currently my home protection is a remington 870 20 guage loaded with buck shot and a full choke barrel. wierd thing is with it being choked so much it kicks harder than my buddies 12 guage (spread at 50 yards with my shotgun is roughly 8" with game load). i'll upgrade my home defense after i save up some money while i'm in the air force.
i know what you mean about the dogs, my sister used to have a female pit bull and a male german shephard (his parents were both police dogs) and it was hilarious when she would go places because she would always bring them with her. people would see her at maybe 5'2" petite with 2 large dogs walking beside her (german shephard weighed more than she did haha).
