Draft a synthesized rule from the following prior cases decision chart

Case Key Facts Holding - provoked? A delivery boy threw a No newspaper over thick bushes Smith v. Albano and hit a sleeping dog on the other side. The dog ran after the boy and bit his leg A dog was barking in front of Yes the plaintiff's home, so he went Barnett v. Rosen over and hit the dog with a stick to get him to stop. The dog then bit the plaintiff's arm. A girl threw a stone at her Yes neighbor's dog but missed and Matthews v. Donaldson did not hit the dog. The dog then bit the girl's arm