sheep worrying laws have become tighter

Colls

See the anti-dog brigade is out in force again!

<<< sigh >>>

I live on the edge of moorland, it’s sheep country. I’ve had one dog out of twelve who had a very high prey urge, she was standard poodle x working lab. The most intelligent trainable biddable dog but - she could scent a sheep a long way away and taught me so much about obedience and recall. She was always on lead in any area sheep might be.

I’m really pleased to see the law strengthened, sheep farmers work all hours. There was a farmer on radio four responding to questions. He said his sheep dogs are well trained but they’re dogs so can react, not 100 % reliable. It’s so important to remember even dogs with good recall can get into a field, the sheep panic and run, dogs instinct kicks in, dog chases - sheep die of sheer fear

So many owners with limited understanding of their dogs and a stunning level of entitlement

I remember seeing a dog chasing sheep in a field and although the owner eventually managed to get hold of it, I felt really upset witnessing the frightened sheep. It stayed with me.

I walk very often in a park where there are always dogs off the lead. I love dogs but I’ve hardly ever had any of them jump up at me. So I do wonder why so many people seem to have dogs jumping up - do they keep sausages in their pockets, or what?

I remember a labrador being shot round here by a local farmer. He did not want to do it but the owner had no control over it and it was in a field of pregnant ewes. They could all have miscarried and the farmer lost a year's income. He had no choice.

My labradoodle was off lead, obedience and recall excellent. It was a snowy day. We were a good distance from the field that i was unaware the farmer had brought his sheep to, from distant moorland because of the weather. My dog was walking at my side round a big reservoir, a familiar walk. She suddenly froze, lifted her nose and paw and took off at speed clearing a high stone wall. I took off after her. Caught up with her at the bottom of the field, where she was proudly guarding a sheep she’d pinned. Against the shrubs and fencing.
I went to the farmhouse, told the farmer whst had happened, gave my details for any vet or other costs

He said, let’s have a look at your dog love. He pronounced her a cracking hound, can’t blame the dog, it’s in its nature but if I see it chasing my sheep, I’ll shoot it. Fair comment I thiught. Anyway all was well, no sheep harmed.
Best of all I got into more serious training with my dog. Sheb Never had the oppotunity to repeat the behaviour + a cracking dog

Irresponsible dog owners should be prosecuted and fined if they allow their dogs into sheep fields. Their behaviour makes life difficult for responsible owners, to say nothing of the pain and heartache inflicted on sheep and farmers.
On a lighter note we had a pet sheep for several years and she used to headbutt the dogs if they got too close to her.

Good. Every year dogs terrify pregnant sheep in the fields round our village - ewes get distressed and miscarry. They also disturb ground nesting birds - it’s a real problem and our population of lapwings is tiny compared to twenty years ago.

Colls

See the anti-dog brigade is out in force again!

You don't have to be anti-dogs to know their nature and respect it. Dogs are wonderful creatures but they are dogs, not angels.

Sheep are by nature prey animals. If a strange human or a dog approaches them, they are wary and their instinct is to move away from them, getting faster if the person or dog speeds up and moves closer, and changing direction quickly if they feel they are about to be caught. It is very difficult for an average human to run faster than a sheep and catch it - that is why shepherds have a crook like a bishop's, to hook round the sheep's ankle and pull it to a halt.

Dogs, on the other hand, are predators by nature. Even the mildest and sweetest-natured dog will play at chase with other friendly dogs, and roll around with them play-fighting. Their instinct if a sheep runs away from them and twists and turns to get away is to follow, speeding up as the sheep does until they can catch it, and maneouvre it into a corner where it can't escape - and a dog can run at least as fast as a sheep, and have sharp teeth. Once they have it, they are still driven by instinct, which is to bite what they have caught. Packs of wild dogs work together to corner and kill prey to eat, and a group of cuddly domesticated dogs playing together can turn into a hunting pack in the presence of something to hunt.

In captivity, dog owners have used the driving instinct to train the dogs to drive the sheep where the shepherds want them to be, and have mostly subdued the killing instinct - but it still there as farmers themselves acknowledge.

Al dog owners need to acknowledge that their pet comes from an ancestry of pack-hunting wild animals which had to catch and kill to eat. That instinct is still there under the loyalty and the desire for approval.

Where I live, (small town in Northern California) dogs must be on a lead at all times. But we are lucky to have dog parks in various locations where they can run to their hearts’ content.

Not sure if any one saw some of the footage of the King opening up the coastal paths.
"Person" with a dog a fair distance away from one another then pans rounds to see approx thirty sheep in the field.
If you see sheep in a field just go and find some where else to exercise your dog.
If you don't want to lose your dog/s,keep them away from farm yard animals

They are very strict on rules about dogs here. Fines if they defecate on the ground and you don’t remove it,fines if they are off their leads ( except in the few off lead designated areas) . Same with cats that are not allowed to leave your property. We no longer bother having dogs because it is just too hard and you need very high secure fences around your property. The sad thing is that many dogs are kept in small confined spaces and get over excited when they are finally taken out - then they bite people and are a general nuisance. We have also had to build a cat enclosure because it is obviously impossible to tell them not to climb fences and go onto other gardens.

I got attacked twice by dogs as a child but when my son and daughter in law had dogs 11 years ago I knew I had to get over my fear . So with my son's help I did .

All dogs should be on leads in the countryside and on streets and only let if the lead in a park if they have been trained to come back when called . There aren't bad dogs just bad owners.

I am walking disabled with visible and invisible disabilities. What I hate are those long leads dogs as the dog can far away from their owner . Times I have had to stop walking not because I am frightened of the dog but because of the lead it's a trip hazard for me plus once had a dog go round me and lead round my legs . I shouted at the owner to get their dog . The response was it's being friendly I pointed out I wasn't frightened by the dog. But by the lead and the idiot who was to lazy to walk with their dog. By the time I had finished with the owner they had shortened the lead and walked back the way they came. Dogs should be on the shorter leads that can't be extended .

I know GN posters with dogs will be responsible owners and train their dogs and take their poo home with them . I am a member of a group which started out as litter pickers but branched and has other things like craft group etc. I can't litter pick. But the post code I live in they keep our streets litter free and have good relationship with council and when fly tipping is reported it is quickly removed. But one of our members picked up 30 poo bags that lazy owners couldn't be bothered to take home or put in a bin . Infact 10 bags where by the side of an empty bin 🤬🤬🤬🤬.

If you dog has diarrhoea and unable to pick it up take bleach and water out with you and clean up your mess.

The school where my grandsons go the children have put a sign by the pathway telling dog owners to pick up their dog poo and take it home .

Don't know if all dog owners know but there is something in dog poo is dangerous to children and can send them blind if a child in a park falls into some dog poo and it gets into their eyes . And before dogs owners shout rubbish research it I don't mean Dr Google but research it on proper sites . It's a long known fact.

It's called Toxocara Canis look it up .

Just a small point, but not all dog poo contains toxocara canis. If a dog has been properly wormed, it won't carry the toxocara parasite (which, incidentally, is also found in fox and cat poo too). This is not to say that all dog owners shouldn't be picking up after their pets - they absolutely should.
And this whole thread is not about being 'anti dog' - it is, as always, about the irresponsible owners.

Iam64

I live on the edge of moorland, it’s sheep country. I’ve had one dog out of twelve who had a very high prey urge, she was standard poodle x working lab. The most intelligent trainable biddable dog but - she could scent a sheep a long way away and taught me so much about obedience and recall. She was always on lead in any area sheep might be.

I’m really pleased to see the law strengthened, sheep farmers work all hours. There was a farmer on radio four responding to questions. He said his sheep dogs are well trained but they’re dogs so can react, not 100 % reliable. It’s so important to remember even dogs with good recall can get into a field, the sheep panic and run, dogs instinct kicks in, dog chases - sheep die of sheer fear

So many owners with limited understanding of their dogs and a stunning level of entitlement

I wish all dog owners had your insight and intelligence...

There are sheep farmers just outside the small Cotswolds town where I live and the numbers of sheep killed by dogs off-lead is steadily rising. Farmers and other interested people have started posting photographs of the dead animals on our neighbourhood Facebook page in an effort to shock dog owners into complying with the many notice boards asking that dogs be kept on the lead.

It's made no impact. I'm glad this new legislation is now in force.

A local farmer has signs on his fences warning that dogs on his land may be shot. Hopefully this gets through to the ignorant, entitled dog owners.
Dogs off leads anywhere are a menace, and I’m all for anything that makes dog owners more responsible.

It is now spring, when ewes are pregnant and less agile, so less able to escape from an over-excited dog which is following its chase-and-kill instincts. The dog is not "just playing"

To know how the ewe feels, if you are female and have had children, look back to when you were 7 or 8 months pregnant and trying to run for a bus. If you are male, imagine your wife or sister is very pregnant and trying to escape from an attacker.

The ewe can die in her panic, or miscarry her lambs. All because someone thought their sweet puppy couldn't harm another animal.

Anti-dog? No, just anti-ignorance and pro knowledge and responsibiliity

It's called Toxocara Canis look it up

Whilst working in hospitals I cam across a child who went totally blind from this. One eye was afflicted with toxicara and she lost the other in a conkers accident.

"Toxocara canis is a roundworm found in dogs that can cause ocular toxocariasis in humans, leading to inflammation, vision impairment, or blindness, usually in only one eye. Infection occurs by swallowing eggs from soil or surfaces contaminated with dog feces, often affecting children. Larvae migrate to the retina, potentially causing permanent damage"

This is why small children should be encouraged to wash their hands after crawling on grass in parks. If they put their hands in their mouths they run the risk of acquiring the larvae. And it is also a good reason for not having dogs with their pooey arses on furniture in houses!

Hydatid disease is also a risk where they are both sheep and dogs.

Colls

See the anti-dog brigade is out in force again!

I don't think anyone is 'anti dog', simply anti being pawed, licked, jumped up on by dogs whose owners don't restrain them. Not a lot to ask, I'd have thought.

Paperbackwriter

Colls

See the anti-dog brigade is out in force again!

I don't think anyone is 'anti dog', simply anti being pawed, licked, jumped up on by dogs whose owners don't restrain them. Not a lot to ask, I'd have thought.

I do share that view.

I am happy for people to enjoy their dogs but have no desire for any of the above!

Luckygirl3

Paperbackwriter

Colls

See the anti-dog brigade is out in force again!

I don't think anyone is 'anti dog', simply anti being pawed, licked, jumped up on by dogs whose owners don't restrain them. Not a lot to ask, I'd have thought.

I do share that view.

I am happy for people to enjoy their dogs but have no desire for any of the above!

Or terrify and attack sheep or other animals.

And responsible owners do none of those things. As always, it is the irresponsible owners who give everyone else a bad name.

Witzend

I walk very often in a park where there are always dogs off the lead. I love dogs but I’ve hardly ever had any of them jump up at me. So I do wonder why so many people seem to have dogs jumping up - do they keep sausages in their pockets, or what?

It's an interesting question isn't it? I live on the edge of the Cotswolds, there are always lots of dogs and 9 times out of 10 a dog which is loose will run up to me.
The owners are sometimes very surprised and even a bit annoyed. I can't explain it but I have had a lot to do with animals in my life and I did grow up with dogs.

I would recommend a course called Trust Technique which is about learning to have a quiet mind with animals (call it mindfulness if you want, I am a lifelong meditator). Animals can read our minds and our body language, they know what we are feeling. So many people rush up to animals shrieking which will raise tension levels in most animals. Trust Technique is an online course thoroughly taught through videos. Many of the videos show people learning a better way to be with an animal, even it is an animal they have had for many years.
I couldn't help noticing on our local common this morning, numbers of local dog owners who were being hauled along by their dogs who were on lead, or the dogs were lunging at other dogs or refusing to walk. None of that behaviour is a dog under control. I am sure there will now be a torrent of disagreement, sorry, as I say, I've spent my life with animals.

When I set out on a walk I do not have the luxury of knowing if the dogs I meet on the common will be with responsible owners or irresponsible ones .... I have to take pot luck. This is not an acceptable situation.