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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

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

186 replies

midnightlurker · 28/11/2016 14:51

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.

OP posts:
jayne1976 · 29/11/2016 19:56

Sorry you said it had attacked a human, so why can action not be taken on those grounds?

Original poster
midnightlurker · 29/11/2016 19:57

All I will say tonight is this... do you have a grey GSD or a husky? Do you let your dog out around 8pm each night to do its business and not keep an eye on it? Are there fields with sheep and horses nearby? Does it sometimes come in with blood around its mouth? Are you sure it stays in your garden?

There is one angry sheep farmer waiting with a gun, very nearby. And we have fenced off easy access to our field. What if your dog decides to kill sheep, not pigeons, tonight?

OP posts:
originalkezzy · 29/11/2016 19:58

Shoot shovel and shut up... seen this posted many times on us livestock sites... or get a large trap and remove it from the property?

rose69 · 29/11/2016 20:11

Are other horse owners in the area having the same problem?

HoopsandEverything · 29/11/2016 20:37

Midnightlurker I have a feeling you think that the owner is a mumsnetter. Am I correct?

Are you posting these posts on your local faceboook groups? Surely you could post that description locally and put up signs saying as such.

FantasticBeasts · 29/11/2016 20:46

Midnight, it involves investment and I don't know how big your land is but I kept a troublesome dog out of my field by running an electric rope fence between each rail of three rail post and rail fence, one in the middle of the gap and the ground, one in the middle of each rail.

I used a bullock energiser on high for six months and then turned it down to low. I did out those yellow warning signs up along the edge where the public access was.

Very strong charge, would make your whole arm tingle for ages if you caught it. But it got rid of the dog 'that just wanted to play'.

Awful situation.

cloudspotter · 29/11/2016 20:52

Shoot the dog? I bet the owners will be grateful - it's probably the bane of their life. Take the problem off their hands.

Original poster
midnightlurker · 29/11/2016 20:59

Hoops, I have no idea who they are, but am posting info everywhere I can. I just want it to be kept under control! So fb, this forum, others, poster on lamp posts etc. I have lost hundreds of pounds already through vets bills, lost work, extra fencing.... Christmas is well and truly cancelled. The longer it goes on for, the more money we lose, the more risk to our horses and the more upset for my children. Wouldn't you be posting everywhere??? Next stop the local paper. And it isn't just us, no.

OP posts:
UKrider · 29/11/2016 21:03

Speak to Trevor Cooper at DogLaw.

SteppingOnToes · 29/11/2016 21:04

The law changed in May 2014 that the dog doesn't have to attack you, but make you feel endangered (which if you are trying to keep it off your horses it will do). You are within your rights to report it and demand something be done as it is only a matter of time before someone is injured, even if it is accidental.

*Section 3 of the Act applies to every single dog owner in England and Wales. Under this section, it is a criminal offence for the person in charge of the dog to allow it to be ‘dangerously out of control’ in a public place.

A dog doesn't have to bite to be deemed dangerous in the eyes of the law

Generally if a dog bites a person, it will be presumed to have been ‘dangerously out of control’, however even if the dog does not bite, but gives the person grounds to feel that the dog may injure them, the law still applies.

Not many dog owners are aware of this, and it is important to hold that thought when looking at the changes.*

The link to the Government website info

www.gov.uk/government/publications/2010-to-2015-government-policy-animal-welfare/2010-to-2015-government-policy-animal-welfare#appendix-4-dangerous-dogs

IAmNotAMindReader · 29/11/2016 21:04

Oh Jesus. If it's been in with sheep as well, it's only a matter of time Sad Idiot owners.

backinthebox · 29/11/2016 21:41

Electrified poultry netting would be ideal in this case. Battery operated and punches s whallop, but relatively (vs cost of a rug!) inexpensive. Once the dog has been zapped a few times it will usually stop touching the fence at all, unless it's really a crazy mofo

Doda gave a brilliant suggestion

Sorry, but no. Electric poultry netting costs about £2 per metre just for the fence. 4 acres (a not-unreasonable size for a paddock) would be about 500m, so £1000 plus the cost of the energiser. Poultry netting is many strands of fencing so needs a bigger electrical supply than simple electric fencing - a battery would be insufficient, you would need mains for this. So assuming the OP had mains access in her field, she would need an energiser that would add another £200 to the cost of the fencing. I used poultry netting once to try and keep a fox away from my ducks. Didn't work - the fox wanted the ducks more than it didn't want to be zapped. It's not easy to put up either - I fenced in a half acre yesterday with 2 strands of tape and it took me an hour to do it properly (i.e. in straight line and correctly tensioned.)

I have to say if I found a dog in my field bothering my horses, or my chickens or geese, I would do whatever was necessary to ensure the safety of my animals. And my focus would lie with removing the threat rather than bolstering my fencing to keep an offender out.

Alexcor · 29/11/2016 22:24

Get farmer to shoot it, surely you have right to protect livestock.

ginghamstarfish · 29/11/2016 23:02

Don't see why the OP should have to pay for electric fencing etc ... trap, shoot or poison the dog. If it was someone's beloved precious then it wouldn't be running around loose. Once a dog has worried or attacked livestock then it's dangerous.

Cucumber5 · 29/11/2016 23:10

Shoot it

EveryDayIsASchoolDay · 29/11/2016 23:25

My cousins son (13) was attacked by a whippet/lurcher sort of dog while he played in the park. He had loads of cuts on his thigh and was bleeding loads. The owner just got asked to ensure he kept the dog on the lead from now on.
I always thought that it was one strike, but apparently not.
Please be careful op. As a horse lover and a dog lover you have my sympathy. I wish you could catch the dog and then speak to the owner when they come looking for the dog. Or stick a note to its collar.

CockacidalManiac · 29/11/2016 23:41

I've seen the Bourne films.
You get an 'asset' to deal with the dog.

MurphyDog5 · 30/11/2016 02:15

Contact the police again, ideally speak with the wildlife officer & quote directly from the dangerous dogs act.

Nutfreepeanutter · 30/11/2016 03:19

Have you checked missing dog posts? Perhaps not all too local.
If any of mines got out once n came back bloody I'd be hunting to apologise. Please don't put yourself in harms way, one bite in the wrong place and your kids have a lot more to loose than their horse.

I'm unsure how possible it is but a Norwegian elkhound has been missing here for two years and not turned up. He's not mine, but he'd look like a grey gsd/husky and at this kind of time of year 8pm is dark so wouldn't be much of a time for a country walk. Originally the sw Scotland but theres a chance he'd have been stolen etc.
If you rent the land have you brought up security with the owner, tell them about vet bills n considering moving to somewhere more secure and they might help, even with a trap.

havalina1 · 30/11/2016 04:53

Hopefully your horse will kick the dog in the chops which is far more likely. How is the horse not kicking out??

Grindelwaldswand · 30/11/2016 05:19

Get a lead one of your horses leads will do and catch the dog and tie it up somewhere on the land and then call the police and RSPCA saying you have caught a dangerous dog they need to come collect.
What breed is it ?

tallulahturtle · 30/11/2016 06:47

Hopefully the farmer will get a good sight on the bastard and shoot it. You have been tolerant enough and need to protect your livestock as does he.

TaraCarter · 30/11/2016 07:52

Good luck.

I'm not sure how practical the advice to shoot it is (surely one needs a significant amount of practice to accurately shoot a smaller dog attacking a big animal like a horse), but as far as I can see, it's the life of one dog versus the physical and psychological welfare and safety of a few horses! I can't see an argument for not prioritising the horses.

I do hope some of the earlier posters are vegetarian... Hmm

Qwertie · 30/11/2016 07:54

What area are you in OP? Can any of us local to you share a FB post?

brotherphil · 30/11/2016 07:57

An airgun pellet in the arse might put it off - on the other hand, it would definitely not get the dog's owners on your side, and would likely get you a conviction for Cruelty to Animals. It's less defensible than shooting it dead outright: that MAY be legal depending on the legal situation of the horses, and can be argued as protecting livestock. A pellet in the arse can't be argued that way: pellets are only good for killing rodents. Deliberately shooting to wound is generally legally considered to be deliberate infliction of suffering, rather than deterence. If an animal is enough of a threat that you have to kill it, then you are expected to kill it as cleanly as you can.