My dog tried to kill a sheep today

[Speckledhen617]

I'm still shaking it all happened so quickly. My dog is a 12 month old terrier. I was walking him off lead on moor land. I've walked there for many many years, I've never seen sheep there. The lands flat but in a dip out of sight, out popped this sheep. My dog just ran for it, I've never seen him run so fast. The sheep fled, my dog caught up to it and went to bite it's back, he got a mouthful of wool. He then got to the front of it and went to bite it's neck. Mouthfuls of wool again. I jumped and Rugby tackled the dog and the sheep ran off.

I'm so upset at what could have happened, I'm upset seeing the potential my dog had and of course for the poor sheep who must have had an awful shock. I'm never ever letting him off lead again. Its just not worth the risk.

I drove home through the Moor and I could see the sheep, half an hour later grazing. Thank god it was OK.

Please be kind, it was an awful experience and I feel terrible about it.

@Borderstotheleftofme They scare the shit out of me too, I do like cows though, they've got soulful eyes!

and beautiful fluffy ears

@pandafunfactory we had the lead as we entered the field. When the cows started to charge, we dropped the lead. The dog wouldn’t run, she was protecting us. She planted herself firmly between me and the cows.The next best thing was for DH to keep the cows attention while I got out of the field, then called the dog to me. DH then slowly backed out of the field while I made sure no cows were circling around the back of him. I recalled her to me because whilst they were still encroaching on DH she was still ready to protect him. Getting her out of the field, helped diffuse the situation, so DH could safely back out.

@RiaRoth unfortunately dogs and cows don’t communicate the same way though. So whilst it might not have been aggressive from the cows point of view, that’s not the way the dog took it.

No judgement from me.
My dog will chase anything she can.
I try and avoid walking her off lead in areas I know there is the potential for farm animals - but like you I have been caught out.
Luckily my dog only wants to bark and chase (I know this is still very serious, particularly for pregnant ewes, I was brought up in the country on a farm).

However if I saw my dog go for the throat of any animal above a rabbit, they would be on a lead for a long long time.
My dog is mixed but seems to have some terrier like qualities, you can't trust them, instinct takes over, I personally don't think it's worth the risk unless you can be 100% sure they won't see a cat/fox/deer/sheep/cattle/ponies etc.

OP I'm sorry that you and the poor sheep had this experience.

I'm a dog walker, and have chatted to behaviouralists about this issue.

IMO (and that of the behaviouralists that I respect) it is incredibly hard, or maybe even impossible, to reliably train a dog out of this. You can reduce their reaction to livestock, you can gain a solid recall and a reliable 'leave it'. However, when push comes to shove if a dog is triggered in a certain way instinct and adrenaline may kick in and take over.

This is especially an issue in terms of prey drive with terriers and sight hounds, but all dogs carry a risk.

They are more likely to be triggered if potential pray runs, makes a frightened noise or startles them by appearing out of nowhere.

It doesn't make your dog bad. It's normal dog stuff, but obviously unacceptable. Believe me that time and time again the most placid, well trained and human friendly dogs attack and kill chickens, deer and sheep simply because the opportunity arose and they lost their head in the heat of the moment.

So, the answer really is to keep your dog on lead in an area of livestock. I never make an exception to this rule for any dog that I walk no matter how well trained. Luckily I'm able to find plenty of livestock free walks locally. Although you can never discount the possibility of a squirrel unfortunately.

Anyone who trusts their dog 100% with livestock is taking a gamble, with the exception of dogs which are working the livestock accompanied by their owner.

The issue that you have OP, is that you want to enjoy the moorland and aren't sure if you're likely to come across sheep again. Could you ask around to see if this was an isolated incident in which case it's not your fault and providing you keep your eyes peeled, your dog fairly close and lead-up if you can't see what is ahead you should be fine. Take binoculars if that helps.

My Bichon lap dog will chase sheep. He did it once a year ago having squeezed through a gap in a hedge. He’d never shown the slightest interest before and there’s loads of sheep around here. I’d always walked him on lead near livestock. Since then he still shows zero interest in the sheep in our regular fields but will try and chase “new” sheep (and birds, rabbits, squirrels..)
I walk in familiar places and only let him off if I’m confident there are no sheep. He stays on lead in any new potentially sheepy places.

Wow that must have been awful for you.
At least the sheep wasn't hurt and just wool.
As you say valuable lesson learnt

Welcome to the world of terriers.

My lovely, soft, gentle Patterdale started showing his prey drive at around 9 - 12 months. He would spot a bird or rabbit in a field and no fence/wall would stop him getting into the field. As we live in sheep country most of the fields contain sheep and I knew he’d be more that happy to chase those as well. He has been on a lead ever since, unless it’s somewhere I know there are no sheep, preferably in driving rain so only other hardcore dogs are out.

I have to say that if a lone sheep lept up in front of him on this lonely, windswept moor he’d definitely give chase. I can’t let him off on lowland walks as he then dives down rabbit/fox/badger holes with utter delight (if you can suss out which one he’s down you can hear his happy squeaks and whines as he digs furiously towards his prey). Beaches can be good, though he’s very fond of rolling in dead seal.

My next dog is going to be a cavalier King Charles. But I’m told Patterdales live til 18 with their prey drive totally intact, and he’s only 3....

Op you mentioned dog fields. Near us is a field that you can hire and have sole use of from half an hour at a time. I haven’t taken my dog there yet but am planning to. Might be worth seeing if there is anything like that near you.