To get the dog to bite me so it will be pts?

[midnightlurker]

Dog coming into my field and attacking my horses. One minor injury, several incidents of damage to the rugs (like little coats) they wear. Now a chunk out of one hind leg requiring vet attention. This dog has tasted blood, it will not stop here. We have beefed up the fencing as much as we can - rented land...

When I phoned the Police they were bloody useless. If we see it in action they will come but they will not take the dog as it is not a human it is attacking. And I can't legally hit/hurt it to get it off my horse.... So aibu to lie in wait for it then pull it off my horse so it gets me? Then it is a dangerous dog and has attacked a human, so the Police have to act.

Cannot see any other way to protect my horses :(.

And if the owner is reading this - STOP it! Put it on a lead!!!! It is not funny or clever to injure livestock.

I'm guessing if it's rented land she can't shoot the dog as it's not on her land.

Maybe the owners of the land could assist?

Or move the horse to safer land if they won't.

Local papers?

I know someone who had an issue with a dog worrying his sheep but he was never quick enough to get there and shoot it. Was his neighbours dog and they couldn't give a shit. He left poisoned meat in the field which the dog ate and died. I feel sorry for the dog as it must have been a horrible way to die. The farmer got prosecuted as well but I think in his view the fine he got was worth it.

If you can do it without getting yoru teeth kicked in, have a word with the owners. And kick up hell with the police, their attitude is ridiculous!

Helloo, I've dealt with this vicariously through my neighbors and thought our experience might be of use to you:

Our house backs on to a field containing 2 horses. It's not secure against dogs or people but is against horses iyswim. There's a bloke across the road who had a Labrador and no garden, so regularly used the field without permission to exercise his dog. His dog never bothered the horses so the horse owner never said anything and would pick up the dog mess when she went poo picking for the horses.

About 6 months ago, LabMan got a second dog and obviously continued to use the field in the same way as before. One day I heard an incredibly loud and horrible scream from behind the house, looked out of the window to see his new dog (a jack russel type) with his teeth in one of the horses hind legs quite high up. Horse was screaming. Bloke was doing absolutely nothing.

Not entirely sure why, but I legged it outside, hefted myself over the fence and ran at the dog waving my arms and bellowing at the top of my voice and must have looked akin to a female New Zealand rugby player doing the Haka in my pink nightie and snowman slippers

Dog clocked me and let go out of sheer astonishment I think more than anything and legged it back towards LabMan. Horse bolted down to the other end of the field but was obviously bleeding and in pain.

My adrenaline was through the roof at this point and LabMan had turned as if he was going to walk away so I literally RAN at the man and screamed "EXCUSE ME!!". He continued walking but at this point a couple of other neighbors and a dog walker had come out to see what was going on so I shouted "His dog just attacked the horses!" and one of the other neighbors shouted back that he was her next door neighbor, gave me his full name and told me which house he lived at.

Another neighbor had the horse owners number so I called her myself, told her what had happened and gave her the blokes details. She called the police and I was a witness and spoke to them, telling them what had happened. Police were round there within a couple of hours but the dog wasn't put down and nothing came of it. She did get him to pay for her insurance excess though!

LabMan hasn't been near the field since!

Have you thought about naming and shaming this bloke on social media? film him next time his dog does it and film his reaction, then post and ask if anyone knows who he is? Sometimes shaming people into doing the right thing is the only way they listen.

Angry for you OP

Also, the taste for blood thing is indeed a myth, it will be the fun of chasing and biting that will be entertaining this dog not the blood :)

Can you film the dog and owner and post on FB, film their car if you can too. just try to shame them.

Irresponsible dog owners annoy the he'll out of me. My dog accidentally once got away from me, I found him twenty minutes later casually bimbling around a horse field. I was utterly mortified - he was a rescue, so I had no idea at the time how he'd react to horses, or they to him. Fortunately all parties were very chilled out (apart from me!), and it was another year and a half of training before his recall was anything like reliable.

Whoops, didn't finish my point!

Anyway, does the owner realise their dog is doing this, ie is it getting in there whilst on walk, or escaping from a local garden? Both are pretty bad, but if the owner is actively letting an aggressive dog near other animals, I'd be more inclined to put them to sleep!

This is terrible but getting the dog to bite you is a no no. Could you put up a notice which the owners hopefully would see that the dog is injuring your horses and will be dealt with?

Farmers shoot dogs which worry their sheep. Are there any neighbouring farmers who are also troubled by this dog? If so, seek their help and advice.

Legally speaking, horses aren't livestock so don't know where you'd stand on shooting the fucker.

LadyPenelope, you are a star! :D I would love to have you as a neighbour!

Shoot the fucker. Take photos of what it's done so far and lie in wait for it. Say it was going for you.

You can legally shoot the dog.
Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953;
www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Eliz2/1-2/28

(1)In this Act—
“agricultural land” means land used as arable, meadow or grazing land...
“livestock” means cattle, sheep, goats, swine, horses...

If you're able to approach the dog and catch it (preferably without getting bitten!) this is what I'd do:

• get some video footage of it attacking the horses
• catch the dog and hand it over to the dog warden with an explanation of how it was out of control and causing ££££ of damage to your property, and ask how to go about pressing charges
• the feckless owners will either turn up to collect their dog and find out that you're pressing charges for property damage and breach of the dangerous dogs act, or they won't turn up to collect it and it'll either be rehomed or pts.

NB I have no idea how the law works regarding property damage but I do know the dangerous dogs act!

You need my mates haflinger, he kicked a dog when it chased him. Happily he wasn't shod but I don't think the dog will do it again!

Problem is unless you're a well trained sniper the chances of successfully shooting a moving small target against the backdrop of a larger, slower target without shooting the horse dead are quite slim.

Catch it, lock it in a stable/shed, and hold it hostage until the owners come looking. Then have it out with them.

Then continue to catch it and lock it in until they get the message. It isn't the dogs fault unfortunately, so make the owners life difficult until they learn how to control their animal.

Femelle, that can be very hard to do and this dog has already caused a serious injury to one of the OP's animals. It might not be the dog's fault but it is vicious toward other animals and is running around loose. She has every right to protect her horses and if the dog can't be caught, it needs to be stopped.

I hope you can fix this without harming yourself or the dog. It may take a lawyer, however, and a very insistent attitude with the police. I don't know if this is the kind of thing that is covered under home insurance policies - and, if not, whether it would be worth hiring a solicitor, on the grounds that it might be considerably cheaper than a large vet bill?

Actually, OP, might borrowing a horse that is a bit more dog agressive sort the problem out? I have a small herd and I know a couple of them would never defend themselves so it is frustrating when ALL of your herd are the same way. Perhaps borrowing a horse or pony that is likely to run the dog off might give it the message and keep your lot safe at the same time, with no need for violence? Of course, a well-aimed kick to the head could still kill the dog....

I'm surprised it gets near enough to bite tbh. I can only speak for my horses but they'd run, after all they're flight animals.

Is there no trespassing law

The dog owner is legally liable for all the bills and vet bills.
Try to catch it and get your vet to check its microchip, it should have one by law.

Trying to provoke it into biting you so you can have it put to sleep is a cowardly and shitty thing to do.

This^
It's not the dogs fault but the stupid owners.

YES! To want to hurt any animal, let alone have it killed, is disgusting! The owners cannot be that far away, put your efforts into finding them, not hatching plans to catch or goad the dog.
The dog is just an animal, doing what animals do. The OWNERS are liable for what their dog does, so as i said, wait for the dog to appear, then look for the owners nearby. They probably think they're being good owners letting the dog get free exercise, and if he's not aggressive round people or other dogs they likely have no idea he's capable of what he's done. Introduce yourself, be friendly not aggressive, and calmly explain the problem. They may well be horrified to find out and stop letting him free, or t least muzzle him. Give the dog and the owners a chance before deliberately attempting to condemn the dog to death. For all you know he could be some childs beloved pet and best friend, losing him will probably devastate whoever owns him, child or not.

Yes, because the chances are that in the process the horses will get hurt, you will get hurt, and the dog won't automatically be put down straight away or indeed, at all.

It is not true that if a dog bites someone it is automatically put down - that is something the owner can decide to do to avoid court, or it is something a court can decide - which takes ages.

In the meantime the dog MAY be left with the owners to continue causing problems, potentially hurting other people, or the dog may be siezed and held in crappy kennels for months on end suffering waiting for the court case (and costing the tax payer loads).

What you need to do is know the law here.

The law does NOT state that you need to be bitten for a dog to be considered dangerously out of control.

What it needs is for the dog to be out of control and for you to be 'reasonably apprehensive' that the dog will cause you injury.

You ARE reasonably apprehensive that the dog will cause you injury, any court or judge or magistrate would find it reasonable to think that a dog biting horses and ignoring owners and you trying to prevent harm to the horses could result in injury from the dog to you.

So get back to the police, quote the law AT THEM and insist they do something about it, be the squeaky wheel that gets the oil.

In the meantime find the owners address and deliver them the vet bills.

Finally you could just take htem to small claims court over damage to your property (horses) and get the vet bills that way.

I would also recommend you speak to your local dog warden.