Pretty much… (with the exception of assault rifles - only the old Swiss army rifles would fall in the non-WES category), as would pretty much any single-shot repeater (e.g. a .50cal anti-material rifle?). Details of what doesn’t need a buying permit, but needs a contract, can be found here: Weapons that have to be declared
Ok, as a collector you will be expected to have your guns in a slightly safer location (e.g. a locked room or gun safe), and then when you apply for the WES (acquisition permit) for a full auto the police will do a criminal background check…
but yes.
Option 2: if you are a Swiss citizen, do the military service. While you are in service (I think 20 years or so), you have the option to bring home your service rifle, which is a SIG 550 (SIG SG 550 - Wikipedia)
That’s a full auto… and after you finish the army, they dot weld the full auto switch unless you get the special WES… so that it’s semi fire only… and it would be really quite naughty of you to grind off that dot weld and very frowned upon (and highly illegal)
This just happened to us over the weekend (Geneva area). Ditto to what others are saying about ‘this time of year.’ Happened when we when out for dinner, maybe they were watching us leave, who knows. Broke a window to get inside.
Burglars mostly took jewelry and a few electronics (non-traceable items). Completely tossed the house, even the children’s rooms, in their search for valuables. Hopefully insurance will cover all the losses, but it looks to be a long process.
Police advice was mainly upgrade the security system and consider getting a big dog.
We’re feeling very unsettled at home; kids are terrified that someone is going to break in again. If anyone has a German Shepherd connection, please DM me. I grew up with those dogs and they really do look after their family. Just want my kids to be able to sleep in peace…
Sorry about your bad experience, but why a guard dog? A “Beware of the dog” sign is almost as good - no joke, I have one. A dog is a big commitment. If you wanted one anyway, then OK .
A security system is a great idea. A lot of people have a camera that is running when they are out. This will let the kids have a look around to reassure themselves.
Buy an alarm that makes a dog barking sound then they are likely to leave in a hurry.
One time in England I was sitting in my lounge and my Afghan started barking.
Then she jumped through the window into the garden, it was closed at the time.
Then the barking faded off into the distance and it was three days before she came home.
Some of my neighbours had reported things being stolen from their gardens but that stopped afterwards.
Lagardere has the biggest selection in CH, as well as the cheapest prices usually. If you don’t speak french, expect to get hit-and-miss service though. You can order online for delivery (https://www.lagardere.ch/), just make sure you’re home - as (at least at my place), the mailman has left on more than one occasion boxed of thousands of rounds of ammo sitting outside until I got home in the evening.
Ammo I recently bought at this price, which isn’t far off from Seattle prices:
.22lr: CHF 3.50 x 50 - MunitionsDepot
9mm para : CHF 12 x 50 - MunitionsDepot
They have that right - but so far, no-one’s turned up here. Unlike in Italy, where for a single pistol they came and did a full security review…
I think it’s just the general ability to sleep at night–one is afraid of the dark and then you add a potential burglar in the mix and it’s been a recipe for nightmares the last few days. I’m hoping she’ll settle, but I can also remember how peacefully I slept as a kid with the dogs in the hallway outside my door. Would like to give my kids the same peace of mind (if that makes sense).
Hopping up on my usual soap box for a moment. Had to happen on this forum eventually So FYI pet dogs and burglars:
Please be aware of the potential or theoretical consequences to you and your dog should your dog bite or otherwise injure or cause damage to a burglar.
Theoretically the two incidents, home invasion and damage caused by a dog, could be treated separately. That someone broke into your home might not absolve you from liability if your dog were to bite an intruder. Injury to a trespasser or unauthorized person on your property could be treated the same as an injury to an invited person or a person out in public. In short, if your dog injures a person, regardless of ‘provocation’, you and your dog could theoretically face measures perscribed by your cantonal dog law.
That being said, because standard dog training in Switzerland puts such an emphasis on socialization, most pet dogs are actually ineffective guard dogs. Even my fearful nutcase would eventually roll over for a burglar with a biscuit.
As others have said, the deterrent factor that a dog brings is the noise. Professional burglars don’t want that hassle, and will likely move on to the next target.
By all means, get a dog if you want the joy a dog brings into your life and are prepared to give the dog the best home possible for it’s natural lifetime. Life is soooo much better when shared with dogs.
But if your primary motivation is security, as mentioned upthread a more effective deterrent might be the alarm that sounds like dogs barking. Put up ‘Dogs live here’ signs*. Or engage a security consultant to understand your options.
I’ll add the usual caveat that comes with any discussion of dog law in Switzerland: YMMV. How or when dog regulations might be enforced can mean that similar cases end up with different outcomes. But as always, we dog owners have to understand local and federal dog law, and make decisions accordingly.
If you actually have a dog, it is thought to be prudent to make your sign informational, such as ‘Dogs live here’ or ‘Dogs run free in this house / garden’ along with a picture of a dog so that children too young to read can realistically understand, rather than implying danger such as ‘Beware of the dog’.
PJLeman, are you in Zürich? (Making that assumption given the title of this thread.)
If so, and if you are serious about making a pet dog part of your family, be aware that Kt ZH has mandatory training requirements for dog owners, including the theory training portion that should be done before you take on your dog. You can read more from the cantonal Veterinäramt, here:
If you live in another canton, you can look up training requirements and other aspects of your cantonal dog law here, compiled by Tier Im Recht:
I would also add, meloncollie, that the kids have to participate in the training (that is, training the trainers). Otherwise all the work with the dog will go to waste if the kids don’t keep the same standards, and the dog will be very confused. My trainer used to say it was more difficult to train the owners than the dogs.
A reasonable assumption to make based on the thread title but they are actually in Geneva based on their first post in the thread so the dog laws will be different there.
In that case, the GE law is summarized here, in German:
A link to the actual text of the GE law, in French, at the top of the page.
Also, since German Shepherds were mentioned upthread, be aware that in GE there is a training requirement for dogs over 25Kg and 56cm. Again, see the GE cantonal veterinary authority site for more information:
Apologies for veering off track… now back to burglary…
no issues at all
So FYI pet dogs and burglars: