Can anyone clarify the law with trespassing & dogs?

Ak!ta said:
I had someone try to break into my house a while back, and the dogs got hold of him. He needed Hospital treatment, and was later charged by the Police.
I was told that as long as you have warning signs to the effect that you have a dog and you enter at your own risk. The property is properly secured with a secure boundry that the dog can't get out of or people get in (by normal means), then you are covered.
The police were laughing when they had to call an ambulance for the guy that tried to break into my house. They said it was properly secured and warning signs were in place so it's his own fault.
The guy tried to claim damages from me through the Courts, but they threw the case out !!!
The only difference is if your dog is classed as a guard dog ?
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Interesting, I actually heard the opposite about the signs although I can't remember where from so please don't take as reliable. But the argument was that you were less likely to get into trouble if you didn't have signs as these would imply that you knew the dog was dangerous and that the intruders could always claim they didn't see them. Would be nice to have a difinitive answer although you're experience sounds pretty reliable.
 
Thus if a dog attacked a person that climbed the wall but committed no actual criminal act, then it highly likely that the dog would be put down as dangerous and the owner prosecuted.
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Again I can only speak from the rigid home office guidelines I went by...the actual application of the law may be somewhat different. There are two main dog-injury-related offences - Dog Dangerously Out of Control and Allow Dog to Injure. The Dog Dangerously Out of Control one only applies to public places, so we can ignore that. The Allow Dog to Injure has both a public and non-public place offence - however, the non-public place applies where a dog goes somewhere it isn't meant to be (for instance, someone else's garden). A dog in its own garden would be okay.
There is a caveat to this in that guard dogs (as opposed to pets) are treated differently. I'm not sure of the rules regarding that however. I can't think of any legislation affecting a pet in its own garden.

I never came across any rules requiring the display of signs warning about dogs. I don't imagine any exist as we'd be seeing them outside pretty much every house where someone kept a dog of some size.
 
Whilst I knew some of the answer, I had to seek advice on some points from the police officer sitting next to me at work. This answer can therefore be considered definitive.

If your dog injures a trespasser, there are possible repercussions for both you and your dog. Provision of a sign does not protect you from prosecution. Note: This only applies to a trespasser - if the intruder is in the act of, or equipped for, a crime such as burglary or damage, the "reasonable force" rules come into play and the householder would be less likely to be prosecuted.

Decorative shards of glass set into cement on the top of the wall are however perfectly acceptable (assuming that they are clearly visible). This also has the virtue of being very inexpensive and quick to sort out.

Hawthorn is certainly the best biological barrier - it grows fairly quickly and even when quite small will rip to shreds anybody who tries to go through it. Any plant barrier is also perfectly legal.
 
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As said hawthorn is pretty good because the thorn more often than not will break off in you and drive you mad for days, pyrocanthea is also nasty with more needle like thorns that you notice more immediately than hawthorn.

You could always just stick all the dog mess at the bottom of the wall so they land in it when they jump over, that will soon deter them.
 
1) put a sign up regarding the dog - then you are covered legally about that.

2) put the spikes there BUT grow plants up them. therefore you have a reason to put them there and so that covers you legally. also put a lot of stinging nettles about - that'd teach them :D oo and some poison ivy.

3) get the mods to delete all traces of this thread so they can never discover the truth....

daven
 
daven1986 said:
1) put a sign up regarding the dog - then you are covered legally about that.
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No, you aren't. English law says that signs do not alter legal obligations. Either it is illegal or it isn't; a sign makes no difference.


M
 
oh sod that. i hate this country tbh. if someone trespasses then you are to blame for whatever happens. if you ask me just knock the little a-holes out and keep them in a shed or something.
 
daven1986 said:
oh sod that. i hate this country tbh. if someone trespasses then you are to blame for whatever happens. if you ask me just knock the little a-holes out and keep them in a shed or something.
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It's shameful how criminals can take you to court when they break in and trip on things, or get bitten by your dog.
 
freebooter said:
Interesting, I actually heard the opposite about the signs although I can't remember where from so please don't take as reliable. But the argument was that you were less likely to get into trouble if you didn't have signs as these would imply that you knew the dog was dangerous and that the intruders could always claim they didn't see them. Would be nice to have a difinitive answer although you're experience sounds pretty reliable.
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I think it probably depends what the actual sign implies, ie. if your sign advertises a vicious dog/guard dog then yes you probably would find yourself in some trouble. However if it just implies that there are dogs loose on the property then that is a different matter..
 
Ak!ta said:
I had someone try to break into my house a while back, and the dogs got hold of him. He needed Hospital treatment, and was later charged by the Police.
I was told that as long as you have warning signs to the effect that you have a dog and you enter at your own risk. The property is properly secured with a secure boundry that the dog can't get out of or people get in (by normal means), then you are covered.
The police were laughing when they had to call an ambulance for the guy that tried to break into my house. They said it was properly secured and warning signs were in place so it's his own fault.
The guy tried to claim damages from me through the Courts, but they threw the case out !!!
The only difference is if your dog is classed as a guard dog ?
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So you had warning signs up and two full grown Akitas in your house, but he still to break in :confused:

Wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the box was he :p
 
Sign-Beware%20of%20the%20Owner-777558.jpg
 
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