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My Labs went to school and had continued training at home.

My one was born skiddish like his mom/dog so where folks think he is being protective he is really scared.

Which is not good either but it works to keep strangers at bay.

When one of us is sick he stays back unlike his cousin who is very comforting and layed back.

Click to out bio scroll down for link to pics (no I am not a proud mom) of "the boys".

My dog trainer and vet told me not to put a beware of dog sign up at home it will make me liable if he ever does bite and I have a lock on the gate (he opens gates/doors). Both have a large vocabulary but the older they get one the 11yrs. old listens less and due to hip pain folks crack up because he wait for the wheelchair lift to ride up and down instead of hopping in the passenger door (no chair there).
The skiddish one is very obediant and has gotten more skiddish with age so is taking meds. and that helps let him make some decisions without constantly looking over his shoulder.
The skiddish one is lean and the laid back one is huge. I love them both so much. I want them to live a looooong life.

What a pair!

Hey, OP, ask your homeowner's insurance guy if he agrees that you shouldn't put up a "Beware of Dog" sign b/c it would supposedly make you liable if the dogs bit someone.

Truth be told, it's gonna be different from state to state, but the trend is that now you're pretty much GOING to be liable for injuries if your dog bites someone--period. I don't see how the sign would make a difference. So are the rest of us dog owners going to be liable.

It used to be, they said "Every dog is entitled to his first bite." This meant that if the dog had never ever bitten someone b/f, then the owner wasn't expected to know that he had any propensity to bite, so the owner wasn't liable that first time. But if, after that first time the dog bit someone, he did it again, the owner would be liable.

I'll bet the vet and all are thinking, "Don't put the sign up, b/c it makes people think, aha, she's AWARE that her dogs might bite, so if they bite me, she should have known they would."

But if you're gonna be liable on the first bite ANYWAY, and if whether or not you had any idea they'd bite doesn't matter, then why not put up the sign? As you know, people w/o dogs even use those signs sometimes. Very effective to warn off intruders.

It cuts two ways, too. The sign is supposed to be a warning, so that people can take precautions against being bitten by the dog. If you put it up, seems to me you're HELPING the people keep from being bitten, rather than "admitting that you know your dogs bite."

Check your state laws; it might be just fine to put up the sign, and those Beware of Dog signs are good to scare away intruders.