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I still prefer the Big Dog, not only because he's a great deterrent to someone approaching the house with intentions of breaking in, but as a physical force against anyone brave/stupid enough to break in anyway. Some dogs are incredibly loyal and protective of their family and would not hesitate when the time to protect is needed. Always there and ready, unlike most people with any type of weapon.
And yes....... I know, it DOES depend on the dog. They are not all created equal.
Simplest for personal use would be Tactical flashlight, pepper spray, siren alarm and heavy stick / club or garden implement. However based on multiple attackers and your description as being in a house, if you have a porch you could design some unhealthy deterrent to entry, although you'd need to camouflage it and it may open you up to liability in case of their being disabled or death from the result.
If the porch is raised you could design a concentrated strobe light array focused on the entry (or other doors) that can be set to sensor array combined with an alarm. https://www.alarmsystemstore.com/col...-strobe-lights
You could go "Paul Kersey" on them and design spring loaded device to 'disable' them, potential for objects to drop or swing onto them affixed to a trigger or sensor release on underside of porch roof or be activated from within house.
High tech: directional skunk spray like the Israelis use or go high tech and design LRAD (directional sonic weapons) aimed at your home entry points.
I still prefer the Big Dog, not only because he's a great deterrent to someone approaching the house with intentions of breaking in, but as a physical force against anyone brave/stupid enough to break in anyway. Some dogs are incredibly loyal and protective of their family and would not hesitate when the time to protect is needed. Always there and ready, unlike most people with any type of weapon.
And yes....... I know, it DOES depend on the dog. They are not all created equal.
A dog isn't a tool. A dog is a living animal which lives for a dozen or more years. They need attention, potty training, love, and expensive medical care! You need to provide care when you are on vacations and away.
Some dogs are protective and barkers. My beagle mixes have all been great guard dogs. All were protective and had big barks . . . . until my current beagle. My current beagle only howls when we leave the house. She's great at announcing when the house is empty. BTW, she'll kiss strangers to death.
You can't adopt a big dog and decide that it's not the "right" big dog and leave it homeless. You are taking on another life, you need to respected it and not dumped in a shelter.
If someone comes in with a gun, it's as easy to kill a dog as a person.
A dog isn't a tool. A dog is a living animal which lives for a dozen or more years. They need attention, potty training, love, and expensive medical care! You need to provide care when you are on vacations and away.
Some dogs are protective and barkers. My beagle mixes have all been great guard dogs. All were protective and had big barks . . . . until my current beagle. My current beagle only howls when we leave the house. She's great at announcing when the house is empty. BTW, she'll kiss strangers to death.
You can't adopt a big dog and decide that it's not the "right" big dog and leave it homeless. You are taking on another life, you need to respected it and not dumped in a shelter.
If someone comes in with a gun, it's as easy to kill a dog as a person.
Like I said.....all dogs are not created equal, but try telling a disabled person with a service dog that it isn't a tool. Not only a tool, but a companion as well. Some dogs are just lap dogs, some are great guard and protectors. Breeding plays into what a dogs sense of purpose is.
As far as someone with a gun, it being as easy to kill a dog as a person......probably not when you consider their size and speed. But I would agree, a person with a gun could probably kill a person with a bat, bear spray, or flashlight just as easy as someone without those items.
Yes, a dog of any sort is a comittment.....and the bigger the dog, the bigger the comittment and cost.....for everything. But the payback of having that dog is huge even if it is never required to actually use force against an intruder. We lost our English Mastiff 6 years ago and was left with our St.Bernard that wouldn't hurt a fly.... a barker, but she'd happily see us slaughtered before she interacted with violence. We now only have one dog, a rescued Bull Mastiff that was 7 and a breeder dog that was turned out on the streets once she was used up. She's now 12 and can't get up by herself. I lift her to stand and support her to walk to her food and outdoors on a regular basis. She still loves her food and the attention she gets but her days are dwindling as she gets weaker. We will care for her until she let's us know it's time. Then we will let her go here at home where she's comfortable. She, as all of our dogs, have not been tools, per se, but have been family members to us.
First I'd harden my doors against intruders. That will help you sleep better than dealing with anyone inside your home
The last house we moved into in Florida we knew nothing about the neighborhood so called the local police and they sent out someone who walked around our home and pointed out weaknesses, sliding doors were our biggest ones and he told us ways to make them more secure.
Your local police may be able to help you be more secure since they know there is crime happening near you.
I'd rather get a door too tough to kick down than use a gun.
Good luck.
When I lived in SW Florida, our front doors always opened OUT. I guess that was due to hurricanes but it also helped in preventing someone from kicking your door in. We have two guns for home protection but I do carry pepper spray (probably worthless) in case a dog comes at us when I'm walking mine.
That’s not how pepper spray works. In order for the spray to work it had to be aerosolized. That gets it into the persons mouth, nasal passages, lungs and eyes. A toy water cannon just shoots out a solid stream.
A steady stream anywhere near the opponents' head is highly effective.
In fact, more effective on windy days than an aerosol.
In most places exterior doors are required to open IN by building codes. This was adopted after a couple of high profile incidents where people were burned to death when the exterior doors couldn't be opened during a fire because something outside was blocking them from opening.
"A steady stream anywhere near the opponents' head is highly effective.
In fact, more effective on windy days than an aerosol."
Correct, the pepper spray doesn't have to be aerosolized to be effective. The spray should be aimed towards the eyes. Even if they are closed the spray will work its way in when they reopen and the person will be temporarily blinded and the fumes from the spray on their face will affect their breathing. On an animal, hitting the eyes and nose will leave them only with their sense of hearing to locate you. I had to use my stream-spraying can on a dog running towards me. The stream is obviously harder to aim, even more so when my leashed dog was jerking me around trying to attack the dog coming at us.
There used to be self defense spray called "Mace" (see note below*)- The key ingredient was chloroacetophenone (CN), a type of tear gas, and it had to be aerosolized to function well. I don't know if they still sell it, but it didn't work as well as pepper spray and went out of favor. For awhile they sold pepper spray mixed with CN (maybe they still do) but people I know who used it said it wasn't any better than pepper spray without the CN. CN left a residue in the environment it was used in that was difficult to clean. If accidentally sprayed on a wall, table, floors, etc it could produce symptoms of exposure until it was removed by cleaning. In some cases if sprayed in a room all the surfaces including the ceiling had to be decontaminated. Pepper spray degrades naturally and cleans easily.
* Mace is a brand name and the only products I've seen them selling the last many years is pepper spray, not CN, but for awhile "Mace" and pepper spray were distinctly different products, that isn't necessarily the case anymore.
Edited to add- A personal anecdote: we had a Hawaiian pepper bush, they aren't the hottest peppers in the world but they pack some heat. The bush would make hundreds of little peppers at a time and the ones that weren't picked off (the cardinals ate way more than we did) would fall to the ground. One time I was mowing the lawn and when the mower hit the spot under the bush it made it's own invisible pepper spray and I unknowingly inhaled it. Wow. It seriously knocked the breath out of me. I only had to do that once to learn to hold my breath while mowing around that bush. So yes, one can absolutely "grow their own" pepper spray.
Last edited by terracore; 04-09-2024 at 06:05 PM..
Anybody who's been to the klink already knows to avoid breathing pepper spray. If they didn't figure it out on the way in, somebody on the inside will tell them. They also know how to escape after getting tasered.
Can you share with us the law(s) that you're referencing?
The Environmental Protection Agency regulates bear spray as a pesticide, with an agency-mandated warning label that states, in part, “HAZARDS TO HUMANS: May cause irreversible physical eye damage if sprayed in the eye at close range".
Depending where you live and how zealous the local law enforcement agency and/or D.A. is, you may be charged with a misdemeanor or a felony. It is up to the individual to make the decision on whether or not to use it on an intruder.
I've personally seen civilians literally walk away after having used a firearm to repel an intruder and others booked in county jail for using an irritant such as bear or wasp spray. To each his/her own.
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You could go "Paul Kersey" on them and design spring loaded device to 'disable' them, potential for objects to drop or swing onto them affixed to a trigger or sensor release on underside of porch roof or be activated from within house.
