9 ms·

I saw a rather comical sign posted in the first-floor window of a Philadelphia apartment. It had a silhouette of a German shepherd and text beneath, which read

I saw a rather comical sign posted in the first-floor window of a Philadelphia apartment. It had a silhouette of a German shepherd and text beneath, which read: >I can get from the second-story floor to the front door in 1.2 seconds. Can you?

teekert 4y ago
There are many variations, near my place there is a sign with a picture of dog saying: "I don't bite, I amputate." I also saw a sign with a picture of a Gun: "Forget about the dog, I rule here."
- koolba 4y ago
  There’s also the classic: “Dont beware of the dog, beware of the owner”
  - jimt1234 4y ago
    My sister, who has 3 big dogs, always says: "They (the bad guys) might get into my house. But they're not leaving."
    - cbozeman 4y ago
      I feel this way too. If you're breaking into someone's home, you're asking to die.
      - CorrectHorseBat 4y ago
        I don't like burglars, but a death penalty without trial is a bit much. And what about accidents and misunderstandings?
        DennisP 4y ago
        In many states, it's a bit much for legality too. In mine for example, I have to be reasonably in fear for my life to shoot someone in my house. That said, not everyone who breaks in is just after your stuff, especially if they come at night.
        cle 4y ago
        It's a tough line to draw. Personally, if someone has already demonstrated that they're willing to commit a felony (burglary), then I'm in fear for my life and the lives of my family. I get why some states don't consider that a justification for use of deadly force, but I also get why some states do.
        omginternets 4y ago
        Those are obviously bad and efforts should be made to reduce them. However, it's important to recognize the small proportion of events that started as a burglary and evolved into something much worse. With this in mind, it stands to reason that burglaries are no ordinary encounters, and that the criteria for lethal force in that situation ought to be relaxed relative to e.g. walking down a crowded street at high-noon. Even in America, I don't know anyone who honestly thinks that shooting a burglar is prima facie proportionate. The claim is usually more sophisticated, and has two parts: 1. Pointing a gun at someone who has unlawfully entered one's home is a proportionate response. 2. One cannot rightly expect the home-owner to prioritize the trespasser's safety over his own, even in ambiguous situations.
        lelanthran 4y ago
        > I don't like burglars, but a death penalty without trial is a bit much. And what about accidents and misunderstandings? I'm tired of this trope, repeated several times in this, that is used to excuse people breaking into houses. Anyone breaking into a house while people are in it are not burglars, they're attackers. It's perfectly okay to defend your family with lethal force. Criminals breaking into the car in the driveway? No point in lethal force. Collect from the insurance. Criminals breaking into the house your kids are sleeping in? No amount of insurance is going to replace them, so it is stupid to wait and see if the criminals will direct lethal force towards your kids before defending yourself. I repeat, it is stupid to rely on the goodwill of attackers in your home to not harm your children!. Stop trivialising attacks by calling it theft.
        jstanley 4y ago
        But you could say the same thing about random people in the street that you don't like the look of: it's stupid to wait and see if they're going to murder your kids, so the best thing to do is murder them first. And no, someone who breaks into a house with the intention of burgling is not an attacker, they're a burglar, regardless of whether other people are in the house. Someone who breaks into a house with the intention of attacking people is an attacker.
        lelanthran 4y ago
        > But you could say the same thing about random people in the street that you don't like the look of: it's stupid to wait and see if they're going to murder your kids, so the best thing to do is murder them first. No, you couldn't, because they did not use force to get into the space of your children. > And no, someone who breaks into a house with the intention of burgling is not an attacker, they're a burglar, regardless of whether other people are in the house. If they wanted to burgle they'd come when there was no one home. The fact that they came specifically when people are there is because they don't care about doing damage to the people (in which case, yes, they are attackers), or they came specifically for the people. Really, if a burglar wants something, there's tons of opportunities when the house is empty. > Someone who breaks into a house with the intention of attacking people is an attacker. You only find out about their intention after they have done the damage (or lack thereof). The only clear indication you have of their intent is that they deliberately waited until the people were home. I am saying it is stupid to wait until after someone has killed your child to defend that child, especially when that person intentionally waits for people to be home. It's hard to feel sympathy for attackers who wait for children to be home before they break in. If they didn't want to be dealt with as attackers, they should break in when no one is home.
      - medstrom 4y ago
        In the USA, perhaps. Most of the world isn't that lethal.
        watwut 4y ago
        I don't know why this is downvoted. It is true.
        kolanos 4y ago
        I would assume people are tired of seeing this qualifier in every other HN thread? "It might be bad in the U.S., but in the rest of the world...." Especially when it is verifiably false. [0] Of the ten most populous countries in the world, only China (2.114) and Indonesia (1.783) have lower peace indexes than the United States (2.337). Of the next ten, only four have lower indexes. In other words, two thirds of the twenty most populous countries in the world (of which the U.S. is third) are more violent than the United STates. Unless by the "rest of the world" we're going to ignore most of the people? [0]: https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/most-violent-countries https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/most-viol...
        ChadNauseam 4y ago
        In my experience, when someone says “the rest of the world” they’re usually referring to scandinavia
        aussieshibe 4y ago
        My interpretation was that "the rest of the world" is meant to refer to "the rest of the countries in the world" not "the rest of the people in the world". To say that the US has a worse peace index than the rest of the countries in the world is still hyperbole, but it's not so far off the truth. The US has the 129th best peace index of 163 countries, right after Egypt, Zimbabwe, and Azerbaijan.
        kolanos 4y ago
        > My interpretation was that "the rest of the world" is meant to refer to "the rest of the countries in the world" not "the rest of the people in the world". Even by that measure it is false. The only continents less violent than the one the United States resides are Europe, Oceania and Antarctica. The United States isn't even the most violent country in its own continent, that would be Mexico. So really the unnecessary qualifier should be: "Well it might be bad in the U.S., but in Europe, Oceania and Antarctica..."
    - sandworm101 4y ago
      The job of big dogs is to bark, growl, run around and be so intimidating that no sane person would dare enter. If the burgler does choose to come inside, the dogs have failed.
- tacitusarc 4y ago
  In case this isn’t common knowledge, advertising you have a gun on premise makes you a more attractive target for burglaries
  - dragonwriter 4y ago
    Specifically, because firearms are one of the highest value-for-portability, easy to move items burglars can steal, and America's gun culture is such that gun owners tend to have multiple guns, not take them all with them when they leave the home, and very often not have them effectively secured.
  - googlryas 4y ago
    Is this actually true? It makes some kind of sense, but it is hard to guess at what percentage of thieves will be deterred, versus what percentage of thieves will be encouraged. Perhaps we have a natural experiment, since California recently accidentally leaked a bunch of details about gun owners in the state: https://www.newsweek.com/gun-owners-personal-info-leak-outrages-california-sheriffs-1720742 https://www.newsweek.com/gun-owners-personal-info-leak-outra... Maybe in a year we can see if those owners experienced higher or lower than expected breakins.
    - GuardianCaveman 4y ago
      A buddy got pulled over by a cop who gave him a warning and then told him he recommended for him to remove his sigsauer sticker because people will walk through a parking lot looking for trucks typically with weapons manufacturer names and break in looking for a weapon to steal.
  - LinuxBender 4y ago
    This might vary from location to location. Everyone in my state is armed and about 2/3 of people are concealed carrying. Everyone here will look out for each other. Everyone in my area knows who lives where and what vehicles they drive. There is property crime but that also carries with it the added risk of justifiable homicide which sadly is not broken down in the homicide statistics as far as I know.
blowski 4y ago
My labrador would run to the front door in 1.2s, but then roll over and demand to be stroked.
- ushakov 4y ago
  a Golden Retriever would be happy to show you around and help you pack the loot
  - runjake 4y ago
    I say this tongue-in-cheek, here but I feel like you're being "breedist”, here. I have a <1 year old male golden retriever and I was surprised to learn that he has a very strong guard instinct and will not STFU with his loud, deep barking any time he hears a strange noise, or some stranger is walking by. That said, this is a feature, not a bug. "Early warning system" was in the top two features I was looking for in a dog.
    - tomschlick 4y ago
      Can confirm. My 1 year old Golden got extremely protective of my wife when she was pregnant and is now protective of my son to the same degree. Large loud barking, defensive stance until we either greet the person or tell him its ok. Otherwise a normal dopey and chill golden.
    - loloquwowndueo 4y ago
      Your dog may behave uncommonly for its breed but dog breeds exist precisely because of common and predictable physical and behavioural traits. Great Danes are famously couch potatoes but mine could not stay still and demanded a ton of exercise - still it was the exception rather than the rule for that breed.
      - 0xbadcafebee 4y ago
        Have owned four litters of labs and some goldens. They behave the way you train them, with one or two personalities being more "out there" than others. Ours were incredibly loving to new people, but barked at anyone that approached our house, attacked people who entered without us. One golden was so well trained we loaned him out as a therapy dog for people who were scared of dogs. He nearly attacked a mailman running towards us (sorry mailman!). One black lab in particular, Princess, she was a... well, a bitch, and kind of a bully. Animals have personalities too. The myth of breed behavior is not good. It's the reason so many pitbulls are put down. They are absolute sweethearts until you abuse them and train them to fight.
runjake 4y ago
It should be mentioned here that posting these kinds of macho signs are not a good idea. They may open you up to criminal and/or civil penalties, depending on your local laws and the whims of the judicial system. “He was just looking to waste somebody!” I cringe any time I read my local neighborhood watch Facebook group and some internet tough guy comments with “They (criminal) better not show up at my house!”
- userbinator 4y ago
  I think it very heavily depends on where you live.
  - runjake 4y ago
    Hence my wording: depending on your local laws and the whims of the judicial system.
- sumo89 4y ago
  Also if you have a Dangerous Dog signand your dog does then injure someone it's clear you knew the dog could cause damage. There was the case recently, Jacqueline Durand, who went to dog sit, opened the door and got attacked by 2 pitbulls. The owners tried to argue their dogs weren't violent despite the attack but the fact they had a sign up was one of the major points against them and was included specifically in the lawsuit.
marcodiego 4y ago
This one became famous in Brazil: https://g1.globo.com/mg/triangulo-mineiro/eu-amo-meu-pet/noticia/2022/06/18/bonitinho-mas-ordinario-conheca-zero-o-cachorro-que-viralizou-com-placa-divertida-em-minas-gerais-e-ganhou-perfil-nas-redes-sociais.ghtml https://g1.globo.com/mg/triangulo-mineiro/eu-amo-meu-pet/not... It means "cute but ordinary".
moomoo11 4y ago
Boston Dynamics pupper: I’m behind you Or it’s already locked in a precision drone strike on your location.

teekert 4y ago

There are many variations, near my place there is a sign with a picture of dog saying: "I don't bite, I amputate." I also saw a sign with a picture of a Gun: "Forget about the dog, I rule here."

koolba 4y ago
There’s also the classic: “Dont beware of the dog, beware of the owner”
- jimt1234 4y ago
  My sister, who has 3 big dogs, always says: "They (the bad guys) might get into my house. But they're not leaving."
  - cbozeman 4y ago
    I feel this way too. If you're breaking into someone's home, you're asking to die.
    - CorrectHorseBat 4y ago
      I don't like burglars, but a death penalty without trial is a bit much. And what about accidents and misunderstandings?
      - DennisP 4y ago
        In many states, it's a bit much for legality too. In mine for example, I have to be reasonably in fear for my life to shoot someone in my house. That said, not everyone who breaks in is just after your stuff, especially if they come at night.
        cle 4y ago
        It's a tough line to draw. Personally, if someone has already demonstrated that they're willing to commit a felony (burglary), then I'm in fear for my life and the lives of my family. I get why some states don't consider that a justification for use of deadly force, but I also get why some states do.
      - omginternets 4y ago
        Those are obviously bad and efforts should be made to reduce them. However, it's important to recognize the small proportion of events that started as a burglary and evolved into something much worse. With this in mind, it stands to reason that burglaries are no ordinary encounters, and that the criteria for lethal force in that situation ought to be relaxed relative to e.g. walking down a crowded street at high-noon. Even in America, I don't know anyone who honestly thinks that shooting a burglar is prima facie proportionate. The claim is usually more sophisticated, and has two parts: 1. Pointing a gun at someone who has unlawfully entered one's home is a proportionate response. 2. One cannot rightly expect the home-owner to prioritize the trespasser's safety over his own, even in ambiguous situations.
      - lelanthran 4y ago
        > I don't like burglars, but a death penalty without trial is a bit much. And what about accidents and misunderstandings? I'm tired of this trope, repeated several times in this, that is used to excuse people breaking into houses. Anyone breaking into a house while people are in it are not burglars, they're attackers. It's perfectly okay to defend your family with lethal force. Criminals breaking into the car in the driveway? No point in lethal force. Collect from the insurance. Criminals breaking into the house your kids are sleeping in? No amount of insurance is going to replace them, so it is stupid to wait and see if the criminals will direct lethal force towards your kids before defending yourself. I repeat, it is stupid to rely on the goodwill of attackers in your home to not harm your children!. Stop trivialising attacks by calling it theft.
        jstanley 4y ago
        But you could say the same thing about random people in the street that you don't like the look of: it's stupid to wait and see if they're going to murder your kids, so the best thing to do is murder them first. And no, someone who breaks into a house with the intention of burgling is not an attacker, they're a burglar, regardless of whether other people are in the house. Someone who breaks into a house with the intention of attacking people is an attacker.
        lelanthran 4y ago
        > But you could say the same thing about random people in the street that you don't like the look of: it's stupid to wait and see if they're going to murder your kids, so the best thing to do is murder them first. No, you couldn't, because they did not use force to get into the space of your children. > And no, someone who breaks into a house with the intention of burgling is not an attacker, they're a burglar, regardless of whether other people are in the house. If they wanted to burgle they'd come when there was no one home. The fact that they came specifically when people are there is because they don't care about doing damage to the people (in which case, yes, they are attackers), or they came specifically for the people. Really, if a burglar wants something, there's tons of opportunities when the house is empty. > Someone who breaks into a house with the intention of attacking people is an attacker. You only find out about their intention after they have done the damage (or lack thereof). The only clear indication you have of their intent is that they deliberately waited until the people were home. I am saying it is stupid to wait until after someone has killed your child to defend that child, especially when that person intentionally waits for people to be home. It's hard to feel sympathy for attackers who wait for children to be home before they break in. If they didn't want to be dealt with as attackers, they should break in when no one is home.
    - medstrom 4y ago
      In the USA, perhaps. Most of the world isn't that lethal.
      - watwut 4y ago
        I don't know why this is downvoted. It is true.
        kolanos 4y ago
        I would assume people are tired of seeing this qualifier in every other HN thread? "It might be bad in the U.S., but in the rest of the world...." Especially when it is verifiably false. [0] Of the ten most populous countries in the world, only China (2.114) and Indonesia (1.783) have lower peace indexes than the United States (2.337). Of the next ten, only four have lower indexes. In other words, two thirds of the twenty most populous countries in the world (of which the U.S. is third) are more violent than the United STates. Unless by the "rest of the world" we're going to ignore most of the people? [0]: https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/most-violent-countries https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/most-viol...
        ChadNauseam 4y ago
        In my experience, when someone says “the rest of the world” they’re usually referring to scandinavia
        aussieshibe 4y ago
        My interpretation was that "the rest of the world" is meant to refer to "the rest of the countries in the world" not "the rest of the people in the world". To say that the US has a worse peace index than the rest of the countries in the world is still hyperbole, but it's not so far off the truth. The US has the 129th best peace index of 163 countries, right after Egypt, Zimbabwe, and Azerbaijan.
        kolanos 4y ago
        > My interpretation was that "the rest of the world" is meant to refer to "the rest of the countries in the world" not "the rest of the people in the world". Even by that measure it is false. The only continents less violent than the one the United States resides are Europe, Oceania and Antarctica. The United States isn't even the most violent country in its own continent, that would be Mexico. So really the unnecessary qualifier should be: "Well it might be bad in the U.S., but in Europe, Oceania and Antarctica..."
  - sandworm101 4y ago
    The job of big dogs is to bark, growl, run around and be so intimidating that no sane person would dare enter. If the burgler does choose to come inside, the dogs have failed.
tacitusarc 4y ago
In case this isn’t common knowledge, advertising you have a gun on premise makes you a more attractive target for burglaries
- dragonwriter 4y ago
  Specifically, because firearms are one of the highest value-for-portability, easy to move items burglars can steal, and America's gun culture is such that gun owners tend to have multiple guns, not take them all with them when they leave the home, and very often not have them effectively secured.
- googlryas 4y ago
  Is this actually true? It makes some kind of sense, but it is hard to guess at what percentage of thieves will be deterred, versus what percentage of thieves will be encouraged. Perhaps we have a natural experiment, since California recently accidentally leaked a bunch of details about gun owners in the state: https://www.newsweek.com/gun-owners-personal-info-leak-outrages-california-sheriffs-1720742 https://www.newsweek.com/gun-owners-personal-info-leak-outra... Maybe in a year we can see if those owners experienced higher or lower than expected breakins.
  - GuardianCaveman 4y ago
    A buddy got pulled over by a cop who gave him a warning and then told him he recommended for him to remove his sigsauer sticker because people will walk through a parking lot looking for trucks typically with weapons manufacturer names and break in looking for a weapon to steal.
- LinuxBender 4y ago
  This might vary from location to location. Everyone in my state is armed and about 2/3 of people are concealed carrying. Everyone here will look out for each other. Everyone in my area knows who lives where and what vehicles they drive. There is property crime but that also carries with it the added risk of justifiable homicide which sadly is not broken down in the homicide statistics as far as I know.

blowski 4y ago

My labrador would run to the front door in 1.2s, but then roll over and demand to be stroked.

ushakov 4y ago
a Golden Retriever would be happy to show you around and help you pack the loot
- runjake 4y ago
  I say this tongue-in-cheek, here but I feel like you're being "breedist”, here. I have a <1 year old male golden retriever and I was surprised to learn that he has a very strong guard instinct and will not STFU with his loud, deep barking any time he hears a strange noise, or some stranger is walking by. That said, this is a feature, not a bug. "Early warning system" was in the top two features I was looking for in a dog.
  - tomschlick 4y ago
    Can confirm. My 1 year old Golden got extremely protective of my wife when she was pregnant and is now protective of my son to the same degree. Large loud barking, defensive stance until we either greet the person or tell him its ok. Otherwise a normal dopey and chill golden.
  - loloquwowndueo 4y ago
    Your dog may behave uncommonly for its breed but dog breeds exist precisely because of common and predictable physical and behavioural traits. Great Danes are famously couch potatoes but mine could not stay still and demanded a ton of exercise - still it was the exception rather than the rule for that breed.
    - 0xbadcafebee 4y ago
      Have owned four litters of labs and some goldens. They behave the way you train them, with one or two personalities being more "out there" than others. Ours were incredibly loving to new people, but barked at anyone that approached our house, attacked people who entered without us. One golden was so well trained we loaned him out as a therapy dog for people who were scared of dogs. He nearly attacked a mailman running towards us (sorry mailman!). One black lab in particular, Princess, she was a... well, a bitch, and kind of a bully. Animals have personalities too. The myth of breed behavior is not good. It's the reason so many pitbulls are put down. They are absolute sweethearts until you abuse them and train them to fight.

runjake 4y ago

It should be mentioned here that posting these kinds of macho signs are not a good idea. They may open you up to criminal and/or civil penalties, depending on your local laws and the whims of the judicial system. “He was just looking to waste somebody!” I cringe any time I read my local neighborhood watch Facebook group and some internet tough guy comments with “They (criminal) better not show up at my house!”

userbinator 4y ago
I think it very heavily depends on where you live.
- runjake 4y ago
  Hence my wording: depending on your local laws and the whims of the judicial system.
sumo89 4y ago
Also if you have a Dangerous Dog signand your dog does then injure someone it's clear you knew the dog could cause damage. There was the case recently, Jacqueline Durand, who went to dog sit, opened the door and got attacked by 2 pitbulls. The owners tried to argue their dogs weren't violent despite the attack but the fact they had a sign up was one of the major points against them and was included specifically in the lawsuit.

marcodiego 4y ago

This one became famous in Brazil: https://g1.globo.com/mg/triangulo-mineiro/eu-amo-meu-pet/noticia/2022/06/18/bonitinho-mas-ordinario-conheca-zero-o-cachorro-que-viralizou-com-placa-divertida-em-minas-gerais-e-ganhou-perfil-nas-redes-sociais.ghtml https://g1.globo.com/mg/triangulo-mineiro/eu-amo-meu-pet/not... It means "cute but ordinary".

moomoo11 4y ago

Boston Dynamics pupper: I’m behind you Or it’s already locked in a precision drone strike on your location.