Wow. It will never, ever cease to amaze me how dumb people can be. Let me tell you guys what just happened.
I was out feeding/grooming the horses behind the barn, when I hear people talking in the distance. Odd, because I live on a private road. Only us and one other neighbor EVER use this road, and there are big huge "no trespassing" signs at the entrance.
So, I put down the buckets I'm carrying and stick my head around the side of the barn. Chief is standing about 5 feet away from our main gate, head low and doing his "don't come any closer" growl, while some stupid teenage girl and teenage boy are opening our gate.
So, I ask them: "Uh, can I help you guys?"
The girl looks up and goes "Oh yeah hi I just wanted to pet ya'lls animals!!"
"Um, you don't just open someone's gate and walk right onto their property."
So she rolls her eyes, sighs heavily, and says "FINE, can we pet your goats??"
"No you may not. Close my gate."
So she just lets go of the gate, and they both turn around and stomp off in a huff. The gate swings open, and I have to RUN a hundred feet to close it before the goats and chickens escaped. Luckily Chief knows better than to go through that gate, and luckily he won't bother anyone he sees EXITING our property, because he had a clear shot at both of them.
So apparently people just walk onto someone elses property, after unlatching their gates, and just start touching their livestock. And apparently, large guard dogs that are clearly angry standing five feet away are just fluffy and cute and nothing to worry about whatsoever. And apparently, if the owner of the property says anything, THEY are just plain rude. I am obviously running a petting zoo and have no right to ask someone not to enter my property and start manhandling my goats.
So my concern is this- if apparently people have no problem with just ignoring the fact that people have closed gates and "no tresspassing" signs, what if they wander onto my property and get bitten by the LARGE GUARD DOG that they seem so inclined to sompletely ignore? Chief has specifically been taught not to allow strangers of ANY kind- human or otherwise- onto our property. If that means he needs to bite someone to drive the point home, I have no problem with that- if they're dumb enough to ignore his warnings and the posted ones, and blatantly tresspass, they deserve to get bitten. But, apparently, people can, and have been sued, and their dogs deemed vicious, taken away, and euthanized for defending their property.
I think it's ridiculous- I can shoot someone for trespassing, but if my dog bites them, well, THAT'S a different story. 
So here's my question- what can I do to protect myself and my dogs from idiots? We already have "No tresspassing" signs that people ignore. We're going to get a lock for our gate instead of just a latch. I'm going to add a "Do Not Open Gate" sign as well. But is there anything I can do to absolve myself, and Chief, of liability if they're dumb enough to get bitten? I've heard that "Guard Dog on Duty" and "Beware of Dog" signs are bad because they can be used as addmission of "knowing that your dog is vicious" should it bite someone...so is there anything else I can get to deter people from entering our property?
The next time something like this happens, I'm just going to call the cops. I can't believe some people. You wouldn't open someone's door, walk into their house, and start playing with their dogs...why is opening someone's gate to "play" with their livestock any different? 