If your yard was being broken into, what would you do?

[Blue-bear]

It has occured to me that i honestly dont know what i would do if i heard someone breaking in the yard.
I live on site and my OH is a chef so often at work till fairly late. What would you do........stay inside (with dogs barking) and call the police possibly by which time theives have got off with what ever they are after?????
Or be super brave go out armed with big stick and fierce labrador (dont laugh he really can be very protective, and have been told many times hes quite scary when he wants to be,hes also very vocal and generally hates men.....so as long as theives were men it would help!) hopefully making lots of noise to disturb them and wake the neighbours at the sametime, but with the worry that i and the dog get done over???
I also have a collie and a jrt but they would be more likely just to lick people to death tbh

I would like to hope very much that im never put in this situation but would like to hear what others would do if this was your yard, full of livery horses,tack etc or even your house??????

Apologies if im waffling!

 

[JM07]

Cry.....

 

[Blue-bear]

That would def be top of the list!!!!!

 

[Vizslak]

lol JM!

me too whilst firing the gun and sending out the very demented very large lurcher and phoning the police and weeing myself probably!

 

[only_me]

Since my dad is a locksmith, I would question the expertise of him

as he does security of yard.

But seriously, at my yard there is big electric gates and that is the real only way to get to it.

Honestly, i would go out with a big dog and a very large stick- but i am stupid, but then the police do exactly the same as they too attack with a large dog and big stick

 

[MistletoeMegan]

Bang on the doors of the three cottages on site, and then the boarding kennels at the top of the driveway by the road - one of the best thing about the yard is the kennels, they always have lots of noisy dogs who make it known if there's something going on!

I'd then run, and hide.

 

[joe_carby]

when i get my yard 2 rather large rottweilers will be installed to rome around therefore being 1st protection and if i saw some1 breaking in id find biggest stick i could and leather the little gits providing i dont get leathered 1st. if OH went out id be furious though lol

 

[SO1]

Our yard was broken into! If they are professionals they will probably come in the early hours of the morning and be very quiet so you won't hear a thing - just like our YO and her dog didn't hear anything.

If you did wake up I would not venture outside - there is likely to be a gang of men who might be violent and your life and your dogs life is not worth risking - tack is replaceable your life or your dogs life is not.

If you hear something then call the police and wait.

 

[JessPickle]

Go and get YO and they can release there very scary dog

she is muzzled most the time for a reason!

 

[lucy1984]

keep a baseball bat nearby

 

[jumbyjack]

Keep an attack alarm handy, set it off and hope thieves think they have set something off and promptly leg it.

 

[0ldmare]

It happened to me and I did everything wrong.

The stables are very near the house, but tucked around the corner. You come to the stables first and don't necessarily know there is a house there.

Anyway I sleep with my window open and was here on my own. I woke up to hear a kick bolt being opened on one of the stables.

Now obviously a sensible person might have phoned the police, called the very nearby neighbour, shouted out the window or lots of other entirely reasonable things.

I threw on my dressing gown, grabbed my wellies and went flying out the door screaming and yelling like a banshee. Just as I was getting there there was a load of noise and cars revving and things and they shot off down the drive.

It was only then it occurred to me just how stupid I had been and what the hell was I going to do when I got there if they hadn't legged it! Anyway one of my horses was out of its stable so glad I did.

They haven't ever been back, thank god.

I'd like to think I wouldn't do its again, but I have a feeling I probably would. Bl00dy stupid though

 

[FinnishLapphund]

When I once saw the light being on, very late in the evening, in one of my neighbours house that I knew was empty (owner was in hospital), I took my three dogs and went over to have a peak. Ended up with the conclusion that one of the neighbour's sons must have been there and forgot to turn the light off, because everything was locked and safe.

Had I seen anybody breaking in I would have gone home and phoned the police, if that option wouldn't have been possible, I would have let go of the leashes and (hopefully) attacked. One mad woman, 2 very excited Norwegian Buhunds (spitzes and trust me, if I didn't tell them to be silent they could make the devil himself beg for silence) and 1 Smooth Collie, probably idiotic of me but I felt very safe.

 

[the watcher]

The same as any emergency - get help on the way first, turn on as many lights as possible and make plenty of noise, and then decide whether it is worth risking going out to confront somebody.

 

[lhotse]

Shoot the little bastards in the legs with a twelvebore....

 

[ladyearl]

My mother once met a policeman inthe garden at 3am - he was chasing a burgular from down the street while blowing his whistle. She gave him (the policeman) hell for waking her up and potentially her children (me and lil sis!) burgular was long gone after her rant at poor old constable! Ahh the 70s a gentler age....

 

[RussianGirl]

Turn on the flood light, let the dogs out, and laugh at the worlds most vicious pug acting more like a GSD

 

[SNORKEY]

Hi, i used to live on a yard in the middle of no where and some nights the head boy went out, and it happend twice, that the alarms all went off, so I had to be brave and walk across the very dark yard and open the tackroom up to re set the bloody thing!
Scary and if I ever saw anyone it let the dogs out and then lock my self in and call the police!
People are too dangerous these days and you hear of poeple being killed who try to be brave and step in.
Also id be very annoyed as I dont have my tack insured, silly i know!

 

[FRESHMAN]

I would, & have done exactly the same Oldmare. & sod the consequences. But nowadays I have 2 GSD Personal Protection Dogs. (1 at each yard) They make me & my son feel so much safer. I am foolhardy enough to say online, I would honestly go to prison in order to defend my property & horses.

 

[megwan1]

on the occasions there have been poeple in our yard my dad has.....

been out with a fu*k off lump of wood and told them to leave them hit the car as it left

let the dogs out (collie is mad and has bitten a number of people but not dangerous before anyone suggests she should be pts lol) then gone out with said lump of wood

on the occasions we have been robbed (3 times) we've not heard anything that made us worry, once tho i fed our yard cats a 11.30pm and 20mins later the dogs went mad then went quiet and next morning my dads welding and hedge gear had been nicked i am convinced they were there wen i was

another time our van was stolen out the yard at 3pm ish broad daylight cheek!!! so we drove round every pikey camp in the area and looked for it! found it the next day dumped in tesco carpark!!!!

other time the tack room was done and we heard nowt!!!!

generally i have heard if u take a gun make sure the shoot them in the front (you can say they attacked) and if inside somewhere shoot the roof so u can say u fired a warning shot (up to u if this is b4 or after u shot the burgular!!!

 

[Enfys]

Well all the security lights would be on for a start so they'd be stupid to hang around, I would maybe let the dogs out, it is what I normally do what they kick off in the night.

Me? I'd be inside behind locked doors calling 911. Thieves come with guns out here, they can take what they damn well like in that case, it is only replacable stuff and it's insured. I wouldn't be going out there that's for sure.

 

[Theresa_F]

When we got broke into OH and I were still at yard - I heard him yelling - silly little bugger took on a lot of pikies - I yelled to people to call the police and come help, though no one was actually there I tried to make them think there was.

Grabbed the pitchfork and went round to the other stables screaming like a mental woman just in time to have car flying out as I tried to put pitchfork through their windscreen.

Luckily OH was not badly hurt apart from where they threw an iron bar at him.

Police as usual were useless - we gave descriptions of people and reg number of car and they said they had nothing to go on - didn't even do finger prints.

Very daft thing to do, but he was worried as they were going into the horses stables that they would hurt them.

 

[Dubsie]

All depends on circumstance! Couple of weeks ago I saw a van parked in the gateway to the field where daughters pony is kept at ten to one in the morning. As I was being chauffeured by my friend's OH I merely yelped 'slow down that van shouldn't be there, I need the registration (v difficult to reverse in in a car let alone a van)
Got all bar 1 letter, turned the corner we turned out lights and looked across the fields but could see no action, so went back to get the rest of registration - to find the van going down the road so we followed and got the registration, then went home and phone police (who were not much use, but..)

Now if I'd been on my own, I'm fairly sure I'd have parked my ancient jalopy across the gateway blocking the van in and legged it down the road whilst phoning the police on 999, on the basis I can run pretty fast + I'd know where to slip over a fence out of sight in the dark - but you can't ask a mates not quite as fit OH to do that with his v nice car can you?

If at home I'd ring the police first, open the door and let the collie out (he has a nasty bite if you don't know him, esp if you're male...) and maybe go let a tyre down or put a nail down just where they'd drive out.

 

[FinkleyAlex]

[ QUOTE ]

generally i have heard if u take a gun make sure the shoot them in the front (you can say they attacked) and if inside somewhere shoot the roof so u can say u fired a warning shot (up to u if this is b4 or after u shot the burgular!!!

[/ QUOTE ]

Can I just go against this advice (as a legal student) as should your shot happen to kill/injure said burgler, self-defence has to be considered in terms of proportion and it's is incredibly unlikely that the courts would consider shooting a burglar (especially one that hasn't particularly threatened you personally) not proportionate with the crime he is committing. You are therefore likely to face a manslaughter charge. There are actually quite a few well publicised cases involving people shooting burglars even within their own home, and have ended up being convicted of serious crimes themselves.

IMO it's not a risk worth taking - call the police and if you have an alarm then set it off, I wouldn't risk mine or my dogs life - not worth it.

 

[Nic74]

I'd ring the police then sneak out the back door of my house with my dogs, jump in my shogun, drive down to the gate, I'd shut the gate and padlock it once I was out, then leave my car parked in front of it, so even if they get the padlock off they couldn't get past my car. Me and the dogs would take refuge in one of the other houses down the lane until the police came!