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Alarm the house if you will leave it unattended for long periods of time, if you can attend the residence sooner, get a four legged alarm. I have four noisy terriers, well three noisy terriers and one quiet biter
My home usuallly has someone home all the time so the dogs work well.
When we are out, they run free in the house. They announce anyone setting foot on the property or even stopping on the front sidewalk.
A firearm is good if you are home and can get to it soon enough to use it.
Here we need to secure firearms to reduclious standards, making home defense a joke
As for your valuables, buy a safe that is secured to the floor, not easliy picked up and taken.
Walk around the residence with a video recorder and keep the tape and a inventory list offsite, mine is in the safty deposit box. It makes insurance claims less stressful.