My house was broken into in late March. (only thing stolen-my laptop-my head is exploding with all the new “unique, bazillion digit, one capital letter, one number, one symbol, etc., etc.” passwords) It was in the afternoon, 2 other houses in my alley were also broken into.
So now I have a security system. I still don’t feel quite safe. It doesn’t keep people out, just lets me know they are trying or have tried to get in.
At this point, I turn it on when I leave the house, or when I go to bed. A female friend of mine says her security system is ALWAYS ON, when she is home or away.
So my poll is about security systems. If you have one, when do you have it on?
Our primary alarm system is a long-haired dachshund. (Doxie owners will get this)
We also have a secondary electronic whole house system with all kinds of sensors and whatnot but we’ve never used it. It ties into a monitoring service but we never activated that either. We’ve discussed it a couple of times but that’s about it.
We live in a small well-established neighborhood that’s quite safe so the alarm thing just doesn’t get much thought. knocks on wood
I feed mine twice a day, give him water when it gets low and ear scritches and belly rubs as needed.
In return he goes ballistic whenever anyone comes to the door.
We had a couple of prior burglaries, but none in the 16 years we have had dogs.
Another thing an alarm does is move your home farther away from the path of least resistance. In other words, a burglar is more likely to pass your home by in favor of the home without an alarm system sign. Dogs also work in the same manner. Most burglars if given a choice between alarm and no alarm, or dog and no dog, are going to go the path of least resistance.
MeanJoe - Alarm set when away and asleep, dog on alert at all times.
We have both a dog and a security system. I tend to use the security system when my husband is not home and I am going to bed for the night. Dog is getting old and sometimes doesn’t even get up from her napping spot when someone comes in the door now. I also have a feeling that all she would do is show someone where her treats are and then settle in for a nap.
A couple of years ago there were a series of break-ins in our neighborhood during working hours. They targeted homes that did not have security systems and/or dogs and broke-in through the rear entrances of the houses. The homes in my neighborhood tend to be set up so that you really can’t see all that well into your neighbor’s yard. Our neighbor to the left was robbed of some cash and a few other things. Our neighbor to the right worked from home, so we assume that is why he wasn’t targeted. The local PD suggested putting security stickers on your windows even if you didn’t have a system.
No one was ever caught and the break-ins stopped. The PD stepped up patrols in the neighborhoods during the day and maybe that scared them off.
We don’t have a true security system, just the ones that you attach to a door or window and make a loud noise when they are separated from the base (i.e. the door opening).
We only keep it on when we’re asleep. We don’t turn it on when we’re away as it would be kind of pointless.
We have a security system - but it’s more for the fire monitoring than anything else. It was already in the house (but not activated) when we bought it; we activated it when Dweezil went to middle school and would therefore be in the house for a couple of hours, alone, every school day.
We don’t activate it because I know we’d forget to turn it off when coming back home, and the loud alarm would be pants-wetting for whomever forgot. Also, we have pets that require petsitting when we’re on vacation, so that would be an additional hassle for the sitter.
When we set it up, we actually had to fill out paperwork to go to the police / fire departments, with any essential info (e.g. “in wheelchair” or whatever). We mentioned that we had a kid with autism who might hide to try to avoid the loud noise.
Oh - and we do have a sign in front mentioning that the place is monitored.
I don’t know if it is being a smartass but my home security system really is my dog. If I had an electronic system I would forget to turn it on or, worse, forget to disengage it when I came home. My dog provides an alarm system that often works even before the stranger gets into our yard. He takes his security job with a seriousness, think furry Barnie Fife, that deters all but the most brave intruders, including neighborhood children. In a serious situation, where violence might be required, I don’t know but I would want him on my side.
The burglar broke a window on the back side of my house and reached in and unlocked the window. I thought it was strange that he picked my house, because my house is the only one in the neighborhood that does not have a back fence so he was more exposed to view than any other house.
I guess you could count my dogs, but they will freak out if anyone comes by, sometimes even people who live here.
But I’ve never had a house burgled. For a while, we didn’t even lock the door most of the time, as it was hard to unlock. To this day, whenever my Dad gets into my Sis’s car, he will forget to lock the doors back. (my Sis is always the odd one out in these sorts of things.)
First off, I am really sorry to hear about your burglary/home invasion. We too have been victims of a burglary. Our home theater equipment as well as jewelry were taken. Luckily, our home owner’s insurance was able to replace most of it. My wife now always has the home security system turned on at all times, especially when she is home alone. Myself personally, I only turn it on when I am away. I think this is personal preference and I know it helps with her sense of security. We also have a small dog that constantly yaps. It probably won’t scare an intruder, but may annoy them enough to change their mind.
