Attempted Tractor Theft - Prevention Tips?

we have an english mastiff, and as a guard dog.. he is not the greatest(too friendly)... what is the biggest deterrent is that he is so BIG. and runs up and looks at people in the eye thru their windows of their vehicles before they get out. and his biggest weapon is not his bite but his whip of a tail.... hard enough to leave a mark... i wish sometimes that they were a docked breed (of course he would be funny looking w/o tail)

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Welcome to SE KANSAS -Tornado Alley
--sunny

Sorry, I don't know mastiffs at all. Google - I'm sure there are many good web sites that discuss them. What we have are a mixed breed - German Shepherd, Black Lab, Other. See:

http://sugarmtnfarm.com/blog/2006/03...trainable.html

What ever you get, you want bigger than smaller and then train it to do what you need.

That is why you have more than one dogs. Note I wrote plural. We have a pack. If you're so good that you can take out a pack of guardian dogs then you're wasting your time stealing a measly tractor and getting cents on the dollar - Steal for something big.

Besides, part of a dog's job is being visible, being loud when necessary, keeping out the predators and alerting you to trouble. Criminals when interviewed have stated that they are far more fearful of dogs than of a homeowner with a gun. Homeowners hesitate to pull the trigger.

Speaking of triggers, don't point guns unless you're intending to use them. Generally considered a crime.

On the bolt cutter and winch see below.

Heavy hardened steel logging chains will stop a truck, a tractor, even a skidder. They are used for dragging big trees. Those are what we use for chains. I wouldn't want them breaking on me when I'm working. The tractor won't break them.

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SugarMtnFarm.com -- Pastured Pigs, Poultry, Sheep, Dogs and Kids

i think it would have been his word against yours concerning bogus "brandishing" claims. being a former sworn agent of the court, your word may have carried more weight. i wouldn't worry about that in the future. i agree that it would have been great to actually catch him loading the tractor.

like someone else said, if someone wants to steal the tractor they can. a winch and bolt cutters, truck mounted cutting torch or even a hack saw would allow that.

i think this is a job for dogs. a few anatolian shepherds would surely help.

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this message has probably been edited to correct typos, spelling errors and to improve grammar...

"All that is gold does not glitter..."

He has declared war on you! You have his tag #. Use that to get his address. Spend some time staking out his house and find out when he's gone. Then, load what you can and burn the rest! If he shows again blast him outta his hide! It will be along time before anyone ever messes with your stuff again.

Maybe thats a little extreme... maybe...

There was a preacher out here that dumped a couple 30rd clips from an SKS into a car full of "gangstas" who were breaking into his barn. Didn't kill any of them, mind you, but they all went to jail and the car was scrap. That man has long since departed this world but that place still gets passed over when there is a crime wave. I never could figure out what the city thugs thought they were gonna find that was usefull to them in that barn. Maybe horse tack has a pretty high street value.

Is- Holster open, hand on grip, "you sit on the ground, with your hands behind your head while we wait for the police" brandishing? Not here. Once he's on the ground, you have control of the situation. While you are waiting for the police to arrive- lecture him to your heart's content.
The signal you sent him (if the police don't follow up and maybe if they do) is- "Some night when that SOB with the tractor is sleepin'...." Be Alert. If he's a career criminal, he'll probably leave you be. If he's a punk or a druggie, he's got a bone to pick with you.

Doug

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I Rule My World!...Tonya said I could.

Well M39fan sounds like you are the new kid on the block so to speak. Just keep doi'n what you been doi'n it will wotk. It will take a while, too

Sounds like you are in an area where most everybody knows everybody else, with the possible exception of you. Most of them will be related some way or other to just about everybody else, except you; too. You sound a lot like me about 20 years ago. We had dog packs that roamed around and killed most anything that they could. There were packs of young people, and some older who would steal anything that they could to support their habits. We were told early on that we could not leave the place even for a little while without the word getting out that we were gone. Someone would then shurely break in even if we only were gone an hour or so.

So we put out our own word. We indicated that we should not be bothered if those doi'n the bothering wanted to keep on breathin' air. For a while there we shot at targets every sunday morning. We are on the outskirts of a small village where everybody is related except us. There is one small church. Service at 9:30. 44 MAG. practice started at 9:25.

We put the word out that we really did not have much, and did not intend to lose any of it. The sheriff's dispatcher lives close enough to hear the target practice. When the dog packs came a killin, less left than had arrived but there seemed to be plenty of replacements. Every time somebodys dog killed something of ours, we called the sheriff. soon it became known that we were serious. DW told the sheriff more than once that he needed to keep a body bag ready if she called at night. Word gets around. Over time we have had less and less trouble.

The problem is there is a new generation coming on. We have been on our homestead almost 20 years now. I see some of the younger punks who were a problem early on are now getting out of prison. Many have children (to train) often by more than one mate. Nobody seems to get married any more, it messes up the welfare entitlements. So the new generation may need some more training. Just keep a firearm handy, and don't be a bit concerned about being a survivor.

"Use, or threat of use, of deadly force in defense of property is never justified under state law. "

Perfectly legal in Texas. People tend not to steal as much stuff here - at least not in the country.

I just waited untill they started loading up their selection then blocked the road with my vehicle, then explanined the sheriff was on the way, sit down and relax, and they could explain it all to him. They were not armed but had picked up one of my shotguns in the barn. But they had already put it in their truck cab. one got five years the other three. Guess they could not explain their side well enough.

My attitude is this.....

Im not going to PC myself 6 feet under.

When I confront a felon in the act of committing a FELONY,he is going to be facing a shotgun,with the laser on,and a bright red dot in the center of his chest.

Why,because Im afraid the FELON,in the ACT of committing a FELONY,may just be intent on shooting ME! I have a reasonable fear that is going to happen,and guess what,I pulled MY gun first.

I dont give a hoot for the felons 'rights',he has NONE when he is committing a felony against me.

PC my foot! Dont even try that stunt at my place.

Yeah,as Boylez would say,HT....Home of the Baddest of de Bad.And in this case,he called it correctly.

BooBoo <----Has a shotgun and will use it.Whether I pull the trigger,thats the FELONS choice.

The tractors are locked inside a building, but that will not stop a thief, The Dully is parked behind the storage shed on the back of the farm it can not be seen with out walking acorss a field. The wifes car is parked in front of the studio, my van parks in back of the shop. Everyone knows even if all vehicles are gone does not mean we are one way in and one way out and the saying is there is nothing here that is worth your life.
I am not sure I would kill again but I have slep with the last for years and know I would do it again under the same conditions, he gave me no choice and it was self defense.
The laws are in the crooks best interest but if they shoot or try to usually you win. Hard choice but make up your mind before the problem comes up as then you will not have the time

Remove distributer cap reach in remove roter cap place same in pocket replace distributer cap.

Didn't read all this stuff, but it may be a good idea to go to town and buy a battery kill switch and hook it up somewhere that is hard for a thief to find but not too hard to get to when you need to use the equipment. Most of the time this type of thief has a wench on the trailer so he can just wench your tractor up on the trailer and be gone. You may want to get one of those motion senser type of game cameras so you can at least have a picture of the guy to show the sherriff.

What highlands said. I had a one year old Ford TC29D 4x4 hydrostatic tractor stolen from my place three days after I brought it home. Ended up costing me almost TWENTY grand. My three month old German Shepherd was locked up in the kennel at the time.

Now I have two German Shepherds running free on the invisible fence 24-7. They stay home when we go on holidays. No more snoopers or thieves around here. Whenever I sell something or have unknown guest comming over, I tell them to call first so I can lock up the dogs because they might bite strangers. They come over and see two big dogs barking in the kennel. I've haven't had anything stolen since.

Pete

Being a redneck, the yard has multiple vehicles in it! Also, you have to come partially up the drive to see the yard, so both are a deterrent to someone stealing. I also painted a sign and placed it on the gate at the driveway entrance....

Forget The Dog
(insert rifle outline here)
Beware Of The Owner

Other than hunters "I'm just looking for my dogs" (yeah right, with a shotgun in your hand) we haven't had trouble yet. Sorry to hear about the attempted stealing. Sometimes having to fix a fence is a blessing in disguise!

,,,, ,,,, ,,,, ,,,,, ,,,,

Sounds like a plan !

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Please Put Your Location In Your Profile ... TY

sounds like the best thing to do. I have a sign that says beware of dog. said husky dog can be seen most of the time on the porch chewing on large rocks or his cat friends. Maybe he will bite a stranger maybe not I don't know nobody ever tried to test it. I don't point guns at people, their life is probably worth more than my property if it really comes down to shotting someone over a machine. I also don't have anything worth stealing. lol

Try to get it right Boo...

B-O-L-E-Y-Z!

Boylez brings up strange and perverse implications...

But really, in KY, ya can't kill a guy sitting on your tractor...you CAN threaten to kill him though...

ALSO, you CAN legally restrain him until the police arrive.

If he pulls a gun or knife or club, THEN you can kill him.

Also, if he's setting fire to one of your buildings, you can kill him.

Otherwise you get 10-15 for 2nd degree murder...might plead ya to Man1 for less time if the prosecutor is sympathetic.

Of Course, in my County, here in the Southeastern Appalachians, nothing would be done to you, because the guy falls into the category of, "He needed Killin'".

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"The most beautiful system of the sun, planets and comets, could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being." - Sir Isaac Newton
(A REAL scientist)

If you have your gate to your drive closed, your land posted, is not anyone who opens the gate without an invitation trespassing? In our County, the Sheriff at a town meeting said the perpetrator had to be INSIDE your home, threatening you before you could defend yourself. I am a woman, what chance would I have if I let a man inside and waited to be threatened? We had a neighbor, several years back, brutally raped in her own home after her husband went to work. He came to the door and said his wife was in the car outside and was bleeding profusely and wanted to call the emergency car to meet him. And you can guess the rest. He said if she woke the kids he would kill them all. Jklady

Yes, that is trespassing, but the KY statue is pretty clear that the only time deadly force can be used legally is if:

1. You are in faced with imminent death or rape.

2. You see someone else in peril of imminent death or rape.

3. You see someone lighting a fire on your house or barn.

I have a concealed carry permit and these laws were drilled in every session.

No matter how it grieves some folks, you can't kill somebody for showing up on your property and messing around with your stuff....I mean, you can kill em, sure, just not legally...you can be prosecuted. It really depends on where you live in KY and who you know...My county attorney would probably overlook such a killing, unless the one killed was connected politcally somehow.

The instructor also made it plain that you can Physically restrain or detain a trespasser until police arrive. If I found a guy sitting on my tractor, I'd restrain him and call the Law.

I'd sleep better too...I ain't tough like the mighty BooBoo...

I'm just the wimpy Boleyz... :baby04:

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"The most beautiful system of the sun, planets and comets, could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being." - Sir Isaac Newton
(A REAL scientist)