Dan is right. Dogs cost a lot more than a burglar alarm system, but they are great company and they keep an eye on the place. Mine are in the yard, but if someone approaches the house from anything but the front, they know about it and raise a ruckus. One night I heard them lunge at the gate with a bark like I've never heard, and I stuck my head out the back door just in time to see a head-and-shoulders shadow cast on the garage door (the garage is set behind and beside the house). The next night I went out to reproduce where that person had been standing, and found that shadow cast when someone stands at the kitchen window. Good girls!

Maybe I should up the ante by posting a photo of the cleanup crew out front. :)

The insurance company wanted to meet the dogs, to be sure they're socialized well, and they passed the test with flying colors. Their job is to bark. If someone comes to the gate, they stay back from it and bark. The meter changer walked up the drive without waiting for me a few weeks ago, and it set them off. I went out the back, let myself through the gate, and told him we'd give them a couple of minutes to calm down. And they did. Never any teeth gnashing or growling or anything like that. They just set off an alarm. Again, good girls! (When I go out of town, they're still out there, and they have a couple of devoted friends who come feed them and keep them company).

SRS