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Beware of the dog

Warning sign

Beware of the dog
Summary

Warning sign

Notice at the [[Glasgow Necropolis

Beware of the dog (also rendered as beware of dog) is a warning sign posted at the entrance to a building or other private area indicating that a dangerous dog is within. Such signs may be placed to deter burglary even if there is no dog, or if the dog is not actually a competent guard dog.

History

''Cave canem'' [[Roman mosaic]] at the entrance to the [[House of the Tragic Poet]] in [[Pompeii]], Italy, 1st century AD

Warning signs of this sort have been found in ancient Roman buildings such as the House of the Tragic Poet in Pompeii, which contains a mosaic with the caption (). The Roman work Satyricon, written by Petronius, includes a passage mentioning the phrase painted on a wall with large letters, in the chapter Dinner with Trimalchio.

Philippians 3:2 is translated as "beware of the dogs" or "beware of dogs" in the King James Bible and many other editions. For example:

This is often interpreted as a euphemism, bad people having been described as dogs in a number of previous biblical passages. Nonetheless, the yard signs are sometimes alluded to in reference to the passage. The use of such signs in the Roman world may have influenced the author of the passage, and conversely the passage may have influenced the wording of the more modern yard signs.

Law

Under English law, placing such a sign does not relieve the owner of responsibility for any harm which may come to people attacked by the dog. Where a company employs the services of a guard dog, Section 1(3) of the Guard Dogs Act 1975 requires "a notice containing a warning that a guard dog is present is clearly exhibited at each entrance to the premises."

References

References

  1. R Wright, RH Logie. (1988). "How young house burglars choose targets". The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice.
  2. C Wilkinson. (1998). "Deconstructing the fort". Journal of Australian Studies.
  3. Cheryl S. Smith. (2004). "The Rosetta bone". Wiley.
  4. Petronius. "Satyricon".
  5. [https://biblehub.com/philippians/3-2.htm ◄ Philippians 3:2 ► Bible Hub]
  6. [https://www.globalchurchofgod.co.uk/why-to-beware-of-dogs/ Why to Beware of Dogs?]
  7. [http://biblewatchman.com/barkk.htm Warning: Beware of Dogs]
  8. [https://www.bible.ca/ef/expository-philippians-3-12-16.htm Onward & Upward: Philippians 3:12-16]
  9. [https://books.google.com/books?id=5N3fAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA563&lpg=PA563&dq=bible+%22beware+of+dog%22+philippians+sign The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament]
  10. [https://spartalive.com/beware-of-dogs/ Beware of dogs]{{Dead link. (January 2026)
  11. James Paterson. (1877). "Commentaries on the Liberty of the Subject and the Laws of England".
  12. [[Charles G. Addison]], [[Horace Gray Wood]]. (1876). "A treatise on the law of torts".
  13. "Guard Dogs Act 1975".
Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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