Just thought I post and share my shame <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

I made an assumption.........

I believed that I had done all I could to prevent my aggressive/territorial dog biting someone coming onto our property unannounced. It hasn't happened yet but I got a wake-up call tonight.

Some of you may remember my previous posts about how aggressive my dog was to strangers on his turf.

My garden is FULLY fenced. As a result of my dog attacking someone in our garden when they tried to deliver something I fitted an EXTERNAL doorbell, an EXTERNAL mailbox AND a BIG sign saying "BEWARE OF THE DOG".

But to my surprise.........someone walked in on my dog having his dinner outside....RIGHT PAST the BIG sign etc.

Luckily I was on hand and no incident occurred.

But the stupidity of some people caught me by surprise. I assumed that seeing a sign they'd, well I dunno, RING THE BELL??? NOOOOO not this one. What do you do in this kind of situation???

So I need ANOTHER sign, maybe saying "Read the sign below this one" OR "NO EEJITS" <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Frustrated

John

Can you put a lock on your gate? There are still people who can't read or don't bother to read. If they get bitten, you would most likely be liable for damages. Could you put a dog run inside your fenced in yard? That's a thought, too, especially if you having wandering kiddies in your neighborhood.

I would definitely secure the gate in some fashion so no one can let themselves in - there's no need to when you have the outside bell.

I've heard it said that you're better off from a liability standpoint without a "Beware of Dog" sign as it can be considered an admission by the owner that the dog is/can be dangerous. I dunno. Maybe some legal type can give us an educated opinion as to the pros and cons of that.

I'm not a legal type, but I found this on overlawyered.com

"My 'Beware of Dog' signs came down years ago, after I interviewed an attorney who made a good piece of his living suing on behalf of dog-bite victims. Keeping a dog who is known to be vicious is a far more serious issue than having one who has never been a problem before. Putting up a 'Beware of Dog' sign, the attorney said, could arguably be an indication that a dog's owners knew he was a problem." ("Pet Connection" columnist Gina Spadafori, "Retrievers Rule: Beware of signs that lead to lawsuits", syndicated/Sacramento Bee, Jan. 25) (via Common Good's Society Watch). (& letter to the editor, Feb. 13).

Mike, I don't know the exact legal workings of this, but I don't live in a great neighborhood myself as I make less than 20K a year as a poor overworked grad student. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" /> Anyways, I bought a sign online that says "Malinois XING" with an outline of one and put it in a window so it's easily readable from my porch for that same reason. That way, it is not "admitting" that my Mal (or MaliGSDed or whatever he is) is vicious (he's very people friendly, but he's getting a bit sharper as he matures), but know that he is present on the property so beware if you intend on breaking in.

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Anyways, I bought a sign online that says "Malinois XING" with an outline of one and put it in a window so it's easily readable from my porch for that same reason.

Might want to put a sign next to it that says "Malinois" means "a dog kind of like a German Shepherd" and a sign next to that saying "it's pronounced MAL-in-WAH." Save you the trouble of answering the doorbell for the 99 out of a 100 people walking by your house who have no idea what you're talking about. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Here in the States I've seen "Screw the Dog, Beware of Owner" signs that have an outline of a hand with a gun! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

*snerk* I love it, Woody! Reminds me of a little caption I came up with the photo of Zoso (the Mal) and Buck (the husky/Rott mix) below. You know, I've never had anyone ask about the sign oddly enough, not even the UPS guy or whatever. I'm glad the sign has the outline of the shape of the dog because most baddies have no idea what a Malinois is. I will say that even though my Mal is more protective, my husky/Rott mix is 10 times as scary looking, though he's more likely to run for cover than stand and defend me as his nickname is Spooky.

http://img280.imageshack.us/img280/7586/malinwha6ex.jpg

John,

You're not alone. I have a 5' fence surrounding my backyard with a sign (in the shape of a bone) that says: "My dog makes it to the gate in 5 seconds. Can you?"

I didn't want a Beware of Dog sign but wanted something that would alert potential "guests" that there is a dog on the property. Just last month 3 people (DEP) needed access to the stream in my yard so they came over, rang my bell and since I didn't answer, called and left a message on my voicemail telling me they were going to go into my backyard - obviously without permission and having full knowledge that there was some kind of dog on the property! I was appalled by their outrageous stupidity.

Point: I lock my gate to my backyard now! It's a pain because we use it often, but you just never know when that random idiot is going to show up! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />