2"17 AM this morning, our property was violated.

[Ferrets are Cool]

Wifey got up for bathroom break and heard voices. Looking out the back window, she saw figures inside our fenced back yard. She immediately woke me up and grabbed the gun. We headed out the back door and were only able to contain one individual. I called 911 and got the police on the way. In less than 5 mins they were there and had the suspect in handcuffs. I can't say enough good things about how quickly and efficiently this was handled.
My question to you all...are you aware of a system that will safeguard your property AND send an alarm to your phone if the property is tresspassed? If so, please let me know so I can inquire.
Btw, there were street lights at the front of the house and three flood lights at the back. It did NOT deter these criminals.
Thanks for your help.

[Walleye]

1. Good job, staying rational and calling the police is a good idea

Quite grateful nothing bad happened to you. It’s a scary situation.

[murielm99]

2. We have doorbell cameras.

That is probably not enough. They show a wide area around the front and back doors.

[Boo1]

3. Get a dog

A Belgian Malinois with training.

[ALBliberal]

12. I had one. Great dog.

[sop]

17. Dogs are the best alarm systems in the world.

My two extremely friendly labs would alert me to anyone who came on my property, day or night. Their loud, thunderous barking would wake the dead.

[perfessor]

21. In general I agree. But ...

We had a neighbor with three young children and a golden retriever. Our daughter was hired to babysit one night. She called and said the kids were asleep, could I bring over a pizza? But don’t ring the doorbell or the kids might wake up.

So I walked over with a pizza and opened the door. The dog, who had never met me, took one look at me, lay down and rolled over for belly rubs. Some watchdog!

[NoSheep]

30. that's not the dog to get in this situation

[sop]

34. My two labs would loudly announce anyone who came on the property, but they wouldn't do a damned thing to stop

them from murdering us in our beds.

[Ilsa]

39. I have a mixed lab that oddly, will do both.

He might go for a steak if a criminal threw it at him, but he's really protective of me, and will bite.

[AZLD4Candidate]

26. Malinois. GSD. Dobie. Rottie. Great Pyrenees. Cane Corso. Even a Chessie

If you want protection, stay away from most toy dogs, Danes, Newfies, Border Collies, most retrievers and pointers, and hounds.

Working dogs are the best, following by certain sporting breeds.

Non-sporting, hounds, terriers, and toys don't do much except make good companions.

[Kali]

38. depends

if you want protection or just alarms. small yappers are actually good alarms.

[paleotn]

40. Agreed. We call them "land sharks"

We've had several over the years, GSD's, a Chow, an Akita. Our current land shark emeritus is a 12 year old Great Pyr, Moby, who's handing the resident land shark mantel to a 2 year old female Chow. She's filling his rather large paws quite well. The various hounds and huskys are companions and comic relief.

I never had to worry when I was on the road for work. Criminals look for soft targets. Our house is most certainly not.

[DBoon]

44. get two dogs

If the intruder tries to shut up one barking dog, the other dog will come to its defense. The intruder may regret it.

[AZLD4Candidate]

45. That's why I am looking at a Rottie or a Corso next. I have the alert in the Pyr.

When the Pyr dies, it will be a Berner.

[malaise]

4. Glad you're safe

Rec

[unblock]

5. I think Ring motion sensors can be set up to send alerts

But of course it doesn't know a burglar from a deer.

Probably any "internet-enabled" motion sensor could do that.

With careful setup you may be able to reduce the false positives but at some point you're also reducing the true positives as well.

[murielm99]

9. I have Arlo.

The app on my phone shows what is in my yard. We have had coons, deer, feral cats, etc. Fortunately, no intruders. They would show up, though.

[blogslug]

6. Glad that both of you are alright

[Jersey Devil]

7. My Blink cameras send messages to my TV and phone

The TV pops up a notice that "motion was detected at your back doorbell" (or whatever you name the location of your camera) and the phone beeps and gives the same notification. You could also customize your phone so that Blink notifications give a different sound from all other notifications.

[multigraincracker]

8. Found some great, cheap ideas

when I searched “cheap home security”.

[demmiblue]

10. I only have a doorbell camera.

You can set it to notify your phone when it senses motion. AI descriptions are also available in real time, which seem to be pretty accurate (I don’t use it, but I had a trial period). Outdoor cameras will also have these features. You can also get motion-activated floodlights that also function as a camera (which also have two-way audio).

Glad you are safe!

[Jersey Devil]

13. Some of the AI descriptions are funny

Blink had a trial period with AI descriptions that ended a while ago but lately they seem to have activated it again. Last night it said "There is a black and white cat walking in the yard", detecting my beagle going for her midnight call to nature.

[MustLoveBeagles]

18. That's funny 😁

[ms liberty]

11. We have cameras around our house with a central closed circuit system that has an app

On each our phones and to our TV. It's not tied to a security company or Ring or anything. We get a notification if any if the cameras are tripped at any time. If you want more details, let me know. I'm very happy with it and beyond the initial expense, there's no additional fees or anything.

[mopinko]

16. i'm interested.

i was looking to put cameras on my urban farm cuz someone knows exactly when to come strip my fruit trees. sorta broke my head looking at all the options.

[Ferrets are Cool]

24. This sounds interesting. Would you mind

Pm'ing me with the info.

[Polly Hennessey]

14. Get a Great Pyrenees. They are true guardian dogs.

Alex will alert us if anything moves on our property. This includes any leaf that may fall. Bark, bark, etc., etc.

[mopinko]

15. i discovered, accidentally, that if i push all three external buttons on my iphone at once,

it calls the cops and send a notification to my emergency contact. at least i think that’s what i did.
it was absolutely accidental. my ex hubs is my emergency contact. scared the hell out of him.

[CTyankee]

19. I am safe in a retirement community but I do have a comment about your gun.

From what I read and from personal family experience, a gun in your house "for protection" can often be used against you or can be used in a family violence situation. Hubby and I got too old for living alone in our house anymore and decided to seek congregant living quarters, such as Masonicare which is where we are living how. There had been a home invasion of a neighbor's house (in a "safe" area of our city) and we felt frightened and vulnerable.

I would urge you to re-consider having the gun (you don't mention whether it is kept loaded or unloaded). But don't believe me. Do your own research on this issue.

BTW, I was born and raised in Texas (3rd generation), even tho my name here reflects where I am happily living how. While we didn't have a gun in our home, we knew plenty of people who did.

[Amishman]

47. I'll offer the counterpoint - police response times in your area is a critical factor

I also have a gun at home for protection. It's kept loaded in an expensive biometric lock box that only my wife and I can open.

I'm in a rural area where police response times would be 30 minutes on the low side, and possibly an hour or more. My wife and I have taken safety training and do practice periodically (my brother-in-law being a complete gun nut with his own shooting range helps with that).

The personal decision to own one for self defense is a complex question.

[CTyankee]

48. I'm sure you realize that you often have little time to find, operate and open your gun's lock box.

Add loading it if it is not already loaded. You might be sound asleep when a thief invades your home so this complicates your response time.

I lost a niece in Texas, shot to death (accidentally) when her stepfather was angry and got drunk and waved his loaded gun around, shooting it and killing his stepdaughter and wounding his wife. He then turned the gun on himself. It was a horror scene when the police arrived. This young woman had just gotten married. My brother collapsed at her coffin.

My story is probably not unusual where guns are so easily obtained and kept for "safety" purposes.

[MustLoveBeagles]

20. Glad you two are safe

And that police responded quickly.

[Keepthesoulalive]

22. I'm sorry this happened and glad you are ok

Cameras, if you have Amazon their cameras work with Alexa or you can find other manufacturers. Do not use a security service. I live in a rural area and everyone has guns so criminals don’t bother. I love large dogs and folks who have bad intentions go elsewhere. If you go with cameras have a few dummy cameras they will not know which ones to disable.

[SheltieLover]

23. Get a Dobe or German Shepherd. Best alarm & defense system.

[AZLD4Candidate]

25. Great Pyrenees too. Always on alert. Cane Corso too.

Dobies are the only breed of dog developed to protect people rather than property/flock.

[SheltieLover]

35. Yes, but Great Pyrenees are enormous. LOL

[Keepthesoulalive]

55. Please understand these are livestock and guard dogs

If you are not prepared to train and work with these guys or gals they will wind up in a shelter.
I have had giant breed German shepherds and I now own Anatolian shepherds they are not for everyone. I am the one in charge and they trust me to keep them safe. Dogs are not an easy answer. Anatolian’s and breeds that guard are independent thinkers, if they perceive something or someone is dangerous you may be looking at a lawsuit think the mail person. Again do not get a guard dog unless you are prepared to work with them. I met lassie and he was trained to the max.

[Sogo]

49. Yeah, get a Doberman if you want your neighbors to hate you....

I lived next door to two Dobermans and they NEVER stopped barking. I'd walk outside my house, and they would be either in their back yard or looking out a window from the house and barked constantly at me. I couldn't enjoy being outside my house.

In their back yard, they'd bark at every squirrel or other creature that moved. They are the most territorial dogs I've ever seen. Even when they were in the neighbor's house, they would go from window to window and bark at whatever or whomever was outdoors within 20 feet of their house.

[SheltieLover]

54. They must've been poorly bred.

Mine never behaved that way.

[Ferrets are Cool]

60. Hey Sheltie....Wifey isn't in good enough shape to take care of a canine while I am out working.

And the other thing, to do any good, a guard dog has to be outside to be a "good" protector and I will not leave an animal outdoors.

[SheltieLover]

61. Hi Ferret

Sorry to hear Mrs. Ferret isn't doing so well at the moment. Healing vibes on the way to her.

OMG I would never suggest leaving a dog outside! I think of them more as a living alarm system -- a member of the family with exceptional auditory skills. All the dog has to do is alert you, right?

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10106924/

The dog doesn't have to be large or threatening, necessarily.

[AZLD4Candidate]

27. Most cameras do that. Ring is good for both alerting cameras and motion censor lights.

Also, as all said and I concur, invest in a good watch/protection dog.

My Pyr is bred to watch, control, and if needed, lunge. Plus they have a latent instinct to know who to trust and who not to trust.

The only downsides are lots of fur/slobber, a lot of barking at everything and nothing, their need for space (apartments would kill this breed), and a propensity to wander if your property isn't fenced in (they can wander up to two miles away but will always come home).

Also, they are mostly nocturnal. Mine is currently sleeping on my sofa on it's back snoring.

[10 Turtle Day]

46. Your dog looks like he's living the good life!

[AZLD4Candidate]

50. She. She was left tied to a tree abandoned on my property. Great Pyrenees are gentle giants, so we took her in.

[Katcat]

28. Nest cams

Can’t say enough good things about these cameras. We have several on our property and they record everything in view all the time. They’re expensive but worth every penny.

[Katcat]

29. And I just got an alert on one cam

It’s a cat. It’s usually a cat. We have 11 and they’re inside/outside cats. I know people think I should keep them inside for safety but there’s nothing here to hurt cats atm. Used to have a fox decades ago but it’s long gone.

[ColoringFool]

31. YIKES! I Was So Hoping The Noise Meant Raccoons! I'm Glad.....

You are safe!

[Bristlecone]

32. Most outdoor cameras will do this

And yhey supposedly can recognize wildlife vs Human figures/movement. Some also can either play an announcement or allow you to speak through the camera ie “The police are on the way”
You can of course view these from your phone from anywhere.

[hamsterjill]

33. I'm just glad you're okay.

Nothing to add as to security that hasn't already been mentioned here, but I am glad you are safe now. It was quick thinking to do what you did - and I am taking a little bit of vicarious joy out of the fact that you actually caught one of the suspects. Hopefully that one will sing and the other(s) will also be brought to justice.

It is NOT okay to screw around in someone's back yard without permission.

[waterwatcher123]

36. My Wyze cameras send notifications instantly, announce they are recording, have microphones, spotlights and sirens.

We have our Wyze cameras mounted inside on our second home on windows (https://www.wyze.com/products/wyze-cam). But, the outside versions are equally effective and weatherproof. The cameras even follow animals and people around as they move around in an area. You can also pay someone else to monitor the cameras and call the police if you choose.

[Exp]

37. You are lucky. If they started running away from you and you shot them, you would likely go to jail since they did not

pose a theat while running away.

Slippery slope.

That is what a retired cop told me.
Me: "So if a guy is in on my property making threats, and I grab a rifle, then he takes off running, if I shoot him in the legs to slow him down, then I'm the one going to jail?"

Retired cop: "Yep"

Careful out there.

[LoisB]

41. Scary. I'm glad you're both safe.

[Ilsa]

42. I'm also thinking that

with money getting tighter every day, we're going to see more robberies and burglaries.

[txwhitedove]

43. Oh dear, glad of your safe outcome. Ring on front of house, but solar

powered bird feeder in backyard positioned to read back entries. It has Bluetooth and works 24/7 rain or shine alerting my phone as much as I set it to. Alarm can be set to go off or start manually. Plus my medium size Schnauzer is Chief Security Officer.

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

51. Doorbell canera sends alert to phone

[Shermann]

52. Holding criminals at gunpoint is legally thorny

If you leave a locked residence to go out and confront somebody brandishing a firearm when you weren't in imminent danger of death or serious bodily harm, it could be a legal grey area (not saying you were in the wrong). Be careful out there, I'm glad it worked out okay.

[canetoad]

53. Glad you are OK

And were not too shaken to call police.

Me - I rely on a couple of narky little terriers.

[Ferrets are Cool]

58. It's funny now, but I wasn't too shaken to call the police, but I WAS to shaken to remember my address.

They had to look it up using my phone number.

[hunter]

56. Did you ask them what they were doing there?

I'm the sort who always asks. Well, I do if they don't immediately run away from the unarmed crazy guy wearing shoes, undershorts, and nothing else. I can put on my shoes really fast. It's a useful skill to have whether you are running away from trouble or into it.

The only time I've confronted a guy holding a gun was one I surprised on my back porch. He was evading the police who were at the front of my house. Before I could say anything he ran away and jumped over our back fence. The police got him a few minutes later. I figure the guy was lucky he didn't get shot. I've seen the police shoot people I wouldn't have shot.

I've been confronted myself by guys holding guns, but not because I was in anyone's backyard without their permission.

Can property can be violated? Is that a common phrase where you live? I'm just curious. In my mind property can be vandalized, it can be stolen, it can be in violation of some code, but I wouldn't say the property itself was violated. Maybe its a regional thing.

If I was explaining the situation to someone, the cops for example, and trying to be precise in my language, I might say, "I heard noises, I grabbed my gun, and confronted two trespassers in my backyard. " Except I wouldn't have grabbed my gun. In my personal experience once the guns come out everything is fubar.

[Ferrets are Cool]

59. Yes, we did. He said they were looking for work.

He said this while having a beer in his hand that he had stolen from my outdoor fridge.

[Ferrets are Cool]

57. Thank you for all the well wishers and for all the suggestions.

We can never be "perfectly" safe, but it is Intransigent that we do all we can in that pursuit.