If my dog killed a sheep I'm the one responsible yes?

[YerAWizardHarree]

THIS HAS NOT HAPPENED TO MY DOG

Just seen a post on my local group that said a dog had got loose and killed 4 sheep so the farmer had shot it dead. Loads of people saying it was disgusting that the dog was shot, whereas my point of view was that it 100% is the owners fault for having a dog that had poor recall of the lead. I mentioned it to my local dog training group and I've been called a cunt, a fucking disgraceful human being. I'm not saying that the dog should have been shot I'm saying that the owner is at fault for allowing the situation

I’m a dog owner and agree with you op. Unfortunately their are lots of irresponsible dog owners out there - I’ve come across a few. Always they are very quick with reasons why their dogs are out of control and never want to take any responsibility themselves.

Well now unless they think somehow the sheep were in the wrong place at the wrong time then yes, absolutely the dogs fault and yes the owners fault for not having the dog trained. I do not trust one of mine so they both stay on leads. Neither have ever encountered a sheep but as they bark at everything else I assume sheep would get the same treatment. T

If it’s the case I think it is, the dog had escaped and they were out looking for her, it seemed to have all happened very quickly, maybe a warning shot first? A dog that does this does this, if caught doesn’t need pts, just muzzled and on lead.

Sorry saw update it was a husky, not the one I thought. Huskies do have a prey drive and if loose will run for miles, most husky owners I know only let them off in a secure area.
There has been a huge surge in huskies due to Twilight/GOT, many end up in rescue sadly before they’re 2 😕

Poor sheep, poor dog and poor farmer having to shoot it. It must have been awful to see the sheep being killed like that.

The ignorance and sheer entitlement of that husky owner is staggering and terrifying.

If you own a dog like that your garden needs to be like Fort Knox and everybody aware not to let the dog get out.

Your dog training group are ignorant arseholes. My dog training instructor has drummed it into us that our dogs will be shot if we ever find ourselves in that situation. You need a new dog training group.

I remember watching a Countryfile episode about dogs worrying sheep. I think it was in Wales. The police said most cases involve dogs escaping from home and the owners are completely unaware. I’d be worried about my dog getting out and getting run over or stolen. Don’t these people care that their dogs can escape?

My dog would chase but wouldn't bite or savage. I still think it woukd be fair if she was shot chasing sheep. If a dog savages sheep, or any other animals I think they should be destroyed anyway.
I don't think huskys should be pets. They should be running for miles each day and I just can't see how they can get the exercise and simulation they need. Same with other breeds that are just not suitable as pets

I don’t think a lot of dog owners know what sheep worrying actually is. I agree with you. We had a neighbour who’s dog kept catching our chickens and shaking them. They insisted she wouldn’t actually kill them, she was just playing with them, but unfortunately the chickens didn’t know that! The ones that weren’t being shaken about ran away and hid in the bushes and we couldn’t find them all to get them into bed. That night they were all killed by the fox. She still maintains her dog didn’t actually kill them so her conscience is clean, the died indirectly as a result of a dog attack. I love dogs, and had I more time I would love one of my own, but I cannot stand ignorant owners with poorly trained dogs.

There seems to have been a trend in recent years maybe Game of Thrones and the like for big powerful and sometimes aggressive dogs, which is fine if you are a disciplined owner who trains and exercises your dog, but there are too many owners who don't really know how to manage for want of a better word such a powerful animal.
We have 2 huskies in our village, and the owner of the one who is always walked on a lead is very keen to distance himself from the owner of the one that chases and kills other animals (including some of our birds and also a couple of pet rabbits in the village.) An annual licence with a compulsory third party insurance clause would seem to be the only way to manage this.

My dog would chase but wouldn't bite or savage.

but just the chasing can prove fatal to sheep or cause them to miscarry. no biting is necessary to cause great harm to sheep.

My dog would chase but wouldn't bite or savage. I still think it woukd be fair if she was shot chasing sheep. If a dog savages sheep, or any other animals I think they should be destroyed anyway.

Unfortunately chasing is still counted as worrying the sheep and your dog could end up being shot. Dogs don't actually need to bite or kill to be considered a danger to livestock.

FOUR sheep? That dog was way, way out of control!!!

In an ideal world the dog would not have been shot. But if the farmer could have easily pulled they dog off I assume they would.

But yes it the owners fault. Poor dog. It's basically died because it's owner didn't train it to have good recall and be aggressive to sheep/animals. And poor sheep who've does in an awful way because of the shitty dog owner. Really sad.

[quote YerAWizardHarree]@Covidchameleon the owner has said that as the dog is a husky it's natural for her dog to want to chase sheep and it's beyond her control to stop it.
[/quote]
Wow! What a twat that owner is!

Also yes what pp's said most farmers have dogs and sltgthey may be working dogs still are dog lovers.

@SBTLove

If it’s the case I think it is, the dog had escaped and they were out looking for her, it seemed to have all happened very quickly, maybe a warning shot first? A dog that does this does this, if caught doesn’t need pts, just muzzled and on lead.

Who would they be warning? The dog wouldn't understand it, even if it wasn't busy in the process of tearing a ewe's face apart.

Completely right to shoot the dog and it’s the owner’s fault. You can’t shoot the owner.

Well if the owner of the dog isn't responsible for the dog who would be? Maybe the owner of the local take away down the road?

The views on the dog owner's group will always be impartial. In a nutshell the owner of said dog is an idiot

Agree with you.

Horrible the owner has lost their dog, but the farmer lost 4 sheep which is his work and way of life!

Dog owner is lucky it wasn’t lambing season too as that could have been more sheep and the farmer would probably look to recoup their costs even with the dog being dead.

I’m confident my two would chase sheep. Wouldn’t be able to do harm as they are diddy, but they would fully enjoy having a good chase of them. My solution? I don’t walk them where sheep are.

Simple. Sheep are too easily spooked

If one of my dogs was in the process of mauling another persons animal to death I would probably shoot it myself although it’s pretty unlikely as mine are far too lazy for that.

Why people have high prey drive dogs around livestock is beyond me.

I have unfortunately been around the houses with the police on this issue this week. Two off lead dogs broke into my garden and killed my beloved pet cat in front of my eyes while the total bitch of an owner stood in my drive, silent and with her hands by her aides holding the leads. She did nothing. Had it been livestock, she would have been responsible, or indeed another dog. Cats unfortunately don’t count at law so that cold cow just gets a tap on the shoulder and told to keep her killer dogs on a lead in future. It’s an entirely economic based principle of law.

I agree some people seem to think that worrying sheep just means actually attacking them.

Sheep are prey animals and will actually get themselves into a lot of trouble just by being chased such as landing in the pond as said above

My JRT slipped his lead once and nearly got into a nearby field full of sheep, it was only exH's super speedy reaction (jumping on top of the dog!) that saved him from potentially being shot. We'd have been devastated but would have accepted the fault as our own. But then, we're country folk so have a bit more respect for the way of things than lots on here seem to!

I 100% agree with shooting the dog. I would also support a hefty fine for the owner as it's their fault both the sheep and dog are dead!!

Call me a cunt all you like - if you walk your dog on other people's land keep it on a lead.

This is a frequent problem for us, I've posted about it on mumsnet before. Nearly every part of our land has footpaths across it and we also farm on open moorland. We occasionally get informed about dogs chasing sheep, the amount of times it happens we probably don't know about doesn't bear thinking about.

I've lost count of the number of sheep and lambs we have lost to dog attacks over the years. One particularly horrid year we lost over 20 in one night to one dog.

Sometimes we have a perfectly healthy sheep dead in a field for no apparent reason, sometimes we suspect have they been chased to death.

We have signs everywhere asking that dogs are on leads at all times. It's still our private land even if there is a right of access across it via a footpath. Hardly anyone puts dogs on a lead until they reach the bit of footpath passing through the farmyard.

It's also the law that dogs should be kept on the lead at all times between March and July (groundnesting bird season) on the moorland. That's probably respected by 1 in 10 dog walkers, and that's being generous.

If you approach them to point it out you get told 'they aren't doing any harm' as their dog bounds around thick moorland heather and rushes where the birds are trying to nest. Or they apologise and put the dog on lead until they think you are out of sight.

I bet there's many 'good' dog owners that have posted on here that are oblivious to the law around dogs and ground nesting birds and think it's absolutely fine to let their dog run off lead on open land as long as they can't see any sheep?

I live rurally and in the spring the fields are full of ewes and new born lambs, gorgeous to look at. The local paper is always highlighting that dog walkers should stay well away from the fields in the months before the lambs come. Sheep worrying is a horrible, horrible thing with terrible outcomes - miscarrying lambs, sheep mauled. We have had a few instances of the farmer shooting dogs and the rural community completely understands the necessity. City visitors, not so much.

the rural community completely understands the necessity

Sadly some of the worst offenders are those in the village that consider themselves part of the rural community and therefore allowed to do as they please. Weirdly they are also the ones that shout the loudest about city visitors being the problem.