn...this is a terrible thing to have happened, but you have got a great attitude about it, Aaron. Best of luck to you in recovering your documents. My backup is sitting right on my desktop too, now that Apple's discontinued .me....I havent' updated to iCloud. Better do that NOW.

Had a Dobe once bit a Philly Cop, died horribly. Even flesh eating bacteria dislike them! :innocent:

Really sorry to hear this. Glad you are okay!

Wow, glad you are OK! We were burglarized when we lived in a second story condo about 30 years ago, they climbed up on the balcony and smashed the glass door. We were off for a long weekend. I had installed a double key deadbolt for when we were away, that prevented them from exiting out the door, they had to go back the way they came. I'll never forget the look (or feeling) of seeing my home invaded.

These days we have a dog, a yellow lab with a very deep bark, and quite a few guns. I figure with the dog, we won't need the guns but you never know. If you want to threaten someone with a gun but not use it, a pump action shotgun might fill the bill. Just hearing the noise from one of them is enough to deter all but the most stupid or intoxicated burglar.

+100...We're on our third Boxer. He is 87# of complete *****cat...but...he puts on a good show.

All joking aside, he is very protective of my wife and son and is wary of strangers, which is a little unusual for US bred boxers, actually.

Boxers can range from goofy to aloof depending on breeding...but...they are always great with family and generally with other animals.

Terrier breeds (we have a Pit mix also) tend to kill small animals, including cats (of course there are exceptions before anyone posts otherwise).

My 2c.

No offense, and I'm sorry your wife was bitten, but, your wife is (was) not that dog's family (read pack).

Again, I'm sorry she was bitten, but I'm also sorry the dog was destroyed...especially without knowing the circumstances.