Many people here have (or desire) a dog that ca - Page 1

Many people here have (or desire) a dog that can be used for personal protection, many others bring up the issue of the liability of owning such a dog.  So this begs the question, under what circumstances is a homeowner justified under the law to use a dog in this respect? 

  Is the use of a dog trained in civil protection only justified when there is an active threat of bodily harm?  How about a person breaking into your home?  What if that person is unarmed?  Intoxicated and/or confused?  

  Is the use of such a dog justified in apprehending a person fleeing after having committed a crime at your residence?  

  I am not talking about "accidental" bites,  I am talking about when can a civil protection dog be used against a person that is, with intent, committing, or attempting to commit, a crime against your person or property.

  I think this may be good for some people who are looking for or already own a PPD to think about.    

   

I hope there are some lawyers in this crowd, because this is a sticky situation at best.

I would guess (warning!  unprofessional opinion!) that the law would be more lenient on a homeowner in the US who shoots a burglar than if a PPD bites the guy. 

Personally I would like to hear from someone with legal expertise what the laws dictate as protocol.  I suspect this will vary not only from state to state, but even from county to county.

Thanks for asking the question.  I bet some folks don't even think about the legal ramifications of owning a dog "trained to bite".

Yvette

zahnburg-  The information I have probably depends on where you live and the situation but I actually asked our local officers a ton of questions BEFORE I got my dogs. I knew there was always the liability of owning a dog that was trained to bite, even if it were a sport dog. Here's what I was told....anytime a dog bite for any reason there will be some sort of investigation, HOWEVER our officers here feel you have the right to protect your family, property and if such a situation took place; an intruder in your home and your dog bites them, they are gonna ask you the homeowner/dog owner less questions as they are not necessary due to a crime being committed. If the intruder chose to sue you; which as crazy as it sounds it's happend lol  then that's something your homeowners will deal with. 

From what I was told, if you were attacked and the dog bit officers in my township are not gonna jamb you up because the dog did what you were unable to do for yourself at the time-defend yourself.

I don't so much worry about the reprocussions on a warranted bite such as an intruder or attacker as much as I'd concern myself over a dog being super civil and may bite whomever was at the other side of the door, ie like a child, neighbor ect.

1 out of 10 people that want a PP dog really even need one.  If you truly NEED one because you've already been a victim or you have a serious situation that puts you at probable risk then you do what you gotta do, hope your dog never has to take a live bite but feel much safer knowing if he had to he would and it just might save your life.  When you look at a situation like that I myself am prepared to deal with whatever reprocussions would come of it. But if you don't have a true "need" for this type of dog, I don't know why anyone would want that responsibility constantly hangin over their heads???

Good replies Yvette and Agar.  

  Agar, it is good to hear that you checked it out before buying your dog, but what about the situation where the person is fleeing afterwards?  Is it ok to send your dog after them?  By the way, if I was in a situation where I felt my life was immediately threatened, I would turn to my .45 before I turned to my dog.  But does a homeowner's dog serve as a good mid-point; somewhere between telling a person to "leave the property" and shooting them?

Yvette,

  Saw your article "Snow News" in SchH USA, very nice.  I hope you are the right Yvette?     

Automotive shops in South Texas , around Texas City and further south and in Houston,,,use ppd and guard dogs inside their businesses...

A lot of wealthy Houstonians have gsds in their home...They have gardners and butlers that attend to these dogs,,,,and the      break ins in the Houston,  Galveston., Pearland area are in record numbers....

zahnburg-  A burglar LEAVING your home and sending your dog to bite him is like shooting him in the back. LOL  Seriously, that is what I was told my the officers.  If he's leaving then you are no longer in danger. OK so you're instinct would tell you to let the dog go get the SOB and hole em there til police came BUT that's not "acceptable".

Secondly, we have leash laws here, so theoretically if your dog bites someone outside your home and he's not contained or on a leash you have a lot of questions to answer.  BUT say you are coming home from a walk, it's dark, your dog is on a leash and you stop to grab something out of your car on your way in the house and someone comes to attack you and the dog bites his ass....you're safe because you were obiding the laws and this person was a threat to you, you and your dog were in danger.

I have to agree with you that most people would get the .45 before the dog but honestly I think my dog will act faster than it will take me to get out of bed in a panic, get the gun, then get the balls to go check things out. The dog will have already taken care of business or at least given you a couple extra minutes to do what you had to do, get your gun, call police, yell for help...whatever.  When you're in that type of situation I'm sure you do what you gotta do and worry about the reprocussions later just as long as you and your family were safe in the end.

Agar,

  That is the point I was making.  Is sending your dog after someone fleeing really akin to shooting him in the back?  Let me set up a scenerio for you.  

  I am awakened in the middle of the night and look out my window to see someone breaking into my car.  I go outside with my dog and gun.  I tell the person to "stop!".  They take off running.  Obviously they are not a threat so using the gun is unwarrented, but is sending the dog after them to apprehend them and hold them for the police justified?  By the way no "leash law" here when the dog is on my property.   

Speaking as a layman, one may only use such means as circumstantially reasonable for avoiding harm to one’s own person etc; anything more is likely to result in criminal prosecution. A dog mauling someone nicking a radio will not play out too well for animal or owner (especially where the dog was specifically trained in protection work!)

So a homeowner does not have the right to defend his property?  Of course the use of deadly force is not warrented in such a situation, but is your dog considered to be "deadly force"? 

What you are really saying is that unless I am fearful for my own safety, I must allow a person to take my property without intervening? 

Speaknow beat me to answering your question.  I'm not gonna send my dog over someone trying to get me for even my truck.  If they want it; hell take it, it's insured. LOL  It's not worth the hassle to go through to send your dog over something that wasn't "life threatening" or potentially dangerous.  Now if I got grabbed and beaten and he was running to get away....I just may send the dog to apprehend the guy til police can come.  Would I be justified???  In my eyes yes, I feel I would be.  In the laws eyes....depends on the jury. LOL 

To sum it up though it was my understanding from the laws side that you do not have justification to send your dog if you are not in a direct threat. If the danger is gone you do not have the right to send the dog.  If you do there will be some consequences so if ever I made that decission then I'm sure I will have felt it to be serious enough that it was worth the price.