The People of the Gun reckon man’s best friend plays a special role in the field of armed self-defense. At the least, as an alarm system. At best, as a canine defender. As the owner of a brace of miniature Schnauzers, I concur. Rosie and Maggie bark at all comers, even those they saw thirty seconds before (they’re four-legged goldfish). That said . . .
One night a Texas-sized storm stampeded through Austin. The wind blew open my bedroom’s French doors. The alarm shrieked, but the girls barely stirred. Rosie raised her head with a look that said, “Take care of that, won’t you?” And went back to sleep. Teaching me that even alarm dogs have their limitations.
What kind of dog do you have? Is it any value to you defense-wise? Or is yours like Dan’s gi-normous yellow labs, Mason and Olie, who are more likely to lick an intruder to death than take a bite out of crime? Examples of dogged defense appreciated.