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Dogs Attaching In Their Own Yard


CreamyPuff
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If you have a warning sign on your gate/fence stating "beware of dogs" or anything along those lines and someone does enter your property and are attacked or bitten does this make you liabale since you have a warning sign up? Will your dog get in trouble and/or be PTS? I'm asking becuase one of our dogs can be quite territorial and although we have a sign on our gate I'm worried that if anyone did happen to ignore it and get bitten that she would be PTS and that would just crush me! So does anyone know if this is the case?

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I'm not 100% on this but I have read (on this forum) that having such a sign up actually shows that you are admitting your dog is dangerous, and yes you would be liable.

that is basically what I was told when enquiring with my (then) local council a few years ago.

I bought a padlock for the gate instead.

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I'm no expert, but I'd guess there are a lot of 'ifs' here. In many places, and ACT may be one of them, people have a right to go to your front door. If your dog bites the JW's missionary or the local poli doing door knocking, it's not going to be a good scene. In my experience, most people with "beware of dog" signs don't have dogs. So the warning has a may be crying wolf tone to it, and may not be taken seriously. If you can do it, I'd say, keep the dogs in the back yard and let people approach through a door that does not go through the back yard.

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I have a sign which states " CAUTION Dogs running free - do not enter" & also lock all gates. If someone climbs in over locked gates it is them doing the illegal act.

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I keep my gates locked. My dogs don't need a sign to be noticed if you try to come in, but a child might not see them or understand, particularly if they are friendly with them outside my yard. Of course, there are all those self-proclaimed "dog whisperers" out there too.

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I'm not 100% on this but I have read (on this forum) that having such a sign up actually shows that you are admitting your dog is dangerous, and yes you would be liable.

that is basically what I was told when enquiring with my (then) local council a few years ago.

I bought a padlock for the gate instead.

Many years ago I was attacked by a dog on the owners property (owner was running a business from his home). My solicitor at the time said if there had been a sign (Beware of the dog) we could prosecute as the dog had attacked me and I ended up with 10 stitches in my arm. This was about 20 years ago though so laws may have changed by now.

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I'm thinking of putting a "do not let the dog out" sign on my gate - I'm not worried about my dogs attacking anyone (the Husky would just bark and the Lappie would come and get cuddles), but I am worried about them being let out of the yard. We keep the gate locked, but we've been warned that our water meter could be moving to the backyard and the Husky would run and not return until she was ready if someone let her out.

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I'm thinking of putting a "do not let the dog out" sign on my gate - I'm not worried about my dogs attacking anyone (the Husky would just bark and the Lappie would come and get cuddles), but I am worried about them being let out of the yard. We keep the gate locked, but we've been warned that our water meter could be moving to the backyard and the Husky would run and not return until she was ready if someone let her out.

this sign would be inviting idiots to let the dog out IMO. Locks are the best defence. The water meter guy can arrange a meeting time to read the meter, you don't need to provide unfetted access to your yard.

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I had an incident at my place where my dogs are locked in the back half of the yard. I happened to be home at the time when the dogs when mental so I headed out the front door. I found a young school boy at my side gate and this mother standing on the footpath. The comment from the mother was "it is ok - he just wants to pat the dogs" sent me into a bit of a rant where I told both the child and the mother in no uncertain terms that they are never to enter someone's yard and try and pat the dogs - particularly when they are barking their heads off. Now this child entered my front yard (which is unfenced) and went about 2 metres down the side of my house to a side gate to get close to my dogs ... they are behind an 8ft timber paling fence and padlocked gates.

A number of telephone calls to council etc resulted in the advice that a dog bite is a dog bite regardless of the location. Basically if someone is bitten by your dog it makes no difference if it was inside or outside of your yard - they can be declared dangerous ... or PTS if that is the ruling. If someone enters your property legally or illegally and is bitten by your dog then again your dog can be declared dangerous or PTS if that is the ruling.

When I straight out asked what I needed to do to ensure my dogs were safe from stupid people (because I am not allowed to shoot people, can't use barbed wire or electric fences) ... I was told not to have dogs.

One would like to think common sense would come into it but unfortunately there is no distinction between public and private land when it comes to dog bites.

Edited by Tilly
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I'd get legal advice, or ask the local ranger (anonymously).

It seems stupid that is someone illegally enters your property, by getting past a fence/gate - then if a dog bites, it is their nature to be protective. How can a dog be in trouble for that? But it might well be the case that a dog bite is a dog bite no matter how it occurs. And every state may be different.

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Anyone entering your property should have free access to the front door (or some means of contacting the house - such as a speaker thingy - like in gated communities) ... and in the case of a meter reader then free access to the meter box.

Edited by Tilly
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I really wish I had pursued my dog bite further. Rang the council and all they gave the owners of the two dogs than ran across the road to bite me, a warning. These dogs are truly horrid. They live in my street and I cannot walk past their house now (twice a day, can't avoid it) without getting myself tied up in knots, especially when the dogs bark with that aggressive tone through the front door. They have dog warning signs all over the place (letterbox, front door, side fence), yet they let their dogs out in their front yard free roaming sometimes. I wish I could understand doggy talk, I'd love to know what they are "saying" when the owner takes them both in the car and they drive up the street past my house. They are barking their heads off in such a scary manner that it even gets my own two dogs from within my house in a frenzy - they run to the front door with their hackles up, looking around worried where it's coming from. They don't react this way at other dogs barking, which there are several of around my neighbourhood.

Sorry for being so OT :)

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A number of telephone calls to council etc resulted in the advice that a dog bite is a dog bite regardless of the location. Basically if someone is bitten by your dog it makes no difference if it was inside or outside of your yard - they can be declared dangerous ... or PTS if that is the ruling.

Apparently it depends on the state or territory. When I enquired I was told that if the bite was on my property behind an adequate fence then it was not an offence. I made this enquiry after a former neighbour told a police officer that jumping our fence in pursuit of a burglar would be suicide. Of course, if that were true, then the burglar wouldn't have jumped our fence in the first place (or if he did, he wasn't going anywhere), but it was enough to cause a bit of trouble...

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In WA there is a provocation law - as in if the dog is deemed to be protecting it's property in a securely fenced area that a person has gone into, then they will not be declared dangerous. If a person is trying to attack you and your dog bites them, same rule comes into effect.

The line can get fuzzy if say the dog is on your property say out the front and it isn't fenced and it then bites or rushes someone who has wakled in, then I think your dog would be in trouble.

I know you can organise to have a meter reader come when you are there if your dog is in the yard.

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