now if our dogs bit an intruder... would they not be pts? i think id rather be robbed and have the dog safe in our room

My friend's Shih Tzu is too friendly, I never heard he bark...

Amelia

My boyfriend pointed something out to me....
Teagan would be useless if I got burgled, as she's in her crate! lol

The one thing about this post i think that you all forgetting if your dog bites attacks a intruder you can be prosecuted for that fact and have your dog PTS cause of it. The best way for a dog not to get in to trouble in circumstances is for them to corner the intruder and not let them move just by shear aggrestion alone this will dter the intruder more cause the sound of the dog the growling and snarling would properly put him/her off and leave.

A friend of mine nearly lost his rotti cause of a intruder his dog bite off 4 fingers of the intruders hand i don't think it was the fingers that caused the proplem but the gloves that the intruder was wearing.

He was waitng to see if he would be facing prosecuetion cause of what his dog did to the intuder just cause the dog was doing his job.
Some pet insurance companies offer rewards for your dog if they catch intruders and also to help you fight for them in court by covering the dog for 3 million in third party liability so if you can afford to pay for it yourself and claim it back you got alot of cash in your corner but who's got 3 mill in their back pocket.

I think that most owner of guarding breeds are aware of this. Most people are also aware of the fact that any dog may, if circumstances dictate, defend its family and/or territory. The plethora of court cases makes it impossible to plead ignorance of this basic fact of canine behaviour.

When Rocky was a likkle baba, and we left him by himself even if for an hour(!) I would worry that someone might break in and steal him then I'd worry how they might treat him

I think I am a bit of a worrier!

I posted this originally just to see what people thought about their dogs as burglar deterrents (and, as a side question, whether y'all think insurance companies ought to take a dog or dogs into account when assessing premiums).

I'm fairly sure that a good defence case could be made for a dog that bit an intruder: everyone knows that dogs may bite (there's even a song about it in "The Sound of Music", for goodness' sake!). Whilst dog owners have a duty to ensure their pets don't bite indiscriminately, all people can be expected reasonably to think of the possible consequences of their own actions (a bit like lighting a fire, then sticking your hand in it). The so-called "duty of care" towards burglars usually refers to not beating the cr*p out of them, no matter how much they deserve it. Calling your dog off when you arrive on the scene ought to cover you (and the dog).

Returning to the original thrust of the thread, you should see my Kali defending the car! He becomes a snarling wall of teeth and bounces frantically when people approach - but as soon as the door is opened, it's all "Hi there, mate, have you come to give me biscuits? Fancy a game? Wow! I'll bet you have a tennis ball in your pocket!" - a deterrent, but not actually a defence!

Snorri

There are so many variables in the potential situations that there can be no stock answers.
On the whole burglars prefer to avoid houses where there are dogs for 3 reasons - the noise might attract attention,they may be bitten and leave DNA evidence in the form of spilt blood and they may be injured.
However there are people who are naturally comfortable with dogs and do not have a fear of them. If they know the house next-door is empty (as in many modern estates where both people work) then they need not fear discovery. Few untrained dogs will bite a stranger who shows no fear and shouts "bed" or "sit" and walks around the house calmly.
My friend's GSD played with the burglar who threw her ball for her...not the dogs fault - how many people want (or could cope with) a dog who bites anyone who enters their property ?
Dogs are a deterrent to a significant number of burglars but they should be considered part of the Home Security System not the whole system. I have a bitework trained GSD in my home but I still have solid doors & locks which I use.

I think from past experience with visitors my two would welcome them in then Duncan would keep them captive - he just won't let anyone leave and gets quite scarey !

lol Wiggle!

It's funny... Rocky is a bit like Wiggles Duncan where so long as he knows the people are 'friends' he will play and be petted by them.

However he is quite something else when he does not think people are 'invited' !

A quick example is when we had the electrican down, Rocky saw him being let in so was fine with him, but then the electrician went to the loo and Rocky saw him wandering away from us unsupervised, Rocky growled at him till he was against the wall - i was only around the corner so saw it happen. I think Chloe has said something similar about Willis and unsupervised guests.

I think PK9UK is probably right tho, in a 'real' situation where a dog get's frightened by someone is isn't scared of dogs themselves, all he might do is just sit there and bark/growl. But saying that this thread is about being a deterrent and I think most dogs barking would be good deterrents!