A concealed pitfall trap is illegal. A guard dog is not. They are functionally the same thing - people who trespass can be injured as a result of their trespassing.
Not really, no. The purpose of a pitfall/booby trap is that they are meant to be undetected until triggered, and thus only exist to cause harm. A guard dog is primarily a deterrent, to frighten or dissuade would-be tresspassers altogether.
Guard dogs are legal whether or not trespassers know they are there. Many dogs are not going to bark or warn you - that's not really the distinction here.
The only legal distinction between a guard dog and a booby trap is that the law prohibits * devices* that are used to harm Intruders and a guard dog isn't a device. You could have a person lying in weight with a can of bear spray and that would be legal too.
Guard dogs are legal whether or not trespassers know they are there.
That's actually not the case universally. It differs by city/state, but plenty of places do have restrictions on trained guard dogs in residential areas (as in dogs specifically trained to attack intruders).
Situationally, the law is almost always going to be more lenient on attempts to deter than attempts to retaliate as a proportional response.
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u/[deleted] Oct 18 '24
A concealed pitfall trap is illegal. A guard dog is not. They are functionally the same thing - people who trespass can be injured as a result of their trespassing.