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Original poster

Is it cruel to have working dogs?

171 replies

williesandwonkas · 21/04/2019 23:01

I have name changed as I know how people get about animals and I have also seen a thread about dog walking which has provoked this question.

We own a massive sheep farm and have 7 dogs that work alongside us. These are pure working dogs. We do not consider them pets but, they are obviously treated very very well (best vet/best food). From the second we get up in the morning they are expected to work. Like any asset and the way of the farming life stipulates that if they don't and don't provide a benefit they need to be replaced.

I wonder how people perceive working animals compared to pet dogs? Our only friends are farming friends and seeing other people with pet dogs raises questions as to what people think about our situation.

OP posts:
Original poster
williesandwonkas · 21/04/2019 23:02

I suppose my question is... Do people perceive pet cats the same as farm 'working' cats?

OP posts:
Cherylshaw · 21/04/2019 23:04

I think it would be cruel to have a pure working breed and not work it! Your dog's have been bred to do that job and will thrive doing it. Nothing worse than seeing a bred working dog being kept as a home pet getting one walk a day imo

DisorganisedOrganiser · 21/04/2019 23:04

I perceive them as lucky. They must get loads of mental and physical exercise.

Assuming they are retired to a loving home or kept on in your home of course.

Katebob22 · 21/04/2019 23:05

When you say replaced, what exactly do you mean?

Torytop · 21/04/2019 23:07

I think pet owners in the UK ridiculously anthropomorphise animals, if I’m honest, and the double standards that see people gush about their ‘fur babies’ yet eat cheap, inhumanely-reared meat don’t make much sense. I don’t see the problem with well-treated working animals.

HirplesWithHaggis · 21/04/2019 23:10

Do your dogs get to retire? I took on a failed sheepdog who made the most amazing house dog (after retraining) but it took her previous owners several months to rehome her to me, and I know not every farmer can afford to support a non-working animal.

Original poster
williesandwonkas · 21/04/2019 23:10

@katebob22 We replace them with a younger dog. They cost so much in the first place we would never put them down if that's what you're thinking! We have had two 'dud' dogs in our 30 + years and both went onto guard other animals. In one case chickens and the other was lambs against rouge fox.

OP posts:
Greeborising · 21/04/2019 23:11

I have always thought that ‘working dogs’ who are treated well enjoy their lives.
They have been bred to run, chase, hunt and fetch.
Their owners reward them for their efforts.
There is no such thing as a ‘working cat’ though

Greeborising · 21/04/2019 23:13

Dogs care what their owners think
They try
They delight in their owners praise
Cats couldn’t give a fuck

TigersRoll · 21/04/2019 23:14

My head says a working dog is better off (physically and mentally) working. And will thrive doing so.

My heart says that s dog is a member of the family and should be treated as such. My dog is my best friend. I couldn’t ever imagine “replacing” him for a better model.

Original poster
williesandwonkas · 21/04/2019 23:14

@hirpleswithhaggis We have never thought of it to be honest!

I have always said that we will let the dogs tell us when they're finished with working and we have never had a dog refuse to come out to the farm! They're out like a shot every morning but, as a few have gotten older they do finish early for the day and bring themselves back home! Our dogs have all died with us which I suppose is quite nice.

If they're not working we don't give them the high energy food. They move onto normal dog food but, it's all calculated out in terms of cost of losing hens/sheep so, we still turn a slight profit.

OP posts:
Torytop · 21/04/2019 23:14

By working cat, I assume the OP means farmyard/non-house cats whose ‘job’ is keeping down vermin, not pets.

Original poster
williesandwonkas · 21/04/2019 23:16

@torytop Yes, that's correct. Not a house cat. They sleep in the barn and earn their keep by keeping the mice/rat population down.

OP posts:
BertrandRussell · 21/04/2019 23:18

I was actually thinking about this today.We spent the afternoon with friends who have a spaniel. He’s a lovely dog and has a lovely life, but I couldn’t help thinking about all the wasted brain and energy, and how much he would love working......

Sunlov · 21/04/2019 23:22

Definitely not.

I come from a farming background and the dogs are treated better than the rest of us. Confused
They are out all day every day herding. They sleep outside though in their own shed (two siblings at the moment).
They go berserk when they hear Dad's jeep coming up the road from about a mile away.

If you've ever seen the movie Babe, with the little pig looking up adoringly at his master, that's what these pair are like. They adore my Dad.

A well trained dog is worth about 3 grown men when herding, so they're worth it.
They don't get anything like coming inside to sit on the couch in front of the fire. They would hate it. What they do get is about 10 hours 1 on 1 time with their favourite person on the planet every day.

ILoveMaxiBondi · 21/04/2019 23:22

The thing is, working dogs don’t consider their work as “work”. To them it’s what their instincts want to do. They are very very happy when they’re working. A bored dog is a miserable dog. It isn’t good for their mental health to be lounging about all day with a 20 minute walk in the evening. (Or their physical health, obviously) working dogs are in their absolute element when their doing their jobs. It’s like getting to do your passion all the time.

southbucks77 · 21/04/2019 23:22

I expect most working dogs are happier and more fulfilled than most pet dogs.

Sunlov · 21/04/2019 23:24

Also cats on the farm, not allowed in either. Grin

LordProfFekkoThePenguinPhD · 21/04/2019 23:26

It’s their nature. If you aren’t cruel to them - and I’m sure you aren’t - then why shouldn’t a working breed work?

What is cruel is to have a highly active breed and not walk or train them. I see quite a few collies and alsations tearing around the park trying to round up tourists. Their nature is to be active!

Most people I know with working dogs so treat them better than ‘pets’. They are better fed (not overweight or given endless treats) and trained (so not spoiled and become aggressive). They will happily trot alongside their human to keep them company and sit next to them while they (their human) work. They tend not to be bitey either!

englishdictionary · 21/04/2019 23:27

Not cruel at all. It's more cruel to keep working dogs as pets. I come from a family that has several gun dogs though, so it's very normal to me.

BertrandRussell · 21/04/2019 23:28

“What they do get is about 10 hours 1 on 1 time with their favourite person on the planet every day.”

This!

Sunlov · 21/04/2019 23:28

I see quite a few collies and alsations tearing around the park trying to round up tourists.

PMSL I actually laughed out loud at that. I can just see Dad's dogs herding up the foreigners lol

Scrowy · 21/04/2019 23:31

I sometimes look at our farm dogs who all live outside and are never allowed inside (although some of them sneak in occasionally looking for us) and think how utterly miserable they would be cooped up in a semi detached somewhere being walked once a day.

They run miles and miles with us every day, every mile is full if mental stimulation and affection. They don't look like pet dogs as they are lean and athletic. They eat a cereal / raw diet 6 days a week. Day 7 is a fast/ rest day. They don't have a high protein meal that day but they also don't work either.

We've had dogs that have been with us 15+ years. We've had dogs that have lasted less than 2 years because they have done something do catastrophic and unforgivable to livestock that there is no way they can remain on the farm. With working dogs you can't train that 'kill' instinct out of them very easily so rehoming them would be unfair on everyone involved.

We love our dogs to bits, but they are very much respected members of staff, not members of the family and are treated as such.

We also have working cats, but they are a law onto themselves.

mineofuselessinformation · 21/04/2019 23:32

You are not being unreasonable at all.
Working animals are just that, and most of them have it in their genes, somehow.

scaryteacher · 21/04/2019 23:33

greebor There is no such thing as a ‘working cat’ though Mine would disagree. The random acts of beauty they perform every day for my benefit, and the effort put into training me wears them out.