justatexasboy
Member
Hello all. Ive been quietly following the threads for a while and decided to share this experience with you guys. It is a classic example of being somewhat prepared, yet making some very poor decisions while still half asleep.
My youngest son was only two weeks old. Needless to say I was sleep deprived and luckily for all of us I was keeping very odd hours. One Sunday night I was up with the baby in the living room at about 4:15 AM. My son had finally nodded off to sleep when my dogs alerted me to something going on near my backyard.
My dogs at the time were about a year and a half old . And I had already started some advanced training with them. Given the current times and abundant litigation we have I chose to train my dogs to hold thier position and block access to the house without biting. Even at a year and a half old old they could be very menacing when they want to be.
Mistake #1. I should have trusted my dogs judgement and taken the situation more seriously. They had already been trained not to bark at every little thing.
I put my sleeping son on the sofa and went to the patio door to investigate (without a weapon). Upon reaching the patio door I saw that my dogs were blocking the walk from the gate to the patio door and they were in full alert towards the gate. Just as I opened the patio door I saw someone open the gate to my back yard and try to enter.
Mistake #2 I should have woken my wife up at that moment to have a second line of defense.
Instead I went into the back yard and stood behind my dogs. They were pretty well trained but I didnt want to risk them attacking someone who had stumbled into the wrong backyard. The man who had opened the gate was now trying to enter and he seemed oblivious to the two growling pit bulls blocking his path. He looked completely out of it. Im mean he was totally spaced out! I told the guy to get the F--- out of my yard. He pointed to my 7 year old daughters upstairs window and told me he had to get his kids off of my roof.
At this point I stepped forward so that my dogs would re-position themselves between the guy and myself at a more intimidating distance to him. He still seemed totally oblivious to the snarling dogs! I told him to get out at once or I would call the dogs on him. Strangley when I said this I really think it was the first time he even noticed the dogs.
He backed out of the gate and I slammed it behind him and pinned it to prevent any further entry attempts. As I headed back into the house to call 911 I noticed my dogs were still at full alert and tracking him as he walked around the fence towards the front of my home.
Mistake #3 and #4
Again I should have woken my wife up. I should have brought one of the dogs into the house and left the other in the backyard.
I got the baby, went into the bedroom,laid the baby in bed with my wife and got my 12ga pump, I then headed for the telephone. About the time I got the remote phone off of its cradle I heard the guy beating or kicking at my front door!
I stood near the door as he kicked it and started talking to the 911 operator. I told her what was going on and to tell the officers that I was the one with the shotgun. About that time one of the hinges on the front door started coming loose. I had had enough! I opened the front door, stepped back, and leveled the shotgun on the intruders torso.
The shotgun did what my two pitbulls were unable to do. For the first time in this entire encounter the intruder seemed to have some lights turn on in his head. He backed up and then ran across the street to a mall parking lot. I stood in the entrance way to my home and watched as the cops caught him. It took four very large cops to get this guy down. He was totally insane!
Afterwards, I found out that the guy had a 6" utility type knife in his back pocket. He had been working on a local sho sealing the floors and had been overcome by the fumes. Luckily, I didnt have to shoot him, as it seems he was a family guy without a criminal record who had a really bad night.
Ive pointed out the mistakes I feel I made. Barring my not having a pin on the back gate to begin with that night. I guess the kids left it off while playing that day.
I hope this serves as a reminder that even people who are somewhat prepared think a bit more slowly in the wee hours of the night, and under intense pressure.
Did I make any other mistakes that I have missed?
My youngest son was only two weeks old. Needless to say I was sleep deprived and luckily for all of us I was keeping very odd hours. One Sunday night I was up with the baby in the living room at about 4:15 AM. My son had finally nodded off to sleep when my dogs alerted me to something going on near my backyard.
My dogs at the time were about a year and a half old . And I had already started some advanced training with them. Given the current times and abundant litigation we have I chose to train my dogs to hold thier position and block access to the house without biting. Even at a year and a half old old they could be very menacing when they want to be.
Mistake #1. I should have trusted my dogs judgement and taken the situation more seriously. They had already been trained not to bark at every little thing.
I put my sleeping son on the sofa and went to the patio door to investigate (without a weapon). Upon reaching the patio door I saw that my dogs were blocking the walk from the gate to the patio door and they were in full alert towards the gate. Just as I opened the patio door I saw someone open the gate to my back yard and try to enter.
Mistake #2 I should have woken my wife up at that moment to have a second line of defense.
Instead I went into the back yard and stood behind my dogs. They were pretty well trained but I didnt want to risk them attacking someone who had stumbled into the wrong backyard. The man who had opened the gate was now trying to enter and he seemed oblivious to the two growling pit bulls blocking his path. He looked completely out of it. Im mean he was totally spaced out! I told the guy to get the F--- out of my yard. He pointed to my 7 year old daughters upstairs window and told me he had to get his kids off of my roof.
At this point I stepped forward so that my dogs would re-position themselves between the guy and myself at a more intimidating distance to him. He still seemed totally oblivious to the snarling dogs! I told him to get out at once or I would call the dogs on him. Strangley when I said this I really think it was the first time he even noticed the dogs.
He backed out of the gate and I slammed it behind him and pinned it to prevent any further entry attempts. As I headed back into the house to call 911 I noticed my dogs were still at full alert and tracking him as he walked around the fence towards the front of my home.
Mistake #3 and #4
Again I should have woken my wife up. I should have brought one of the dogs into the house and left the other in the backyard.
I got the baby, went into the bedroom,laid the baby in bed with my wife and got my 12ga pump, I then headed for the telephone. About the time I got the remote phone off of its cradle I heard the guy beating or kicking at my front door!
I stood near the door as he kicked it and started talking to the 911 operator. I told her what was going on and to tell the officers that I was the one with the shotgun. About that time one of the hinges on the front door started coming loose. I had had enough! I opened the front door, stepped back, and leveled the shotgun on the intruders torso.
The shotgun did what my two pitbulls were unable to do. For the first time in this entire encounter the intruder seemed to have some lights turn on in his head. He backed up and then ran across the street to a mall parking lot. I stood in the entrance way to my home and watched as the cops caught him. It took four very large cops to get this guy down. He was totally insane!
Afterwards, I found out that the guy had a 6" utility type knife in his back pocket. He had been working on a local sho sealing the floors and had been overcome by the fumes. Luckily, I didnt have to shoot him, as it seems he was a family guy without a criminal record who had a really bad night.
Ive pointed out the mistakes I feel I made. Barring my not having a pin on the back gate to begin with that night. I guess the kids left it off while playing that day.
I hope this serves as a reminder that even people who are somewhat prepared think a bit more slowly in the wee hours of the night, and under intense pressure.
Did I make any other mistakes that I have missed?
flame away
