A lot of these litigation cases are urban myths. The ones that are actually true are usually from the USA. Generally speaking if a thief has broken into your house/property and they are some how injured it would be rare that the owner would be liable, that includes a good mauling from a dog. Our family has had dogs for years and never had any break-ins. If a house owner busts a burglar, the burglar knows the owner will probably respond to reason and will respect the law by not giving him a good beating, but burglars know dogs don't do reasoning and don't respect the law so they stay well away!