I had my car broken into in the driveway about 2 years ago. I am sure it was kids because they stole the head to my two-way (ham) radio and the owners manual. The major issue was they were so amateurish in getting in that they scratched the drivers window, cracked the windshield by prying between it and the sail post (they thought they were prying on the door side, and bent the frame around the passenger window before finally breaking the glass and getting in: $1500 worth of damage to the car for $100 bucks of stuff.
Anyway, I had an alarm installed with a shock sensor and remote pager. I have moved the sensitivity up so it doesn't false alarm easily and it takes a pretty hefty shock to set it off, but at least it will go off if they hit the glass. Cost was less than $300 and worth the extra piece of mind that I will be alerted if someone is trying to get in. And the aftermarket LED flashing is a big deterrent. I have actually had someone in my driveway since then (caught them on video security camera.) They looked in the window, apparently saw the flashing LED and left without even touching the car.
As for the pup, crate training is the DEFINITE way to go!!