Just curious to see how other people handle this...

Up until I got Sadie, I thought the owner of a guard dog was best advised to put up signs letting ppl know that there was a dangerous dog on the property. Some of my dog friends even consider the signs a deterrent, as it would take a pretty bold thief to chance being attacked.
When I got Sadie, I called my homeowner insurer to update them on the change (required, and not a bad idea). I asked the agent if I needed to mark the property, and she told me that it didn't matter; if my dog bit someone on my property, I'd pbly be liable, even if the property were marked. She went on to say that there were two schools of thought on this.
One, if the property were signed, it MIGHT be a deterent, but two, the sign also indicates that I know the dog will bite and therefore could be a liability. She also suggested that possibly "No Trespass" signs might be a better option.
I decided to go with the dog signs. My neighbors (almost all of them) have guard dogs, but only one other has signs. Two have "No Trespass" signs.

How do you handle this?

We're fully fenced with six foot chain link and wood, as high as seven feet in some areas.

We've got a "No Trespass" sign but under that is a sign that says "Fight Crime, Shoot Back”.

Criminal intenders can infer from that what they like, we're simply stating our point of view on the subject.

We have "Dogs on Premises" signs. Mostly to warn the meter-reader that he needs to come to the front door. Even though it's meant as a friendly heads up, other people can also take note and steer clear of our property.

We have signs that identify our professional alarm company.

I couldn't find any signs that said what I wanted them to say, so I had one custom made to put on the gate to the yard that says:

"Dogs on Premises. DO NOT ENTER! Without Permission."

This was done because, in spite of our many requests, meter readers would enter the yard without knocking on the front door and would sometimes even leave the gate unlatched. So, for several months, I also had a home-made sign that said "(utility company) Meter Readers, This Means You!"

 Quote: Cheri Grissom

I couldn't find any signs that said what I wanted them to say, so I had one custom made to put on the gate to the yard that says:

"Dogs on Premises. DO NOT ENTER! Without Permission."

This was done because, in spite of our many requests, meter readers would enter the yard without knocking on the front door and would sometimes even leave the gate unlatched. So, for several months, I also had a home-made sign that said "(utility company) Meter Readers, This Means You!"

Yes! We have had this happen as well- Put a lock on our gate, only to have them literally rip the hinges off fence to get in. Now there are two locks and Al hooked a fencer that doesn't work any more to our handle That did the trick!

 Quote: Cheri Grissom

.... This was done because, in spite of our many requests, meter readers would enter the yard without knocking on the front door and would sometimes even leave the gate unlatched.

On a locked gate? How did they get in the gate?

 Quote: Amy VandeWeerd

We have had this happen as well- Put a lock on our gate, only to have them literally rip the hinges off fence to get in. Now there are two locks and Al hooked a fencer that doesn't work any more to our handle That did the trick!

Meter readers ripped off fence hinges to get in a locked gate?! HOLY CRAP!

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

 Quote: Cheri Grissom

.... This was done because, in spite of our many requests, meter readers would enter the yard without knocking on the front door and would sometimes even leave the gate unlatched.

On a locked gate? How did they get in the gate?

The gate is not locked, only latched securely, what I consider child-proof and dog-proof. It's kind of a triple-latch system. We live in the country, and there are no neighbor children nearby. I was prepared to put a lock on it if necessary, but that is the gate we go in and out all the time and it would be a serious inconvience.

Of course, if I felt the dogs were not safe, I would lock it anyway, regardless of any inconvenience, but since I put up the signs about a year ago, we've not had any further problems. And we didn't have problems for a long time before, only when the utility company changed to outside vendors to do the meter reading.

Ironically, after my last irate phone call to them, I guess I got put on their doggie blacklist or some such thing because I now get a robocall every month a couple days before their arrival, to warn me to keep my dogs secured "for the safety of their meter readers."

In addition, I don't leave my dogs outside unattended. My husband or myself always have at least one eye on them when they're out.

Gotcha.

Like you, I am outside when my dogs are outside.

But it still makes me FURIOUS when people (meter readers, UPS, or anyone else) come in the gate and then leave it wide open. What are they thinking? To me, this is beyond irresponsible, to find a gate closed and latched and then to leave it open.

I've had more than one real loss of temper over this, with kind of a loud voice.



OK, a really loud voice.