Where To Start With DIY Home Security? 825
secretrobotron writes "I'm a recent university graduate from a co-op system which has kept me on the move every other semester, so I've never really had a permanent place to live, and I've never had the opportunity (or the capital) to buy expensive things. Now that I'm working, those restrictions on my life are gone and I'm living in an apartment with things I don't want stolen. I would love to build a DIY home security system, but I don't even know where to start since Google searches reveal things like diysecurityforum.com, which help only to an extent for a curious newcomer. Has anybody out there successfully built a home security system on a budget? If so, where did you start?" Related query: When similar questions have come up before, many readers have recommended Linux-based Zoneminder (last updated more than a year ago); is that still the state of the art?
There is a Linux Home Security Project (Score:4, Informative)
All the surveillance is based on MythTV. Seems open source friendly.
Re:Do you really want to build your own? (Score:5, Informative)
Agree - I just went through the process of researching and installing an alarm, and the bottom line is that while the technology seems cool at first it is actually finicky and you are dealing with a serious pain-in-the-ass when things don't work right (your neighbors won't be friends for long when stray cats are setting off alarms next door at 3am).
Therefore I went with an Elk M1 system that is pricey but infinitely expandable into a complete home automation system and comes with an ethernet module that lets you do whatever you want in software - and that is where I will have my geek fun with it.
Went through it (Score:5, Informative)
I ran Linux zoneminder and Blue Iris - a commercial but inexpensive Windows program each on their own dedicated servers. The servers were single rack space Dual Atoms. I then installed a $100 eBay wireless IP camera, a Linksys wireless IP camera, A usb video capture card with 1 camera, and a regular USB web-cam so I could try each of these out in comparison.
The $100 camera was useless - terrible focus. The linksys, being the most expensive at $250 was the best, but is not an outdoor camera without additional housing. The USB camera is acceptable but requires proximity to the servers. The video camera is also acceptable.
After running the software for 2 months, I eventually settled on Blue Iris. It was $49 and a lot more stable than ZoneMinder. There were some features of zoneminder I liked, but after using both I found several instances were ZoneMinder had flaked out and I could not retrieve data/images that I would need if I was really researching a theft. The errors are very cryptic, often requiring extreme measures to determine what had gone wrong. Usually I just gave up and rebooted everything and it would start working again. The configuration for zoneminder is also very difficult, having to get various versions of video for linux V1 and V2, java applets/jar files etc all tied together. You can go with their 'ready to run CD' to avoid the painful configuration work, but then you are stuck with their Linux distribution, and I wanted to go with the current Ubuntu.
In the end, I have a system I am confident will provide me with images after an incident that will lead to an arrest. I plan on adding/replacing with more of the Linksys style wireless IP cams, at about $250 a pop as budget allows. The entire system will probably get its own dedicated wireless lan eventually. I can also browse in when I am on the road and check in on things, although that is more of a 'peace of mind' thing and doesn't really have much practical use.
Server - $300ish with 1.5T disk space, wireless hub (eBay) $50ish, wireless cams - $250ish each, Windows+Blue Iris - $150ish - reasonably expect up to about 6 cameras. This puts it in the same range as a decent Hard disk based dedicated security recorder from say Radio Shack, but with a wireless ability and lot more flexibility.
Re:a gun (Score:3, Informative)
Four Words: Fry's Electronics (Score:5, Informative)
# $250-$350 4 channel DVR (I don't remember how much but it was the cheapest decent recorder).
# 1 $275 + tax wireless camera with receiver. (awesome quality and sound!)
# 1 "bullet cam" that is not tiny, but small enough to be hidden in plants. It is wired. Maybe $50?
I later returned the Fry's DVR and got one off of newegg for $100 +tax and shipping, though I had to provide a SATA drive that I already had.
I also spent a bit more, like $80 on 8 D cell rechargeable batteries, and then like $145 on a powermaxx (best company EVER) for a D charger with 4 batteries. Although I had a wireless camera, I had no where to plug it in. So I made a battery pack. My #'s indicate I could run that camera for at least 24 hours with consistent connection and quality, then about 12 more hours and it got dimmer, crappier video quality and less night time infrared abilities as the batteries died.
Thanks to Fry's excellent return policy, the only thing you lose is your time! But I was able to return all that went unused. Here are some things to avoid: Small/tiny wireless cameras: their quality and resolution sucks. Avoid very expensive cameras as that they'll be no better than middle range cameras. Don't worry about the DVR, they all pretty much suck. Don't use your PC as a DVR, pretty much most people have problems with it. Oh, and of all the DVRs I used, all of them had issues being accessed through the internet.
Someone ended up stealing that wireless camera, and I have that on DVR! My buddy put it on youtube for me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IE0NkvA1uh4 [youtube.com]
I ended up buying another 2 of those cameras and mounted them high up and attached securely to the wall.
If you want more info on what exactly I bought, feel free to email me.
Re:where to start with DIY home security? (Score:3, Informative)
I don't care how much of a geek someone is, DIY is almost always inferior when talking about anything complicated and physical.
DIY website? Sure. DIY car? No.
Yes! [factoryfive.com]
DIY coffee table? Cool. DIY baby monitor? Bad.
Really DIY baby monitor you consider complicated? Turn in that geek card.
DIY pointless electronics project with blinking LEDs? LOL nerd. DIY pacemaker? LOL dead.
ZoneMinder is not all it could be (Score:5, Informative)
As someone who's been trying to whip up ZoneMinder into a marketable state for over a year now, I have to say it's not all it's made out to be. The capture daemons are brittle and crash frequently due to resource and memory leaks. When they exit abnormally, they always do so with the same code 255, and don't produce workable logs. Timestamps of " 1 january 1970" happen all the time, which mess up the timeline view of events. The web front end is arcane, spartan, and really time-intensive to learn. (E.g. clicking on a monitor's name does something different from clicking on its IP address, even though both screens go to a different subset of camera settings. The difference between a "modect with no zone" and a "monitor" is arbitrary. All the different camera "modes" are strange in my opinion. That there's ten different ways to view events is weird. And so on. It's not unlearnable, but it's far, far from usable.)
So instead of just whining, I patched a lot of these issues, along with adding some new cameras to the database and improving the translation for my native language. I sent the maintainer a pretty nice patch set, if I say so myself. Guess what? Absolute silence, never heard anything back. Which I could live with, if my patches at least showed up in the next release. But no new releases for over a year. So my patience with this project is pretty much over.
DEfinition of "home security" (Score:4, Informative)
I totally agree. You can probably choose peace of mind cheaper than by putting up home security. But where's the fun in THAT ?
What I did was ask myself: What do I want to secure, and how can I go about doing that.
In my neck of the woods, home invasions, natural disasters and similar stuff is exceedingly rare, so my protection revolves mostly around physical access (thieves), crime prevention, identification and ofcourse with the modern day "smart house", also data access.
While my budget wasn't exactly small, it was also not unlimited. So what I did was oder some cheap megapixel IP cameras. They hook up just nice to a simple linux box through a PoE switch. That pretty much takes care of identification. Should anyone like to come near my house, they're on record doing so. Most criminals dont want to get caught, so they avoid places that has cameras. Dont scrimp and buy a dummy. Thieves are NOT dummies, they know the difference.
Crime prevention is a bit harder. The idea here is to deter offenders, and have them choose another target. Cutting down bushes to allow neighbors to see your doors and windows will help a lot. Thieves and other criminals prefer to work unnoticed. Getting a dog helps. As does stuff like a gate or similar access control systems that might deter thieves that pull up with a moving truck and clean you out under the guise of being movers. Also lock up your shed and tools whenever you're not using them. Many thieves use your own tools for breaking into your house. Leaving a crowbar next to your front door is nearly as good as leaving the key in the lock. Alarm systems might work aswell. Some thieves will shy away from them because it's easier to find a place with lesser security. Marking valuables with your name or or identfying marks will generally make thieves less likely to want your stuff, it'll be harder to fence.
Securing physical access is more expensive, and cannot stand alone. Given enough time anyone can circumvent physical access blocks. But using them in conjuction with say, an alarm system that doesnt give a thief enough time to complete his obejctive will normally help. Locking up valuables in a safe is a good idea, but keeping the combination on the fridge door, not so much. Close windows when you're not at home. Use security glass, or film on your windows to prevent entry. Use two or three locks on your doors. Safety doors are also usefull. Hide stuff from plain sight, a thief will not (usually) know where you put your stuff.
Personal safety, also important to some. With an alarm, you can also have an emergency response call button. These are pretty much standard. Keep it near/on you at all times if you're living in a high risk area/situation. Learning self defense is also easy and cheap. While I dont condone the use of weapons against people as a matter of principle, this may be needed in really bad areas. Use the lockdown mode on your alarm system at night or when you're not expecting company. Again, buy a dog. Dogs are easily trained to protect you.
Computer safety: Well, the best firewall I ever saw was 3 feet of air. Good luck hacking a non connected network. Unfortunately, most people dont consider living offline an option. So keep strong passwords, use encryption when possible (with a different password), and change your passwords whenever you suspect someone has gotten a hold of it. Never use the same password for a lot fo serives. In general, hackers will try the "guessed" password on a LOT of services. Also install and keep up to date a firewall, anti spyware and anti virus software. Security through obscurity is also an option. I have yet to see a single virus on say... OS/2.... Downside is, I've also rarely seen any decent software ;)
Also, use threaded internet services. While wireless seems cool, it's merely one more way to hack into your system.
But like I said: Figure out your needs before you decide what's the solution.
Re:a gun (Score:1, Informative)
if you have something worth so much people will brave a savage dog, it needs to be in a bank vault not your home
Re:No need to buy them... (Score:2, Informative)
This happens at my home at least once a month, let me explain.
They offer to put a sign in your yard and give you a free system in hopes your neighbors see it and sign up. What they don't say is the free system is always free (and is of matching quality) and you will end up paying exactly the same as your neighbors soon enough.
The comment below mine illustrates why I never speak to these people. When I see them coming I sit my dog at the door and answer with 'I am not interested can't you read the sign'. I then snap my fingers slightly behind my back just as they start to talk signaling Shep to leap forward and growl, they NEVER stay.
Re:Do you really want to build your own? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:And a safe for when you're not there to guard i (Score:5, Informative)
Birdshot is not good even at across the room distances. It will not attain needed penetration. You don't want to hurt the bad guy you want to stop him.
00 is fine, slugs are better. You don't care that what happens later, this ain't the movies and you need the bad guy to stop now.
http://www.theboxotruth.com/ [theboxotruth.com]
Re:ZoneMinder is not all it could be (Score:2, Informative)
Please publish your patchset somewhere. Then if someone forks Zoneminder they'll have some nice new features for v+1
Re:a gun (Score:3, Informative)
That may be true, but they're probably not worth the maintenance... or the smell... or the hair all over your furniture.
Re:a gun (Score:5, Informative)
An awl could be almost as effective in the right hands, but it requires you to get much closer to the intruder and therefore increases risk
Not of you shoot a bundle of them from a siege mounted crossbow.
(Apologies to Sir Terry for stealing Detritus' weapon of choice).
Re:a gun (Score:3, Informative)
If violence didn't work, it's because you didn't use enough of it!
I thought that was the rule for XML...
Re:And a safe for when you're not there to guard i (Score:3, Informative)
Re:a gun (Score:5, Informative)
So rather than pay for your own security, you prefer to let everyone else pay for it after your house has been robbed. How very philanthropic of you.
You betray your lack of understanding of simple economics. The insurance company isn't interested in subsidizing you. They will charge (to the very best of their penny pinching knowledge) exactly what they expect to pay out in claims, to a person with similar income, living in a similar apartment, in a similar neighborhood -- plus a comfortable markup for their trouble.
If you choose a homeowner's policy with a sensibly high deductible, then you're covered for catastrophic losses (the only really necessary role of insurance, for anyone with a shred of financial sense), but you're not on the hook for the (rather silly) folks who think that an insurance policy should protect them from anything and everything unfortunate that might ever happen to them. Not only that, by choosing such a sensible policy, you're also only sharing your risk with similarly sensible people.
Re:Peace of mind or deter thieves? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:And a safe for when you're not there to guard i (Score:4, Informative)
I can't be the only one that envisioned automatic "gun cameras" here can I?
Deadly-force mantraps are illegal essentially everywhere.
Rule of thumb: In most jurisdictions you can only use deadly force to defend yourself (or another person of certain related classes) against a threat to life or limb. In some you can also use it to defend property under some circumstances.
You can't delegate the decisions to machines - especially when you personally aren't there to be at risk. (It's not just their operation that's illegal. Even setting up such a device is one or more of several crimes.)
Scenario: You're away (or died last month). Sheriff, firefighter, landlord, or heir shows shows up (with a warrant, probable cause, chasing smoke or flame, or coming to take possession of his property). "Sherrif, warrant!" / "Anybody in there? You're on fire!" / "Home at last! Let's get this door open and move in." Bash. BANG!
Re:a gun (Score:3, Informative)
We had an incident nearby about a year ago where some asshole sprayed two dogs with bear mace as he broke-in. Dogs are great, but they're not perfect.
Re:ZoneMinder is not all it could be (Score:1, Informative)
We are about to replace ZoneMinder (100+ cams writing to a NAS via NFS) with the stuff from Curtis over at bluecherry.net . Ubuntu with hardware cars, web UI or full client. We are pumped. Every fricken proprietary DVR is a closed system with little control over the format or locaiton of your video storage. For instance, we have bluecherry installed at a body shop and the video clips automagically push out to cloud based storage, just incase some smart theif finds the video server and swipes that.
Like it so much I am putting a 4 port in my old PC in the basement at the house.
Good stuff.
RG in KC
Re:a gun (Score:2, Informative)
If violence didn't work, it's because you didn't use enough of it!
I thought that was the rule for XML...
It's a rule that can be applied with varying levels of effectiveness to most areas of life actually.
You need motion detectors and insurance (Score:3, Informative)
The insurance is to recover your loss should anything happen. (Get a general policy which doesn't limit the cause of your loss. [Theft, fire, flood and accident apartment/condo/house insurance is good coverage.])
Then you want to put up some very visible signs in all the windows saying "Protected by video, motion detectors and patrolled by security guards.
You might want to buy a bunch of camera mounts (the silvered half-dome kind,) and place them strategically around the perimeter of your dwelling high enough to keep them safe. (12 or so feet off the ground and 12 or so feet from any opening.)
Whether you get real motion detectors or not is immaterial.
The impression will be that the house next door is less hazardous to break into than yours.
Remember, you're insured...
Home burglary is dead (Score:5, Informative)
Home burglary is almost dead. What's to steal? Any TV that can be easily carried has zilch resale value. Anything with a CRT has negative value; you have to pay the recycling center to take it. Used computers have little value. Nobody keeps much cash around any more. Cell phones are usually in someone's pocket. Who has real silverware today? Used kitchen appliances are nearly worthless. Same for used clothing. Used furniture? No market there.
In the current recession, pawnshops are currently choked with stuff they can't sell, so unloading stolen property is tough.
I just looked at the crime map for my area, which is an urban area of about 100,000 people, ranging from very poor to very rich. About ten burglaries in the last month, and only one was a residence. The rest were break-ins into vehicles. There were more attempted burglaries with arrests than successful ones.
Layers... (Score:3, Informative)
1. Plant Japanese Bitter Orange under and in front of all your windows. Try to get the flying dragon cultivar. (No, I'm not kidding. Google it.)
2. Get a motion sensor and a recording of a dog barking. Put speaker in metal garbage can on your roof. Your neighbors will hate you but no one will come near your house.
3. Get good insurance. You will find that the discount for burglar alarms is minimal.
4. Stay away from monitored alarms. Most are crooked.
Monitored Security Systems are Crap (Score:5, Informative)
When we signed up for $240/yr monitoring, I left specific instructions. "If the alarm goes off, call the police directly, not us or any contact. I will pay any false alarm fine. I live 2 min from the police station, so there is a chance of actually catching someone. Is this OK?" The answer was "You are the customer"
So, we went on holidays, game my mom the code, and a passcode if she tripped the alarm. Warned her that if she did expect the boys in blue. She is 81, was nervous and sure enough she tripped the alarm. So instead of cops, the security company called the house. My mom was flustered, couldnt answer the security question, but the monitoring agency figured she was too old to be a crook and told her how to reset the alarm. They couldn't understand why I was furious and canceled, after all they saved my mom an embarrassment.
so now, I purchased a couple of IP cameras that motion sense and an email to my gmail with a picture. As long as I have my phone, I see who is entering within a few minutes or less (typically 20s). Also makes it very hard for your kids to lie about what time they came home. The 4 cameras cost me $80 each on ebay, and I connected them to my wireless network. I can also at anytime now log into a web page and monitor the surroundings. So even in bed, I grab my iPhone, and have a look outside if I hear a noise.
We also did the 2 big black dogs. They are now part of the family and a great deterrent.
get a DOG as well! (Score:3, Informative)
get a DOG as well!
if you don't want a dog they have fake dog sound boxes.
RE: Dog (false positives) (Score:3, Informative)
A dog is not the best option, the false-positive rate can be high. This rate is very difficult to predict at the time of acquisition, and can involve subtle environmental cues (EG: dappled sunlight) or combined-effects (EG: Mr. Squeaky sliding under the couch). The end result is getting the alarms confused for "Major Alien Invasion" and "Agent With Flat Tire." (Get Smart)
If an electronic alarm had this tendency, it would be thrown out the window. Doing so with the dog is ill-advised.
My 2 cents (Score:3, Informative)
Full disclosure: I've been an alarm monitoring operator for 5 or so years now. I don't live in the US, I don't work for a company that operates in the US, so I have no way to financially benefit from helping the majority of /. users. The stuff I mention here I know well, but one thing I haven't a clue about is the home automation side of things.
Deterrants:
Large work boots, leaving lights on and such are helpful deterrants. Security stickers help, but no so much as most houses have them. A good idea that I didn't see mentioned in the comments, if you're not keen on getting an alarm is to get just the external siren of the alarm and stick that on the outside of the house. Don't get one of the metal ones, get one of the polycarbonate / plastic ones instead. No reputable companies have used the metal ones for years now, and a lot of burglars seem to know this. Again things like fences & dogs are also excellent deterrants. Although fences can act as cover so a burglar can muck around all they like trying to get a window open, without being noticed by neighbours.
Alarms:
I've encountered heaps of attempted break ins throughout my career. The vast majority of burglars will freak out and run once they hear a very loud siren screaming at them. Most of them get so scared by it that they drop everything in the process. If I had to put a number on it, I'd say this is what happens about 90% of the time. Even though it's far from a guarentee that you'll stop them in their tracks, it does make an excellent deterrent. I'd avoid the off the shelf junk you get from electronics stores and the likes, as they're usually total garbage. They're always either unstable, don't live long enough to be worth it, don't detect when someone does get into the house, or they drive the neighbours nuts false activating. You can buy a good, high quality unit from fleabay if you're feeling adventurous. I don't know how big your house is, but if you don't think you'll require more then 7 sensors now or in the future, the Bosch Solution 880 is a good buy and I see them frequently on eBay for cheap in a kit. You'll require some basic knowledge of electronics like being able to read some basic "this is how you wire this" diagrams in the install manual, and some basic DIY skills. It's a fairly easy system to install though, some of them are very hard for those who haven't got experience specifically with alarms. If you want something bigger / different set of requirements then email me (via bahamut.kicks-ass.org/contact/ - sorry but work know my email and I'd rather they didn't find this via google) and I'll let you know of something suitable.
I would avoid wireless sensors & remotes. Remotes not so much, but sensors definately. Interferance from aircraft, scaffolds, trees that cause RF interference whenever it rains, crappy light switches, aircraft, and a bunch of other obscenely weird stuff can all cause problems. It's not that common, but it does happen.
If you do buy a kit make sure it includes the panel (pcb, transformer & the case), battery, a couple of wired sensors, a keypad, a peizo / internal siren & a plastic / polycarbonate external siren (the one with the light) & CABLE! A lot of traders won't mention anything about the lack of cable in the ad, leaving you kind of screwed. Another thing I see them do is say "we'll install it for you if it's too hard" - be careful of that, they'll often way overcharge on labour to make up for the rock bottom cost of the hardware. I've seen them dump the install manuals that come with the alarm, and replace it with their own much crappier version so that it's more likely that they come crying for help. Most alarm manuals you can get online fairly easily though. Stay away from used alarms on ebay, they're almost always FUBAR'ed.
Alarm Monitoring:
This can be somewhat of a waste of time and money. Monitoring is often cheap, and the price is really reflected in the quality of their service. Most modern alarms can be hooked up to a l
Re:ZoneMinder is not all it could be (Score:2, Informative)
Re:And a safe for when you're not there to guard i (Score:3, Informative)
you've never been to texas I take it.
"A person is justified in using deadly force against another to protect his property to the degree he reasonably believes the force is immediately necessary to prevent the other's imminent commission of arson, burglary, robbery, theft during the nighttime or criminal mischief during the nighttime, and he reasonably believes that the property cannot be protected by any other means."
"A person is justified in using deadly force against another to pervent the other who is fleeing after committing burglary, robbery, or theft during the nighttime, from escaping with the property and he reasonable believes that the property cannot be recovered by any other means; or, the use of force other than deadly force to protect or recover the property would expose him or another to a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury. (Nighttime is defined as the period 30 minutes after sunset until 30 minutes before sunrise.)"
Alarming questions (Score:2, Informative)
Start with your doors and windows (Score:2, Informative)
We had a burglary recently and asked police to help us to secure our home. They pointed out that unless it is a targeted, intruders seek the easy way to get into your home.
Police statistics show that if a burglar cannot get in within 3 minutes, he will give up.
The statistics also show that the main entry points for burglar are main door, patio door and groundfloor windows. In a standard gouse, all it takes is a beefy screwdriver to crack the hinges.
So the first thing you should do is add additional security hinges to doors and windows on the ground floor. In Germany these are available from www.abus.de. We installed FAS101 and FTS3003 - They are abot 35€ a piece. I am sure you will find similar products in other countries. They will withstand 1 ton pressure and are easy to mount and operate. For a total of 500€ we have now a security where it will take more than 3 mins to break in. Should be good enough to preotect from the occasional intruder. If somebody really wants to get in, they will. It is just a matter of time and tools.
Re:a gun (Score:3, Informative)
Really? I notice you didn't back up your claim with sources, but anti-gun "pundits" often cite that same "fact" but with some major flaws. First of all, gun ownership in the United States is not as ubiquitous as these "pundits" want you to believe. Please note, too, that the areas with the highest crime rates in the United States, especially home invasion and burglary, are areas that have instituted HANDGUN BANS (Like Chicago, New York City, Washington DC, Baltimore, most of California), yet their crime statistics are still lumped in every single time this argument is made.
You also made the assertion that legal gun ownership is not a 'deterrent', as it "encourages criminals to be better equipped." REALLY!? Criminals do not want a challenge. If a criminal knows they have a pretty good chance of going up against a paranoid citizen with a gun strapped to his mattress, they're likely to strike elsewhere. They do not want to go into a gunfight, no matter how well equipped they are. If that means going 2 miles away into the city where there's a gun ban, and curiously higher rates of home invasions (not making a causality error here, as they often have an overtasked police department as well), they will do it. There are plenty of low hanging apples for them to pick, such as the house just across the border in which the occupant frequently leaves her bedroom window open and sleeps in nothing but a lacy black thong.
Next you claim that "burglars frequently defeat canine security systems with... meat." Sounds like you watch too many cartoons. A home invader is more likely to find a different target if the one they were initially going to invade would have them encountering a big ass dog. The bottom line is, anything that may present a challenge to a home invader is a deterrent, be it a dog, guns, locked doors, an alarm system, surveillance cameras, security glass, thorn bushes beneath windows and adequate lighting. Also, gun ownership is a responsibility that can't be taken lightly, and responsible care for the weapon means ensuring it doesn't get into the wrong hands, yet is available when you need it.
Re:And a safe for when you're not there to guard i (Score:1, Informative)
Slugs go through walls and hit children in the street, neighbor's yard, or neighbor's house. Number 4 or 5 shot, and most likely even 6, can stop someone from across the room. Your average home break-in is not perpetrated by an action-movie hero. A few pellets striking home would be enough to stop most people. If you're competent with the weapon you own, you could disable without killing a human from across a 30 foot room -- that's 10 yards, a shot most bird hunters would consider easy when shooting at a fast flying target the size of a dinner plate. People tend to be much less freely moving and much bigger targets than game birds.
If you own a gun and can't shoot that well with it, put in more time practicing.
Re: Barking Dog (Score:3, Informative)
Mastiff and Catahoula, that's gotta be an awesome cross. Most crosses are a mess psychologically due to conflicting instincts, but that's really two molosser types, far more related than they look. What she does is classic molosser behaviour -- ignore what's not a threat, make a believer out of anything that crosses the invisible line from "out there" into "mine".
BTW the Catahoula type spotting/ticking is merle. Brindle is stripes. Tho it's possible that she's both brindled and merled.
[hat disclosure: I am a pro dog trainer]
Re:And a safe for when you're not there to guard i (Score:4, Informative)
From your cited site: "Lessons learned: A car door doesn't protect you against shotguns either."
My personal protection weapon is a 20ga. shotgun with #4 birdshot (aka "goose loads"). At close range it blows a hole in flesh that you can put both fists into. It's still lethal at house-or-yard distances (up to maybe 30-40 feet). I've used it to kill large animals with heavy haircoats; humans are, if anything, less well protected by average clothing and flesh. (I don't imagine most burglars put on their kevlars before going out for a night's work. Tho maybe there should be an OSHA regulation about that. ;)
Now, light birdshot at 50 yards or so, all that does is sting or at most puncture skin. But point-blank it will still put a serious hole in you. Even a popper or blank can kill at close range. Ask Jon-Erik Hexum if you don't believe me.
Re:a gun (Score:1, Informative)