“Finally, a beware of dog sign — even if you don’t have a dog — can be a “discourager.””
Good point. Bad guys seem to have an irrational fear of dogs (which I, and I’m sure, most of you, love). They are simply scared to death of them. In fact, they found ancient Roman ruins with tiling that also said “beware of dog”, or Canis, as they called it.
If one does not have a dog and puts out the Beware Of Dog sign, a large dog bone left out in the driveway adds to the ambiance you want to achieve.
We had an electrical problem in our basement that I just couldn't track down, so we called an electrician. He showed up with a young "assistant" that I immediately felt uncomfortable having inside the house. That feeling got worse when the young guy asked right away to use the bathroom... which is upstairs.
Luckily, I had closed our German Shepherd up in a room upstairs, and he was raising holy HELL because someone was in the house. As I walked the young guy upstairs, our conversation went like this:
Him: "Sounds like a mean dog."
Me: "Yep."
Him: "What do you think would happen if he got out?"
Me: "How much do you weigh?"
Him: What's that got to do with it?"
Me: "I'm trying to calculate how long before I'll have to buy dog food again."
Him: "Oh."
He may have scoped out part of my house, but he obviously didn't see anything worth getting eaten for.
Do you think small, yappy dogs are of any use? Some people just can’t have a big dog (or more big dogs), yet a few yappers who would fly off the porch and make a ruckus could fit on the roster.
Better than nothing and part of a plan, I suppose.