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Ol Zeke wrote: some of the best watchdogs I've had/seen were small and virtually all will bark at strangers

One of the best security systems I ever had was a miniature chihuahua.
Her ears would perk up and she'd start barking at the slightest hint of anyone outside.

randomoutburst wrote: I'm genuinely wary of being outside right now, at night, when robberies happened just a street over from us last night, even if I'm armed. Having to watch this bouncy puppy while trying to keep a watchful eye out is just stressing me out.

Small detail Robbery /= BMV.


Other than that I'd say crate training is a win.

Ol Zeke wrote:
I'm curious.... Doesn't your "puppy" alert at strangers? You don't say what breed and I realize he's probably not like my 11 month old German Shepard, but some of the best watchdogs I've had/seen were small and virtually all will bark at strangers, even when young.

No, he's 14 weeks and is still open to strangers and new sounds. Barely barks at all, even if startled. Supposedly they start naturally guarding their family around 6-7 months so we'll see. We may need to train accordingly. Right now he simply observes and is friendly to most people and dogs. I hope that changes so he's only friendly to people when WE are friendly to them, and not all the time.

I'm not depending on the puppy to be my alarm system; when he's older, if he takes to guarding well, he may be used as a gauge of danger. Right now, though, he's just a puppy and I can't expect him to do anything when he's depending on me for everything. :)

USA1 wrote:

Ol Zeke wrote: some of the best watchdogs I've had/seen were small and virtually all will bark at strangers

One of the best security systems I ever had was a miniature chihuahua.
Her ears would perk up and she'd start barking at the slightest hint of anyone outside.

Amen to that:
My son has a tiny Chihuahua/Terrier mix. She is so sensitive to what is going on outside the house that she can differentiate between a stranger and myself. When anyone other than me pulls in the driveway and gets out of the car, the barking will start. When I pull in, the barking almost immediately stops.
I drive 3 different cars, so unless she is really skilled at automobile recognition it can't be recognizing the ride.

Academy sells "Seasense - Marine/Sport Horn" and man they're LOUD!

Also, inexpensive and quite small, probably five inches tall with an outside diameter slightly larger than a quarter coin - weigh 1.4 oz.

I carry one with me when kayaking in salt water and have alerted a few power boaters of my presence with one.

Do ya'll know where to find pepper gel spray in a keychain form? I can find the regular stuff on a keychain, the gel in a regular can, but not the gel stuff in a keychain can.

randomoutburst wrote, "Do ya'll know where to find pepper gel spray in a keychain form?
I can find the regular stuff on a keychain, the gel in a regular can, but not the gel stuff in a keychain can."

Not what randomoutburst is seeking... but I have recently seen several suggestions
for cans of wasp spray.
Hoot

hoot wrote:

randomoutburst wrote, "Do ya'll know where to find pepper gel spray in a keychain form?
I can find the regular stuff on a keychain, the gel in a regular can, but not the gel stuff in a keychain can."

Not what randomoutburst is seeking... but I have recently seen several suggestions
for cans of wasp spray.
Hoot

True, but isn't intentionally using something NOT for its intended purpose according to the labeling a federal offense? Just saying.
It's one thing if you're attacked in your garage and you happen to grab it because it's the closest weapon you can reach; it's quite another to carry it around or keep it beside the bed as self-defense spray.