Yep, we thought of buying two specially trained German shepherds (the kind of training that requires you to be there so the dog bonds with you and trusts nobody else).
Still not sure about guns but the dogs would indeed be a very good investment.
An Anatolian livestock guardian dog is a vastly superior natural guard dog, compared to a GSD. They can not be bribed with food, and they spend every second of their waking day looking for intruders to destroy. Very gentle with children and small dogs, though.
Downsides include being extremely smart but not very trainable (smart like a wolf) -- they decide what's a threat and what isn't, and they don't care about your opinion. They guard naturally. Also, you may find yourself having to bury dead coyotes on occasion, as they will murder any that are stupid enough to intrude.
I think you might be overthinking this. The dogs don't even need to be large. If the property is more than a few acres just get 2 or 3 herding dogs. They're upbeat, energetic, and above all very noisy if a stranger wanders into your yard. I very much doubt anyone will ever bother you.
> Still not sure about guns
How remote is it? What's the police response time? If it's really in the middle of nowhere then it seems like a good idea to have something on hand just in case.
> How remote is it? What's the police response time? If it's really in the middle of nowhere then it seems like a good idea to have something on hand just in case.
Exactly because of that: remote and small country (Costa Rica is one idea so far), we would prefer a sea-side house which is NOT very close to a city (we think 20-30km away from a city is optimal) and we have no clue about police response time -- but I can't imagine they'll be there 2 minutes after I make a panicked call that I am tracking 3 armed burglars, especially if not in a city.
> I think you might be overthinking this.
Very possible. Right now I don't even have the money for a down-payment, but me and my wife both share this dream and started brainstorming it and doing some preliminary planning.
Above all, I really want the dogs to not be able to be bribed with food. Not a fan of dogs that bark at every single small disturbance but oh well, if that's the price you pay for living in a remote area and having good security then okay.
Oh, I was imagining remote rural in the US or a similar country (Canada, Scandinavia, etc). I have absolutely no idea what public safety concerns might exist in less developed places.
> want the dogs to not be able to be bribed with food
It's more that a solid looking fence, a few dogs, and some visible security cameras are highly likely to deter any attempts in the first place. If someone is armed and willing to shoot your dogs then you have much larger problems to deal with (and probably don't want to be living there to begin with).
Still not sure about guns but the dogs would indeed be a very good investment.