I pulled up the hedge that used to be against the house, and planted rose trees instead. Rose trees stand about three to four feet high and have a basket-ball sized clump of foliage on the top of a thin, thorny stem. Nothing to hide a critter.
If you have to choose between a loud dog and a mean dog, go for the loud one. It's the noise that runs the critters off. (Of course, if you can get a dog that's loud
and mean, you get the best of both worlds
)
All exterior doors should be solid-core, and have dead-bolt locks with at least a one-inch throw.
A lot of people that I know have gone for bars over all the ground floor windows. To my way of thinking, that just eliminates one of your ways out -- therefore being A Bad Thing. With the rose trees planted outside the window anyone
inside can easily jump over the thorns. Anyone
outside is gonna have to wade through the thorns.
If I ever get a front porch, I'm going to consider having the front porch barred in, with a full-height gate. That way I can open my front door and potential critters will still be several feet away on the other side of a gate while I scope them out.
Be sure your motion-detector lights have battery packs.
If you have a monitored alarm system, I like to have the system trip an exterior siren and flashing light. This scares the critters off, helps the police/sheriff/fire department/ambulance find your house instantly, and let's the neighbors know that something is amiss.
LawDog