Aibu to think I should be ok to exercise my well behaved dog wherever I like in fields

[Scrowy]

I'm not BU because my dog is a farm dog and the fields are my fields.

Sadly however the local dog owners seem to think that our fields (some with footpaths, some without) are fair game and that they have an equal right to use them as they see fit.

This week we have politely asked 6 people with loose dogs to remove themselves from the pasture we have just separated some lambs into. There is no footpath in that field but it has a nice view.

During lambing time this year we lost 4 lambs and 1 sheep to sheep worrying. About 5 years ago one dog killed 24 lambs in one go. Every week we are aware of minor incidents of sheep worrying, fortunatly most don't result in death but do always result in stress on the animals.

Also this week we have sent some older sheep to slaughter. Out of 30 of them 24 of them were condemned due to Echinococcosis, a disease passed on to sheep from dog poo and only identifiable at slaughter.

Neosporosis is another disease passed on from dog poo do cattle. It causes the cattle to abort their calves.

Letting your dogs poo on farmland is directly putting farms out of business.

Letting your dogs 'play' with sheep causes death, even if your dog doesn't actually maul something at the time.

You wouldn't walk into a shop, knock down a display and break stuff without expecting to have to pay for damages. Why do people think that the countryside is fair game?

I'm all for live and let live, I want people to enjoy the countryside and support it. I also want people to realise that it's not just there for their amusement, that some people are trying to make (an increasingly small and desperate) living from it.

Best if dog walkers keep themselves and their animals to the footpaths and pick up & remove all faeces.

I'll post a useful link below but would also add that, if nothing else, picking up after your dog makes for a more pleasant countryside experience for all, doesn't it? Nothing worse than a lovely footpath covered in turds...

www.countryfile.com/news/neosporosis-hidden-danger-dogs-pose-cattle

Yes, pick up some of those copious cow pats covering our National Trust walking area too, please.

Or is it only farmers who are allowed to moan? Moan about dogs, moan about badgers, moan about insects (out come the insecticides to kill the bees), moan about pests (out come the pesticides to harm us all), moan about birds (where are the scarecrows? oh, shotguns and traps and poison do the job, nowadays), and moan about disease (out come, no, not out come, it's CONSTANT use of antibiotics to zap anything natural that might interfere with profits and who cares about those kids that may need the odd antibiotic for a life-threatening disease because the spread of antibiotic resistance in bacteria is NOT the profit-focused farmer's problem!).

Um - but if you don't have the cattle grazing on National Trust land (and presumably by extension other "public" land), and all the farm land is converted to arable, where are the cows going to live?

Farmers aren't moaning about these things on public land, just on their own land. And please stop harping on about all these profits that farmers are earning - yes the massive big producers are earning well, but smaller farms and smallholdings are barely keeping themselves from bankruptcy most years. Most are completely dependent on subsidies, and these are being drastically reduced for small farms.

Note that farms that produce mostly cereal crops tend to LOSE money on those crops, and it's the subsidies and other income earnings (e.g. camping, farm shops) that make up for that & earn them profits.

You might find this very informative counterpoint www.wildlifetrusts.org/conservationgrazing

If you don't want to read it though it refers to the fact that cow pats are an important part of the ecosystem.

I don't think when the vet or farm inspector asks why we didn't treat a sheep for a foot infection 'counterpoint said we are using too many antibiotics' will fly as a reasonable excuse for leaving an animal in pain.

Or are you peddling the frequently debunked myths about regular antibiotic and growth hormone use in U.K. farming?

Interesting link DollFace. I already knew about the risk but not how dogs get it in the first place. And I didn't know that about raw food.

I try to be a good owner and keep MipHound on the lead in such places. I also clear up any mess and he is wormed. But occasionally poo leaves residue that I can't clear up (trying to fix his diet!) Can you suggest anything to further reduce risk to livestock in that case?

Oh yes Mip those lovely sticky ones that coat the blades of grass - joy! I wouldn't worry to be honest. If everyone did what you did, the problem would become a tiny one I suspect, and that's fair enough. Besides, I'm sure the odd stubborn poo will leave far less mess than me after I've tried to clear up cow pats as counterpoint suggests

Good, kind people love the countryside. They wouldn't knowingly want to cause the death of an animal through their recreational use of a public space. It's all about education, isn't it? You can't worry about the small minority of people who don't care or who just can't be arsed. If people understand the dangers of dog poo then I think most of them would act accordingly. Also, its right and proper to leave public recreational amenities as you found them, isn't it?

counterpoint your posts read as though you absolutely hate farmers. I'm really sorry if that's the case. I could ask what's eating you, but actually I'm more interested in what you eat?

Oh and I must just quickly echo what Scrowy said: We don't use antibiotics unless as animal is sick and they are appropriate. We don't use growth hormone at all. We keep small cross breeds who calve easily. They give less milk than larger American-style dairy breeds (so less profit) but they are native, hardy animals who require little vet intervention.

Our cows are outside on pasture for 9 months of the year. The 3 they are inside is because our regional temperature is below 7°c which means the grass doesn't grow outside for them to eat.

During these moths they are fed silage, which is simply a mixture of excess crops (grass, wheat) that were grown, cut, chopped and stored in summer for the purpose of winter feed.

Finally, we belong to the Countryside Stewardship Scheme, which means we keep hedgerows tall for nesting birds and large borders around field ages uncultivated as wildlife strips. We have barn owl boxes all around the farm.

Dh loves the environment. He understands it and is part of it down to his very bones. He is a 4th generation farmer. He has had to adapt everything about the farm simply to meet supermarket demands and stay in business. He also stops his tractor for ground nesting birds.

I'm not trying to change an unchangeable mind (well, maybe I am... hopelessly hopeful) but there is another story to farming. There are lots actually.

I may be totally wrong but counterpoint sounds like someone who has watched a lot of documentaries and videos. Read lots of articles but has never spent much, if any, time on a working farm and seen the reality.
I'm just off to check on our cows and sheep now, like I do 7 days a week. At least we will hopefully be able to get a full night's sleep now until the spring as the last of our autumn calvers calved a couple of days ago so no 3am checks on cows in labour. I realise that it might be difficult to understand that someone who claims to care for an animals welfare ultimately ends up sending that animal to slaughter but I can honestly say that I am happy to tramp around fields in the worst of weather checking stock, assist at calvings in the middle of the night, shovel mountains of shit etc but the one job I hate is sorting animals for slaughter. I do it as I know if I didn't the farm business could not survive, I do however believe passionately that whilst these animals are in our care it is our duty to treat them as well as we can which I try to do. Farming is a way of life, those who farm do so because they love the lifestyle. If making money is your main aim in life then farming would is the last businesses you should try.

Rude and selfish and thoughtless is what comes to mind. And expensive and upsetting for you if you lose stock. Wonder if they'd think twice if they had to pay for animals which died as a result of their thoughtlessness. I agree with others , and I have a dog. I wouldn't dream of walking my dog on anywhere but a public footpath, and always put him on a lead if there are notices asking me to do so, or animals in the fields, even though to be honest he has never yet shown any interest in anything but rabbits. I avoid cattle whenever I can as I have been chased badly a few times...and I understand that the fields belong to the farmer but I do wish he wouldn't put frisky cattle in them! I just avoid those areas at those times of the year!

and re dog poo...I always pick mine up as I know the dangers to cattle etc. I wish more people would do the same...but then even if they knew about it there are always those who refuse to do it...I just walked across our local playing field and was talking to someone who was saying they have a real problem with dog poo being left there...for the kids to slip on when playing football. Real thoughtful dog owners..not..giving the rest of us a bad name

My friend rescued some rheas and kept them in a spare field, they make fantastic guard birds and have reduced the footpath strayers 😁

Electric fences to keep the dogs out.

DO NOT SHOOT ANY DOGS - what the hell is wrong with people on here??? It is the owners that are at fault not the dogs!

Iola RTFT it is frowned upon to shoot dogs or owners.

YANBU. Don't know if it still stands but farmers witnessing a dog worrying sheep were justified in shooting the dog. Signs advising not to allow dogs to pop may help. Can environmental health of local authority help perhaps? Suppose folk use a field for their dogs thinking they don't need to clean up. Been dog owner over 30 years and thinkbpublic need to be made aware of the horrendous implications of dog poo in fields never mind allowing a dog off lead near any animals. Selfish nutters is all I can add.

'Shoot the dogs'
We do not need to eat meat and the sooner we are all vegetarian the sooner people throughout the world will stop starving.
Shoot the farmers.

Get yourself a shotgun licence and a shotgun. Then shoot the bloody things

I didn't even realise that cows and sheep got diseases from dog poo. Actually, this puts me right off owning a dog.

It is the owners that are at fault not the dogs!
Unfortunately it is illegal to shoot the dog owners. Not illegal to shoot the dogs, though.

Don't you have a right to shoot dogs bothering your animals? i'd go out with a shotgun - that'd stop 'em! (Sorry, not read whole thread.)

You could do what other farmers have done and put a high fence on either side of the right of way. That way people can only use the path.

febel Although I understand your comment about frisky cattle pIease can I explain this from the farmers point of view.
We farm 200acre, approximately half of our fields have a footpath running through them. Farm management means that we have to moniter the grass growth in each field to ensure that there is sufficent to feed the stock it contains and move the stock as soon as they have grazed each field off. We also have to shut some fields up in the spring to allow the grass to grow for hay and silage so that we have fodder during the winter months. We have to consider things like which cows need to be put to the bull whilst ensuring that there are no young heifers in the same field which he might take advantage of. We also have to check with neighbouring farmers as to what stock they have in ajoining fields as if our bull spots a pretty young heifer over the hedge he may well try and crash out.
I know young cattle can be curious and appear frightening to people who do not understand them and some cows can be very protective of their young calves but trying to jiggle this all around is headache enough without having to consider the numerous dog walkers we have who walk our fields who might not feel comfortable on their preferred footpath.

Not excusing it, but part of problem is difficulty finding safe/allowed places for dogs to go off lead

why should that be the farmer's problem.
if you can't give your dog what it needs you can't have a dog. full stop.

I wish I had seen this thread while I was out walking earlier. A farmer near us has put up signs which clearly say that any dogs seen off the lead will be shot.

Sorry for DM link but your post has made me thinking about this story.

I can't believe the amount of people on here that are saying that they let their dog poo when walking in the fields and obviously dont pick it up so now they feel guilty about potentially causing a disease in the sheep etc , it doesn't matter where you are you should always pick it up! Its so infuriating when you do get to go on a nice countryside walk through the field's, with or with out the dogs and its covered in shit. Pick it up you dirty mingers!!!! You give good dog walkers a bad name, ignorance is no excuse.