[grundle]

I like Rebecca Watson's videos. I don't know if she's right about this one or not, but I think she makes a good argument. Her main point is that people who walk their dogs get to know their neighbors, and that this helps to keep the neighborhood safer.

[central_va]

both is best.

[central_va]

Dogs and guns go together like bread and butter.

[A Formerly Proud Canadian]

Up here in Canaduh, our Prime zmistake informs us that we are not allowed to use a gun for defence.

Years ago, I was told by a real estate agent friend, that if you have a dog that would bite an intruder, it is better if the dog kills the person, rather than just bites them. Just biting will result in them suing you for everything. If they’re dead, they can’t.

Sad but true.

[KarlInOhio]

Or people in safe neighborhoods are more likely to have a dog (other than a pit bull) to walk. Little yappy purse dogs wouldn’t last for 30 seconds against a New York City rat.

[dragnet2]

My German Shepherd can hear a bottle cap hit the street 300 feet away....Nobody is sneaking up on my compound.

[spacejunkie2001]

I haven’t watched the video but will get to it. I do not agree that dogs are better than guns BUTTTT....Dogs are critical to our safety, without a doubt. The most sinister thing? Most apartments and HOA governed properties BLOCK tenant’s abilities to have a larger dog due to random, senseless rules so (and most of the residents of these kinds of places are women) the residents are hugely vulnerable AND the shelters are full of dogs no one can have.

This needs to change

[marktwain]

I know my neighbors without walking a dog.

The combination of a dog and an armed person as a team, is very difficult to beat.

[Sans-Culotte]

I only walk my dog when I am armed.

[Hot Tabasco]

The only dog I would trust to protect my home is one that could rip the throat out of a home invader, not those little yappies that are only good for practicing field goals.....

[Rappini]

She lost me when she said she was seeing a shrink.

[M Kehoe]

Hi.

Any animal that will alert to something unusual is good to have. (Plus an armory)

Canines are great. Felines too. Cockatiels and many parrots are good for intruder alert.

Me, since alligators and rattlesnakes get along, I prefer them on the perimeter for defense.

But that’s just me.

5.56mm

[enumerated]

Dogs can make you safer because they alert you to danger, will defend you, and therefore deter attackers and home invasion.

Safer than guns? No. Both are best.

Her point about walking the dog making you get to know your neighborhood - that’s total BS. In fact, in a dangerous neighborhood, a woman shouldn’t be out walking at night - and if needing to walk the dog obligates her to do that - then owning a dog is making her less safe, not more.

The ideal case for a dog making one safer is where you live in a rural or suburban area with a property big enough where the dog can be let out into the yard at night rather than walked.

Then the dog acts as night watchman - but in that situation you’d want to have guns too.

[Buttons12]

She strikes me as a lib, but then, I played the video at 1.5 normal speed.
I’m in more danger from pit bulls, pit mixes, etc., than from intruders, so I don’t walk far beyond the immediate neighborhood. Beyond it is a rough crowd.
I’m in PA. Dogs are like family in these parts, but not everyone has family. Nearly everyone has a gun, some have a lot of guns!
Don’t need a dog to get acquainted with my neighbors.
Nothing against dogs. They usually love me up when I visit a dogged house. But I haven’t the time, not at home much, so it wouldn’t be fair to the pooch. :(
They go to heaven I’m sure, but before they do they need walking, feeding, grooming, shots, playtime. Guns are low maintenance.

[cuban leaf]

I would say it is probably true. At least, the dog and everything it brings to the equation is the first line of defense. The gun comes into play when that isn’t enough. But the dog probably does make the gun “almost” unnecessary, except for with the really bad players.

Using a gun is like war: It’s a last resort. You want to do everything you can to avoid getting to that point, and the dog may help a LOT.

[Varda]

I watched the beginning part and all I can say is that this women isn't particularly smart. Her ideas about guns making her unsafe are just stupid.
That said I agree that dogs make you safer.
Dogs prevent crime in general since criminals tend to avoid dogs. A police dog trainer friend told me he tried to practice crowd control once at a bar parking lot (fight) only to have the crowd disperse when the dog stuck his head out of the cruiser and simply barked.
I frightened some “youths” on an elevator once by having a couple of well behaved trained shepherds with me.
I understand the point is, “know your neighbors” which is a good thing but a little dog and being unarmed means you're depending on others to defend you.

[9YearLurker]

Does having a cat keep you safer than having a knife does?

[freeandfreezing]

Her main point is that people who walk their dogs get to know their neighbors, and that this helps to keep the neighborhood safer.

That is a nice idea, but does nothing to improve neighborhood safety, or to reduce the kinds of situations where a firearm is needed for self defense.

In many neighborhoods you can walk your dog twice a day for a year and not meet anybody. But you still need a firearm for that unfortunate day when a couple of angry pit bulls who got loose decide to eat your dog.

[Mashood]

Maybe. But it sure ain’t cheaper.

[Cincinnatus.45-70]

When I was young and on the farm, we kept 2 pit bulls and a collie. We weren’t too worried about unexpected company of any kind.

[Heartlander]