Farmers dogs on public footpath

[Cuppateeee]

Just been on a lovely walk in the countryside, only to be spoiled by a shouty farmer. Need a different perspective on it otherwise it will just wind me up. Will include picture.

Walking with my dog on a lead through a field, staying on the public footpath when I see two border collies barking in the distance. I stay where I am to look for a farmer to check if they are aggressive or not, no one in sight, they are staying where they are but still barking and in the way of where I need to walk, so I went back and walked down the other side of the fence.

I get to the bottom and see the dogs have gone, also notice the gate was open so they could have got to me anyway, never mind I’m there now and go over the stile back onto the public footpath.

Only then I notice the dogs have come back, so again I check to see if I can see the farmer because whilst they weren’t growling they were barking which is intimidating enough.

At this point there is a fence between us so not a problem but I check to see where the public footpath leads and you’re supposed to join the farm track but their gate is open. The dogs are following me and my dog down the fence, still barking, so I decided to walk away from them not wanting to risk what would happen when we reach the open gate. I am at this point on the farmers field.

After a few steps a farmer comes running shouting for my attention, I stop and see what he wants. He said ‘the footpath doesn’t go along there, you’re damaging the crops’. So he was clearly watching me, and would have been able to see that I was uncomfortable with his dogs around.

There is snow on the field so I wasn’t sure what I was walking on but either way I said, sorry I appreciate that but your dogs were being aggressive towards me and my dog so I felt I had no choice.

He kept repeating that if I can’t stick to the path then I shouldn’t go on the walk, which in normal circumstances I totally agree with, but in this case I felt it best, to protect me and my dog.

He insists his dogs are not aggressive, they are with him at this point, still barking but I admit not growling or coming closer, just staying with him, but I said again that I was not to know this and didn’t want to risk anything happening to my dogs.

In the end I walked away because he clearly could not see my point of view.

So was IBU waking on his land or was he. And if he was is there anything I can do to stop if happening to someone else. Sorry for the long post, thanks for reading.

“My cocker spaniel can wiggle his way under a 4" gap. Can a sheep do that?”

A lamb sure can. And some sheep. A German shephard could get under a 4 inch gap.

As there a farmers here: I was out with SoupDog the other week and came across a field full of pregnant ewes (there was a sign to warn people of this). He is always on lead anyway so not a problem in that respect. Typically, they were all congregated on the footpath so I stood for a bit then slowly advanced until they trotted off. I assume this was the right thing to do or should I have avoided the field entirely?

It wouldn’t be a high percentage at all

Here are some more stats to add to the ones you've been given, although since they've been compiled from information given by farmers, I'm going to guess you'll just shout "lies!" www.nationalsheep.org.uk/dog-owners/survey-results/

Strange too that in England, where access is more restricted, the problems are greater.

Given the population density of England and the population density of Scotland, it's not remotely surprising that rural English areas see more use and therefore more conflict. It's partly why English national parks were formed decades before Scottish national parks. Less pressure on the land meant less need for them.

“Streetwise hahaha invisible fencing that is strong enough to contain cattle, with a mesh small enough to stop rabbits, high enough to prevent deer from jumping it..all for a price of 'cheap'. You really are looking a bit silly now.”

Is this a joke?

4ft medium tensile wire fencing and fence posts with a run of rabbit mesh dug in along the bottom is more than enough.
Dogs cannot club wire fences and I have never seen a dog jump a 4ft wire fence. A collie would struggle and even then I wouldn’t be worried about a collie.

Deer-proof fencing is generally 10-12 foot. Like pp, I've know terriers scramble/ jump over 4ft, even if it's wire. Lurchers wouldn't blink at a 4 ft fence. It really isn't anything much to them, let alone a struggle.

With this stuff on fencing you really are showing the absolute breadth and depth of your ignorance. Who the fuck thinks large amounts of tensile wire fencing in the countryside is a good idea for fuck's sake? And rabbit mesh? Do you want to completely destroy all wildlife in the UK?

Footpaths that run through other people's land are walks you do understanding you could come across anything. Cows can be scary too when they are giving you evils and walking towards you, let alone bulls. It's their land so cross it at your own risk

A barking dog is not a reasonable to fear aggression etc. My dogs bark when they are excited.

Hence the old saying "a barking dog seldom bites". I was taught (by my late mother, who was a bit of a dog-whisperer) that it's the quiet ones you want to watch out for.

A bark can be a greeting, too, my girl barks her head off at visitors and won't stop until they've made a fuss of her. Then they're welcomed into the pack and allowed to sit down. Her warning bark is completely different, much lower and quieter and more throaty, almost as though she's muttering under her breath.

“A German shepherd, collie or other larger athletic breed is perfectly capable of clearing 4 ft from nothing. Also perfectly capable of jumping onto a gate as leverage.

Terriers perfectly capable of getting through sheep netting. Sheep can't do that and as already stated the farmer fences to keep his sheep in, fencing designed to keep sheep in will not keep an athletic dog, whose instinct it is to chase and is not under control, out.“

Dogs jumping 4ft fences is very, very unlikely. I’d love to see a German shephard that can do that. 3ft maybe but 4ft? Come on.

Metal gates should have wire on them as well.

Poor farmer would never get any work done if had to respond to the needs of every walker.

It's a public footpath. You can walk on it, farmer mustn't block it. That's all. He doesn't need to hang around reassuring walkers that it is safe.

This kind of outrage is why farmers are tempted to block paths off. People don't know how to behave.

“Deer-proof fencing is generally 10-12 foot. ”

No it isn’t. It’s 8ft.

Wire mesh fencing is literally what farmers use the length and breadth of the country. What on earth are you talking about?

Rabbit mesh also completely normal for protecting crops.

Evidence please of this rural crimewave If you deigned to check your local Facebook you'd see it, happening to your neighbours, right now!

Our local page is currently trying to track the meovements of one specific white van that has soem very expensive scientific equipment in the back, half inched from a farm that is being used for government reseacrh. Millions of pounds worth of kit and data that the thieves will just dump when they realise they can't sell it!

Last week it was ATVs, 5 or 6 in one Sunday morning.

It'll be all over your local news too!

www.nfumutual.co.uk/farming/ruralcrime/

More facts and figures for you to scoff at!

@StreetwiseHercules

Looks bigger than 3ft to me.

Oh streetwise keep going! This is hilarious. 😂

I suspect if I were to ask advice on building a 30 storey office building in honk kong that streetwise would have all the information I needed about that too

Very impressive. Looks like an very highly trained animal. Not to many like that knocking about I bet.

Streetwise did you really type that a German Shepherd could wriggle under a 4 inch gap?? This thread is making my day!

And anyway regardless of the jumping skills of various breed of dog, it's not the farmers responsibility to keep dogs not under control out of his fields, only his livestock in. It's the dog owners responsibility to keep the dog under control if they're in the field due to a right of way, and out of fields they shouldn't be in.
Same as it's my responsibility to fence my garden adequately to keep my dogs in, not to keep any random dog passing by out.

No, this is wrong. You cannot block access and that would include letting an apparently aggressive dog intimidate people into not using the access. If access is blocked then the person can go around the blockage, in this case intimidating barking dogs.

Absolute rot. A dog barking does not constitute blocking a right of way. Neither would aggressive geese, which bother me far more than any dog I've ever met.

Deer fencing alldepends on why you want it. If FoD they have 6 ft stuff as they only want to dissuade deer form a specific path (deer still get hung up and die on it though, mainly after being scared by dogs, it transpires).

If you need to keep them out then you have to get a different net, not high tensile, much taller and it has to be more visible and have a lot of give, so when a frightened deer leaps into it it rebounds rather than gets caught! Rarely used as it is so expensive. One large private house round here has it, cost the owner an absolute fortune and a long time in discussion with the Forestry Commission. But he no longer gets deer poo in his lawn!

I only know that because he discussed it all, on facebook!

Soupdragon that's what I would do too

They don't need to be trained to do it, just want to and have a reason to. Like the lure of prey.

I've just watched some scramble over a 6" wooden fence. Foxes regularly do this in my garden and they aren't dissimilar to many dogs.

Dogs will sniff out gaps in fences, which are often caused and used by wildlife, something I don't think sheep do.

You wouldn't be able to walk there if it wasn't for the farmer farming th land. It would be a housing estate otherwise. That's not as daft as it sounds. I could easily sell my fields for building. It wouldn't be as picturesque then.

I was recently looking into refencing the perimeter of our horse paddocks. I'd be looking at atleast £20,000 for 8 acres. Now imagine refencing the rest of our 500 acres...

My old terrier could easily clear 3ft from a stand-still. Our neighbour's dog could scale a 7 ft fence. How big are you expecting these fences to be?

Looks like an very highly trained animal. Not to many like that knocking about I bet. So, not a dog owner either!

Come to the puppy class I take my puppy to. I'll intorduce you to a few young gun dogs that could easily do that, if allowed! Many athletic breeds can, their owners just train them not to, as it makes keeping them safe a tad trickier than necessary!

I was recently looking into refencing the perimeter of our horse paddocks. I'd be looking at atleast £20,000 for 8 acres. Now imagine refencing the rest of our 500 acres... Exactly

@ILoveMaxiBondi
How very true 😂
Perhaps we should all just bow down to the all knowing streetwise though some of the responses are really funny.

And totally off topic but I've just discovered Bondi 😍😁

That's not as daft as it sounds Thanks

Javing taen said pup for his morning play out I drove past 3 fields being turned into housing estates. All with 100+ new houses on them!

Very pleasant viewing and one has 'temporarily' closed a local footpath... again! Locals are counting the days and will be walking it as and when, to keep it open, as per the law!

That link definitely doesn’t speak to a rural crimewave.