River......you crack me up. I wish you'd visit here more often!

If I could actually use a shotgun that would be my first choice.....but I'd end up shooting myself or some innocent bystander (probably a cat!) so that option just isn't feasible for me anymore.

Make sure you get them in the front. Shooting the intruder in the back makes self defense harder to defend.

Hey everyone, I thought I would chime in on this post. Many of you may know that I am an NRA instructor and one of the courses that I teach is called personal protection in the home. One of the parts of the class they teach talks about home security. In the class I teach that whether you have a dog or not, it is good idea to put a large dog is outside your front door with water in it. That will make would-be robbers assume maybe there is something that drinks from that dish and they should choose another house. Another thing that I suggest is going to Goodwill for another thrift store and buying the largest size man workboots or shoes you can find. Leave them outside the front door. This is especially useful for people that are living alone in a house.

I have at one time or another have an alarm on my home. They were too annoying for me to deal with, and my dog would jump up on the couch and set it off when I was not home I would end up paying a fine to the city. No alarms for me.

My only home security is a 357 magnum, or a 20 gauge shotgun along with the sign on my window that says "husband is an NRA instructor- with guns, wife has PMS. Guess which one is home?? Never had a problem

LOL Earl!! Where can I get one of those signs?!

Seriously, though.....those are excellent suggestions. I might just get a large dog water bowl and set it by the front door. The birds can drink out of it if nothing else!

And I think I'll get a "beware of the dog" sign and put it in my window. They make them small enough so it's not glaring at you....but if you're close enough you can see it.

The work boots are a great idea, too. I think my youngest DS has an old pair or steel toed work boots somewhere in the back of his closet. I'll have to drag them out.

Thanks! Great ideas, Earl. I wish you were my neighbor!

Lol, this made me think of a bumper sticker sign I saw on a truck one day:

Driver carries no cash...he is married

I too currently have no home alarm, but we have the "castle law" in our state, meaning that if someone comes into your home, and you feel your life is threatened you can shoot them. DH and I used to instruct on home defense, so we are crack shots. We have special ammo for the home, so the bullets wont spin too fast, fly thru the wall and harm someone or an animal in another room. They spin slow, but do a lot of damage when they hit.

We lock our doors. ALL our doors. Even when we are in the house. We close or windows when we leave our home. We dont leave ladders out in easy reach for criminals to reach another floor or roof top. We close our curtains when we are not here, and leave a TV going. You dont know if someone is home or not cause you cant see them. Our cat patio cannot be opened from the yard. You must enter from the house if you want that door open. DH has many things laying around outside that say "a Marine lives here" We fly the Marine corp flag and he leaves his boots on the step when he comes in. We dont have any doggie things since the dog was put to sleep, but its a great idea.

The best defense is a good offense. Be proactive instead of reactive. Do you have a cell phone? make sure its handy or reachable at night without having to get out of bed. Put the charger at a place you can swoop and go. Have a plan. What would I do if someone kicked in the back door? Where would I hide? or would I stand up and fight? If you want a hiding place, make one. Use your closet or bathroom. Sit in the tub, pull the curtain. Put a chair in your closet if you dont want to crouch on the floor. If you lay in the closet, cover yourself with clothes, so you cant be seen. Have a baseball bat? can you swing it? Eye gouging, or throat punching is easy, fast and takes very little pressure to get someone off you.

Are there self defense classes offered in your area? I highly reccomend knowing how to defend yourself. 12 pounds of pressure in a kick to the knee, and he wont be chasing you. its handy to have these facts and it gives you some confidence to be able to practice in a safe space.

A couple of well placed NRA stickers cant hurt either.

I think that I Do things little bit differently. I always lock my doors when I am home, but when I am gone the doors are unlocked. I guess maybe subliminally I am hoping that somebody comes it robs me pics on my thing so I can get brand-new stuff. LOL that really is how it is. I don't think that anybody would make it through the front door with the way my dog likes to bark and he does have a mean sounding bark.

...........

I told my oldest son (the police officer) about Earl's suggestions and he said they were great! A security sign in the yard is okay......but the thought of a big dog or a big man behind the door is a real deterrent. I know none of it can prevent someone from getting in who really wants to get in.....but I think right now I'm going to give Earl's suggestions a try.

Kelly, are you getting a big barking dog or a big barking gun w/a sign in yard?