I’m told the law that requires dogs on commercial premises to be kept secure doesn’t apply to people protecting their homes but several years ago we had to pay £500 to a man who was bitten when he came on to our property delivering directories. This was despite the fact that he ignored the warning signs we had put up. Where did we go wrong?
The general rule is that every dog is allowed one bite, however, this rule does not apply where the dog has an unusually violent temperament. Since you had warning signs up it’s possible the court took the view that your dog was a guard dog and that you were therefore negligent in failing to restrain it.