ahah oh my gosh I love this! Neat project, thanks for sharing!
Fake Dog for Home Security
181–190 of 373 posts
Re: Fake Dog for Home Security
#182Earlier quoted context omitted.
Interesting. I put up such a sign to try to reduce my liability if someone tried to get into my yard and encountered my 150 lb dog.
My former neighbor's father owned a junkyard with a fairly mean junkyard dog. Said dog did its job with a would-be thief, and the local government made them exterminate the dog. Apparently the logic behind that decision included the argument that the fact that they posted a "beware of dog" sign indicated that they knew the dog was dangerous (duh, that's sort of the point) and therefore shouldn't be given further chan…
And what would the local government had done had the owner happened to be there and had put a bullet in the thief instead of waiting for the dog to do it?
It's not about the outcome or the dog. It's about sending a message to everyone else in town that that level of defending one's property is not going to be let slide.
Re: Fake Dog for Home Security
#183Earlier quoted context omitted.
A "beware of the dog" sign would probably be just as (if not more) effective regardless of whether there's an actual dog.
For larger properties, a “Beware of Unexploded Land Mines” might work too. Or copy Vladimir the Impailer’s technique of using scarecrows impailed on stakes with the word “Thief” drawn on them. Might scare the neighbors away too though, but that’s not always a bad thing.
Or, buy a fake skeleton, hang a plate around his neck with “ex-burglar killed by me” engraved words :-)
Re: Fake Dog for Home Security
#184To add credence to this post, I once heard an interview with an incarcerated burglar who claimed that dogs where the one deterrent that scared him off. He said that an alarm as only as good as the response times of the police and he's usually in and out of there in five minutes anyway. But who wants to risk it with a dog? Better to just move on to the next house. A few more tips: - Best place to hide valuables is in…
I remember watching a thing from another ex-burglar who said dogs are a good deterrent but you can overcome them if you distract them with food, e.g. dropping a big bag of dog food all over the floor. He said it was a risky strategy though and probably not worth the effort.
Re: Fake Dog for Home Security
#185When I bought a house I picked up a dog dish and put it by my walkout basement sliding door. Also the pond next to my house has old tennis balls show up in it now and then so I put them next to the dish. According to the local cops break ins in my area are mostly just kids going into open garage / garage side doors / back doors that are left open and stuff to steal is out and obvious and so on. I figure just the sens…
After living in a dangerous city my whole life, I think living in a place where break ins are consequences of owners being lazy would be awesome.
Crimes of opportunity are also the most common crimes in places with more crime.
What’s awesome is living somewhere that crimes of opportunity don’t even happen. There are still places where people don’t lock doors because they don’t need to.
Re: Fake Dog for Home Security
#186anecdotal story: my old rottweiler pepper once stopped a neighborhood kid from stealing a plasma cutter out of my garage. her pups had recently littered next to the lawnmower and she was sleeping under the table saw at the time. she had managed to chew him up badly enough to need an ambulance, and at the time it was a pretty horrifying experience for everyone involved, but eight years later his parents and I are pretty good friends. ive even driven him to a substance abuse program a few times.
Re: Fake Dog for Home Security
#187When I bought a house I picked up a dog dish and put it by my walkout basement sliding door. Also the pond next to my house has old tennis balls show up in it now and then so I put them next to the dish. According to the local cops break ins in my area are mostly just kids going into open garage / garage side doors / back doors that are left open and stuff to steal is out and obvious and so on. I figure just the sens…
A "beware of the dog" sign would probably be just as (if not more) effective regardless of whether there's an actual dog.
I wonder if a more effective deterrent would be communicating that you are an abusive and neglectful dog owner. 'Beware of dog' signs communicate to me that a person is responsible and they don't want to be sued in case of an accident. If there was a sign outside that was just a silhouette of a pit bull with the words 'dog fighter' underneath, I would not want to rob that house.
Re: Fake Dog for Home Security
#188Earlier quoted context omitted.
Interesting. I put up such a sign to try to reduce my liability if someone tried to get into my yard and encountered my 150 lb dog.
My former neighbor's father owned a junkyard with a fairly mean junkyard dog. Said dog did its job with a would-be thief, and the local government made them exterminate the dog. Apparently the logic behind that decision included the argument that the fact that they posted a "beware of dog" sign indicated that they knew the dog was dangerous (duh, that's sort of the point) and therefore shouldn't be given further chan…
Obviously people have guard dogs to guard things.
But dangerous dogs who attack strangers don’t ask questions. If they’ll bite a strange thief, they’ll bite other strangers without bad motives. Dogs are smart, but they don’t understand “Hi I’m your new mailman”, etc.
Re: Fake Dog for Home Security
#189Earlier quoted context omitted.
People like to hate on suburbs for a lot of valid reasons but moving back to one as an adult after spending my 20s in the city was profoundly calming.
The whole "hey kids go outside and play" and I don't feel the need to monitor them is wonderful if you've got kids.
Also a perfectly normal thing in cities in most of the world.
Re: Fake Dog for Home Security
#190Earlier quoted context omitted.
After living in a dangerous city my whole life, I think living in a place where break ins are consequences of owners being lazy would be awesome.
The sleepy suburbs have their downsides, but also their upsides for sure.
They're also easy targets for people to break in during the day while people are at work.
I chased a person out of my garage in broad daylight who ended up being a porch pirate.