A Dog Is a Great Addition to Home Security, but Isn’t the Final Answer.

We here at suretyCAM love dogs and think they’re an excellent addition to a security system. Humankind has been using dogs for a variety of reasons for centuries. We have dogs for companionship, protection, hunting, and sometimes to give us a reason to get off the couch. There’s a reason they’re called man’s best friend. Dogs can be an excellent source of security in a home. They’re loud so they will let you and everyone else know that something is going on. Many dog breeds are very territorial of their home and what they consider to be their family. Then there’s the mouth full of sharp teeth in case someone does manage to ignore the loud barks.

I can’t tell you how many people I’ve heard tell me, “I don’t need an alarm system, I just got a 90lbs pit bull.” I think having a dog is a great idea and can definitely bolster the security in your home, but there are many drawbacks to having a dog too.

I love my dog and would do almost anything for her. She’s basically my child. That being said, she’s also like a three year old that never gets any smarter. Tell me, would you leave a three year old at home to protect your house armed with an air horn and a knife?

While she does bark at potential intruders, she also barks at other dogs, cats, insects, and sometimes at thin air. The thing to remember is that you can never really be certain how you’re dog is going to act 100% of the time. When I’m home, I usually tune out her barking and don’t think twice about it. We used to joke that she was just barking at phantoms. While she may be helpful to prevent someone from breaking in when I’m away, she’s not entirely full proof.

Here’s a little test. The next time your dog starts barking at someone walking down the street who may or may not be a burglar, put a steak on the floor and time how long it takes your loyal protector to forget what they were barking at and go after the meat. Go on, I’ll wait. I bet that took somewhere between 1 and 10 seconds. If someone was determined to get in your house, that’s all they would really need to get passed your dog.

They might not even need a steak in some cases. My dog sounds ferocious, but I can guarantee you that she would more than likely help someone steal my stuff before she attacked them. Why? Because that’s not what she’s trained for. Training a dog to be an effective and safe security alternative can be an extremely costly and time consuming process. You can’t just get a dog, train it, and expect it to always behave in the same way. There’s a lot of work that goes into keeping your dog trained and ready. How many stories have you read in the Columbus news paper or any news paper for that matter of a dog attacking a child that wandered too closely to the yard? That was most likely the result of someone getting a dog to be a guard dog and then improperly training it or not keeping up with the training.

I’m not telling you that getting a dog is a bad idea. In fact, I think it’s an excellent idea both for home security and companionship. What I am telling you is that getting a dog will not necessarily be the end of your security needs. Your dog can’t call the police if someone does get in there and can be easily distracted. Also, your security system will never pee on the rug.