+1. My guns are the last line of defense. The first line of defense in the house are our three dogs - each one is 90+ pounds of noise, and one is 90+ pounds of noise and fury. Rico is 1/2 German Shepherd and 1/2 Rot. He's big, he's loud, and he takes his home defense duties seriously. The other two are hobos, but they make a lot of noise and they look intimidating.

Get a good dog, if you can. They'll alert you before an intruder ever gets to the door or window.