Scary stuff...
I live a few miles out in the countryside. You can not even see my house from the road. If someone is at my door in the night I assume they are a threat. I will not answer the door and have never needed to in 12 years.
If I every have the knock in the night I will not be at the door. I will be outside with my AR with a green laser sight just watching. I shoot a lot on my rifle range and enjoy the sport. I am old but I am very good with a rifle.
I no longer hunt as I just got tired of killing animals with the exception of vermin. My friend hunts on my land and gives me some of the venison. It is delicious. He even field dresses it for me. Had venison hamburgers a few days ago with blue cheese on top. It was great.
It is good to have a backdoor and dogs. Trust your dog! He knows if you are a bad guy. If you are a good guy he will ask you to pet him. The reason they know is smell. Anger, fear, friendship or aggression give off different smells that we can not detect. To a dog it is like a text message. They know. A good dog will lay down his life for you. Be good to your dogs.