Dog walkers etiquette in a field full of live stock...

[QuietTiger]

When walking on a footpath in a field of live stock, PUT YOUR FUCKING DOG ON A LEAD!! (Apologies to those who do).

DO NOT let your dog chase the live stock and DO NOT get arsey when you get told by the farmer to "Put your fucking dog on a lead". If the farm dogs are loose in the field, IT IS USUALLY FOR A REASON.

Sorry for the rant, but today, after a lovely walk across one of our fields with my (3 working farm) dogs through a field of cattle at lunchtime, all of whom were very chilled and calm, DH had to go back across the same field. There is a heavily used public footpath which dog walkers use through the same field. He found a dog walker letting his fucking dog springer spaniel chase the cattle. All of whom are pregnant. The walker got arsey when DH (who is VERY mild mannered) threatened to shoot his dog if he didn't put him on a lead and informed DH that "he was letting his dog herd and he'd shoot him over his dead body".

MY dogs can run amongst the cattle, because a) they are used to them, b) they work them pretty much daily c) they do what they are told and d) it's our livestock, so my call.

Jo-Average bog standard rambler/dog walker - YOUR DOG IS NOT TRAINED FOR LIVESTOCK WORK. And I don't give a flying fuck if "your dog is only playing/learning". A farmer is well within his rights to shoot your dog if it is worrying livestock, BY LAW, and my DH WILL as will all the other farmers I know in the area.

Now, before people start with "I'll never let anyone shoot my dog, blah, blah", i will say that RESPONSIBLE owners would never put their dog in a position that it was worrying live stock, because it would be UNDER CONTROL, so that argument is, in this case, invalid.

Please, people, keep your dog on a lead or at the very least under very close control when in a field of livestock.

Here endeth the rant.

Good rant.

I agree with you.

I don't own a dog and I don't own livestock.

It's up to the owner to protect the dog.

Can I ask a question? Most of my dog walks inevitably take me through cow fields at some point, no matter how hard I try to avoid them.

I don't put the dogs on the lead because I've read that it's better not to if the cows charge. In my defence, they are well trained and they have never worried the cows although I am aware it's a slim possibility.

They don't walk at my heels but I keep them fairly close by and they will come straight to me the second I call them.

Would you/your DH class that as being under very close control or would seeing them like that bother you?

And is there any truth in the lead/charging cow idea?

Firstly, hope the cows are OK.

Secondly, it's tempting to shoot the ramblers. There should be a sort of "justifiable ramblicide" defence, with the wearing of brightly coloured Goretex a contributory factor. For every Gortex item worn by the rambler, 10 years would be deducted from the sentence for shooting them.

Thirdly, good rant. Completely agree.

I know it's serious and i quite agree with you but I did have to laugh at the numpty excuse that he let his Springer Spaniel 'off to herd', I think he must have been mistaking cattle for pheasants.

Excellent rant and sorry it has to be said (again and again and again) until people get the message.

Re not using a lead in CASE the cows attack. Always have your dogs on a lead - in the very unlikely event that the cows do charge then release the lead and get out of the field as quickly as possible.

IMO cows only charge if they are protecting their young OR if they are hassled by dogs so by keeping dogs on a lead will help to prevent this.

Ladydamerel - my DH would class your senario as having your dogs under control.

If You have your dog on a lead and you get charged by cattle, let the dog lead go and get out of the way. Your dog is fast enough to out run them. Try never to get between cattle and their young, because the cattle will unsettle and may charge.

You should never be in a situation where there is a bull in a field with a footpath - if there is a bull in the field with a public footpath, the farmer is at fault if something happens. Same with stalions.

' letting his dog herd '
Idiot. Risking the cows, the dog, any other innocent walker and (if we care) himself.

We keep our dog on a lead if there's any livestock around - and in the case of cows with calves assess before we go into the field, find an alternative route or give up walk even if we're not sure about them. DHs dad worked for ADAS and instilled a very cautious attitude in him. And once we did get chased - a steer who'd escaped and was wandering alone and no doubt discombobulated ... I had no idea something that big could move so fast, seriously scary!

oh dear OP. What a fuckwit the spaniels owner is.

I often walk in a field with sheep/cows and my dogs (GSD) dont bother with the sheep, but I put them on lead if the cows are about because my puppy is far too nosy for her own good. She thinks they are humungous dogs.

good rant,I was out with our sprollie yesterday walking around the fields but we had to turn back as the sheep had broken through the barricades & were all trotting around in the open field,absolutely no way on earth was I going to let my mut even get remotely close to the sheep as she would just go bonkers,bark,leap up & down & then I would be in big trouble for sheep worrying

And a return rant from a responsible dog owner.

I walk my dog on a lead on a public footpath through a field into which you, the landowner, have placed mares and young foals, who then get (understandably) nervous and charge my dog-on-a-lead, so that we have to climb a fence to get out safely.

You then meet us, tell us off for trespassing and tell us to put the dog on a lead. DOH. She is on a lead and has been throughout. The dog was not doing anything to provoke the mares and was under control--they galloped up to us from the other side of the field. We keep asking you to move them, or set up some kind of temporary fencing to allow a narrow strip of footpath where they can't get to us. You refuse. One of these days someone who doesn't know your mares and foals are in the field is going to walk through the field with a dog and possibly a small child or not-so-agile elderly person, who is going to be terrified or possibly trampled on. You are also a vet. Not very responsible.

God OP. Fuckwits indeed.

After much Internet research after an unpleasant pheasant flushing incident which led to shooting my dog threats I stumbled across a good thread (might have been a working dog forum) about this subject. It all got very heated with the legal wordings of 'under close control'.

The two sides were:
Dog on lead at all times vs Dog walking to perfect heel, but off lead.
I think what the general consensus was that if your dog can walk perfectly at close heel and NEVER be distracted in a field of livestock then that's fine but if it's walking at close heel why not slip/clip a lead on it anyway?

Minimu made a good point on my thread that (even with her beautifully trained dogs) she always puts them on the lead near livestock/ when walking on footpaths near crops so that the farmer can see she has her dogs under control.

A friend of my mum's dog was trampled and killed when it ran through a hole in the hedge into a field of horses and was worrying them.
I always put my dog on lead even if there is a hedge separating us and the livestock.

I agree and always keep my dog on a short lead when there's livestock around, and keep a good distance from them if at all possible. No excuse at all for the owner in the OP.

But why the hate for GoreTex-clad walkers? I love walking in the countryside and prefer to stay warm and dry - what's wrong with that? I know it's a joke, but killing people for wearing waterproofs? I must be missing something...

OP what is the law regarding un-castrated young male bulls in a field and public footpaths?

One of my favourite walks is along a footpath through a huge area of Common Land, on which a herd of young male bulls are allowed to graze. They are big buggers with big pointy horns and terrify the crap out of me. Problem is when I start the walk they are way way over there but when I come back after a couple of hours the buggers have sometimes moved, right in front of the exit to the footpath.

There is no way of avoiding them (except a three quarter of an hour walking detour to the next exit) so I go through with purpose looking mean with dog on a short lead.

Is the farmer allowed to graze his cattle on Common land?

I do love some cows, they are not all buggers. Just these ones that inconvience me

Inconvenience that should be

Slubberdegullion Common land grazing rights

Thanks for that Witch. Just says cattle, doesn't seem to have an exempt clause for scary-arse cattle with the big pointy horns that scare gore-tex owners

Take a pig with you, for pannage.

Yes, take a big, scary-arse slavering hairy pig and that will see off the cattle plus it will snuffle out acorns.

When we were children, my cousin and I were walking our dog over the marshes. On the way back, the cows had wandered right across the (raised) walkway. The dog was impeccably behaved, and just laid down and went to sleep. My cousin, however, was hysterical every time one of the bovine contingent so much as looked at her. So I found myself trying to keep her from flapping about why the cows looked on, slowly munching grass Cows are huge buggers up close, though. If you've never spent a lot of time around livestock, it can be quite alarming.

Pannage is my new word of the day.

Even if you have spent a lot of time around livestock cows can be quite alarming!

I have led a one tone bull around the local lanes (met a few alarmed dog walkers ) with my dad whilst training him for showing. But I would never get between a cow and her calf.

Bulls are huge. I've only seen them up close at country shows, but my God they are humungous beasts. I certainly wouldn't want to drop in on one uninvited.

Abra1d

I am in that situation with horses and a path through it, it's the only field I have.

But... Guess what happened when I taped of a path to the side with electric tape to keep walkers and ponies separate?? The walkers generally ignored it!

Excuse me quiet but I am going to excercise my right to rant in reply.

Dog walkers should follow the 'rules' without a doubt and some are without doubt utter wankers. But please will landowners also remember they have responsibilities too. And these include:

1. Not stringing a live electric fence across a clearly marked ROW with no warning signs or alternative routes marked out. Andn ot just in one, but in two places.

1. Not filling all the fields with multiple well-used ROWs through them with cows and calves and fucking BULLS! And letting them wander across all the fields for months and months so you can't avoid the buggers if you want to exercise your rights to use the ROW. BTW - a woman was killed this summer in these very fields by cows - they crushed her ribcage by trampling. Yes she had a dog with her but the dog was on the lead and must have pulled himself free when she was attacked.

So please, landowners also follow 'etiquette' re people legitimately crossing your land.

"You should never be in a situation where there is a bull in a field with a footpath - if there is a bull in the field with a public footpath, the farmer is at fault if something happens"

Yes, he is! But somehow it keeps happening.