If my dog bites someone that is in my yard, and they hurt him , can i call the police on them?

You can call the police, but, you still might face civil liability. this is called a tort. if your dog is prone to biting humans, you should have a warning signs posted on all four side of your fence…...Warning! Beware of Dog. once the signs are in place and a similiar situation occurs, if you are sued, posting the signs in advance will be in your defense

I wouldn’t risk it if you want to keep your dog, They may retaliate by stating the dog bit them, is crazy, ect. and take the poor dog away to be put to sleep. Just let it go. As long as they did.

I was going to say no, you can’t call the police when I saw the question, but when I read the details, you are fine, the dog is in a fenced yard and the neighbor is climbing the fence to trespass. The dog does not need to be on a leash if he is in a fenced yard.

Although it depends on whether you gave the neighbor permission to be in your yard, if you did, then you shouldn’t call the police.

You have to be behaving negligently for you or your dog to have trouble, but your neighbor must have committed an offense for you to call the police. He is not trespassing until he is told or asked to leave and then refuses. If he comes on your property and hits your dog with a board, he may be charged with cruelty to animals unless he was legitimately defending himself. If your dog bites visitors, you would be well advised to post legible warnings all about your property line.

@Snarp thank you , and no he did not have permission. he was only doing his job. im just affraid they are going to try to hurt him in some way now.

If you could get a picture of your neighbor tormenting your dog, or if you could find a witness, that might help. Can you train a video camera at the back yard? That would help.

BTW, I am not a lawyer, and the whole thing could blow up and go the wrong way, even though you are in the right.

@dpworkin I have signs posted. and he had no business in my yard. thanks for the input

@dpworkin I think climbing a fence into someone else’s yard without permission constitutes trespass, doesn’t it? (again, I am not a lawyer).

(I am not a lawyer, but know a bit about trespassing laws)
@Snarp Depends on the state. In California, crossing a barrier (even unmarked) can constitute at least de-minimis trespassing, or more typically an actual trespassing offense. If there’s a “No Trespassing” sign, you can be criminally tried for trespassing. This is why you see such wimpy fences around things like construction sites—they only have to be there as a legal barrier, they don’t actually need to keep people out.

If you walk onto someone else’s property, with no sign, no barrier, they have to tell you to leave before it can be considered trespassing. If you’ve been told before, it’s still trespassing.

Other states I haven’t yet read up on…

” he was only doing his job.” What do you mean by that? you referring to the dog or the person who came over the fence?

If a person is allowed to hurt or even kill someone for self-protection reason I don’t think there would be an exception for dog. It all depends on who approach/attack who first. If you want to sue him then you need to provide enough material evidence(photo/video) for this to come true.

If you tell the police, your dog could be quarenteened and possibly removed from the home, regardless of the fact that it was on your property. I like the idea of posting signs. Make it clear that a confrontation could occur.

@Disaster_Porn The dog. and the fence that is up is a privacy fence.

@loser .. How can my dog be removed when it is my yard. there is a fence and a locked gate. and a beware of dog sign.the fence is a privacy fence.

I am an attorney. Do not take this as creating an attorney-client relationship or as legal advice. However, here is my opinion, based on general principles of law. Note that the law may be different in the state where you live.

A dog owner’s duty is simply to not be negligent in the way in which the dog is kept. A dog kept in a yard with an adequate fence does not need to be leashed or otherwise further confined unless the yard is expected to be used by others on a regular basis, such as by a postal person or a meter reader. Even then, the dog does not necessarily need to be leashed or further confined if the owner has no reason to think that the dog is likely to bite someone.

If your neighbor was crossing your fence without your express of implied consent he was a trespasser. In a tradition going back to the time when people lived in caves, repelling trespassers was one of the purposes of dogs. Any animal behaviorist will tell you that it is not surprising that a dog would bite a trespasser, as the dog sees the act as a hostile invasion of the territory the dog is trying to protect. Which, by the way, it is.

So, you are probably not legally liable to the owner for the injury inflicted by your dog. Some areas of the country may view this differently, particularly if the dog is known to be a biter and no warning signs are posted. Whatever you do from here on out, it would be best to post a “Beware of Dog sign”.

As for calling the police, you are certainly within your rights if the neighbor is threatening to hurt your dog or actually trying to do so. Your dog is your personal property and this is no different than the situation where a neighbor threatens to take a baseball bat to your car or actually does so. As some posters have pointed out, though, there is some risk that the police might take the approach that your dog is dangerous and should be quarantined or even disposed of. On the facts stated, I do not think that is a big risk, but it is there. You cannot depend on the police to apply a very good legal analysis. They actually have very little training in the law, and many of them seem to have difficulty in understanding the concept of self help in defense of property. This is a general observation, of course, and I do not mean to say it applies to all police officers.

If this looks to be an ongoing problem you should consult an attorney in your area about getting a restraining order against your trespassing neighbor.

Yes. As in your example it is not and act of defense but an act of aggression.

If in the process of being bit your neighbor has to beat it off and/or away with the board. You could be in trouble. But your neighbor trespassed by climbing the fence.

@semblance… thank you sounds good. my dog is a german shepherd and is very protective. He is not however aggressive unless he feels he is protecting my family or our home.

@slick44 Depending on what state you live in, if a dig bites a human and IRS reported, the dog must be quarantined. Some states to home is okay, but if they catch you breaking the quarantine, they will take your dog away. Other states will just take the dog and quarantine it off site. I know, it’s not fair. I had to go through this when my pug accidentally bit me. We were playing!

Yes you can. When we had our dog, someone jumped over the fence into our garden and we let the dog out. He caught up with him and bit his arse. My mum was worried we would have to have him out down. We called the police and they said that because we had signs up saying “beware of the dog” then it was the mans fault he got bit. But that was over 10 years ago now, and I’m in England, so laws maybe be different.

@Dibley .. thanks for your input, im feeling better now. I would never want anyone to harm or take away my dog. He is indeed part of my family. It would be as if somone harmed one of my children. All hell would break loose.

@slick44 Yes I know how you feel. If someone breaks in, or is on your property then I think you should be allowed to defend that.

IRS? What’s with my typing?!!

You can always call the police. Be careful, you may end up with a civil action filed against you. Sometimes juries are more sympathetic than the cops.

In the United States, the law regarding dogs is that no one is allowed to keep a vicious dog, period. If your dog bites someone, that is used as proof that he is vicious. Dogs must be under the control of their owners at all times, which includes while in your own yard.

See the link I have provided.

@Dibley You were lucky the victim didn’t sue you, you would have lost.

Im not really sure, but im going with semblance. my dog is in my yard, private property. with a privcy fence and posted signs. no one has any buisness in my yrd. and hes not a vicious dog. its his yard and hes protecting it.

@slick44 Okay, best of luck with that.

@YARNLADY I’m in England.

@Dibley palm to forehead – I forgot.