Sounds like an inside job.
I don’t actually own a dog. That said, I don’t think think a gun, a dog, or an alarm system can offer anything like perfect security, not even in combination. I also think all three have advantages and disadvantages. My point was just that a dog–even a floppy-eared, goofy stupid pet dog–does offer some security. At some things–especially alerting you,giving you peace of mind, and serving at a deterrent–a dog is far superior to a gun, and does not carry some of the risks. At one specific thing–actually protecting you–a dog is inferior.
If I had a friend who was moving into a neighborhood with a higher rate of break-ins of empty houses or who was home alone a lot and often nervous about intruders, I’d recommend they get a dog. If I had a friend who was getting stalked by an ex-boyfriend with a history of violence, I’d recommend a gun (and a lot of training). Different tools for different situations.
For your friends, it doesn’t sound like there is any real risk of the situation being repeated. They are just shaken and have lingering fears. If they were already thinking about a dog, this sounds like a great additional reason to get one.
No. But some dogs are smart enough to read a situation and get protective if their owner feels threatened. Dogs are experts at body language and aggression displays. They know when a fight is going on and they decide if they want to get involved or not. Most dogs don’t. A protective dog will step in on behalf of its family or its person, even against other family members. There’s an order to the pack and the whole pack needs to keep in line, is how they’d look at it.
I’d suggest your friend get a Doberman or a German Shepherd, and then send it to puppy school right away so that it was well socialized. These breeds are super smart and highly trainable. They have a long history of being both guard dogs and family dogs and they’re good at it. Also, they’re instantly recognizable to evil doers.
Then she needs to school the kid to be gentle with the dog, to play nicely and not hurt it, and to treat it responsibly. The kid is more likely to hurt the dog through thoughtlessness than the dog is to suddenly lost its mind and attack the kid.
“Should she get a guard dog?” pretty much hinges on how well-trained is her kid, imo.
Bolding mine.
You sound like someone who has never cleaned a dog. 
Have you ever had a dog? They are pretty darn good at telling when their tribe is feeling threatened. They could be all lying around, thinking, “Oh, it’s just drunken Bob, no worries.”, and back to sleep. But when Bob gets out of hand and assaulty, and owner feels threatened, dogs know. They jump up and get all barky and aggressive towards Bob. Bob leaves or chills.
Dogs alert people to someone coming into their domain. This alone gives people a sense of security, and it sounds like this is what they are looking for. Throw in a kid wanting one a long time, and it seems a no brainer to me.
It’s their house, their security and their choice. How, exactly, does it matter to you anyway? Or, is this just being opinionated about someone else’s choices?
You can get cats to alert you, too - when our cats both high-tail it for the basement, we know a stranger is approaching (and everyone except my mother is a stranger to them).
That made me laugh out loud, because yes, of course that’s all I’m doing and it’s what this board’s for, isn’t it? It’s good that I’m being exposed to disagreement, in case I should ever find myself going down the same path about getting a dog, but of course I came here to gripe about someone else; welcome to the sliver of internet that isn’t porn, it’s complaining about others.
I will say that if the question were to get a dog that shoots bees out of its mouth, well duh. No brainer. Get that dog, show it off to everyone and rest assured no one will fuck w/ your shit ever.
My family had an Army-trained German Shepherd growing up. We never locked doors, and never worried at all.
There was one night when she started barking and I heard my father telling her to shut up. Being well-trained, she desisted. The next morning he broke his ankle getting into his classic Pontiac convertible when he realized he was about to sit on the floor of the car and a couple of bolts sticking up - the front bucket seats had been swiped in the night.
Another great trick of hers was escorting people to the door. If someone at a party got out of hand (it was the 70’s - not too unusual I’m sorry to say) you could Say “Celtdog, escort Mr. so-and-so to the door!” and she would quietly follow him unless he took a heading other than directly to the front door, at which she would slather and growl and if he still didn’t turn the right way she’d put her huge paws on his shoulders and growl straight to his face.
Coulda been dead useful in the scenario described above.
IF they don’t have a big enough yard, don’t know about training dogs and/or are not dedicated totakign the poor thing on regular walks, then it’s still a really stupid idea, and they should look into tasers.
To the bemused Euro-dopers - what do you keep around as a weapon? (I have my Grandfather’s shillelagh beside the bed.)
Jack Russell terriers are very smart, very high energy dogs. They need a LOT of care, and can be extremely destructive if they don’t get worked every day. Some dogs are like that.
I’d go with a German shepherd, which still needs work, but not as much of it. Or a Maltese. Maltese are excellent at alerting the household, but are absolutely useless for defense. They are those little 5 pound dust mops with eyes. Cute as can be. They were bred to be companion animals, and they are very good at this job.
Let me rephrase it then. I’d get preachy if I felt she was getting a stereotypical ‘fighting’ dog that you thinks she can train to attack an intruder. Or worse will just instinctively know to attack an intruder. Whereas I’d leave this whole thing out of the conversation if she’s not appearing to go that route. The JRT was just a random small dog that popped into my head. Substitute mini-schnauzer (of which I have two right in front of me) if you wish.
Combine them.
“Suddenly the burglers found themselves looking down the barrel of Andy’s Dobie-O-matic…”
With bees in their mouths and when they bark they shoot bees.
The problems with using a dog are that the short barrel circus cannon used to fire it takes up most of the hallway, and if you fire it early before the burgler fully opens the door, the dog just goes splat on the door, leaving a really big mess for mom to clean up the next morning.
It really is all about timing. Get two and working on your reloading time.
Though I suspect hearing “BOOM ruff? SPLAT!” would deter a burglar.
I agree. If I heard that, I’d be worried that a drunken conga line was heading my way, so I’d run for the hills.
No, the average cat gives you the same look whether they’ve just seen a moth or an axe murderer.
I don’t have cats but I understand the look would be either “I’m going back to bed” or “Hey, I’m hungry. Well, not hungry really, but I want you to get me some food anyways”
That’s why they’re best used as doorbells.
(Note: note for sensitive dog lovers).
(Sorry, Joey P, I wanted to quote your delightful “BOOM ruff? SPLAT!” but ended up quoting everything but that.)
If the kids take the dog to school for show and tell instead of a gun, there are a lot less awkward conversations with child protective services afterwards. Just saying.