My dog has just done the worst thing

[93sdb]

Hes just chased a sheep into a pond in the snow. Im heartbroken.

When he was younger he chased sheep before and he has ALWAYS been on a lead since then. Sheep or not.

We were walking down a field a walk through daily that has never had sheep in in the 20 years I've lived here. He was on his extendable lead and it was on loose but he was right next to me. I opened the gate to go through and felt him pull on the lead. Saw the sheep and put the clip on so he couldn't get any closer and the lead snapped. He chased the sheep and would not come back. One jumped into a pond and I finally got him back.

Another girl from the house nearby helped me get the sheep out but it went into shock but was still breathing. I put my coat around it and sat with her whilst she called the farmer and another lad came over and said the farmer was going to be furious as this had happened earlier this morning. I gave them my number said I would pay any vet bills etc and left it with my coat wrapped around it.

The farmer has just called and spoken to my dad as I was too upset. He's shouted at my dad (understandably) and is threatening to get the police involved and wants immediate compensation and threatened to come and shoot my dog. The sheep is alive and is warming back up in this man's house and is expected to make a full recovery and I am going to walk up there later (WITHOUT THE DOG) to check on it.

I just wanted somewhere to write and be devestated. Im upset how the farmer spoke to my dad as it was a complete and utter accident but I understand his frustration. I wouldn't of even walked in the field with my dog if I had any clue there was going to be sheep in there. He hasn't got excited around them since the first time but I would never risk it.

@sunflowersandbuttercups

This. Absolutely agree - threatening other people/their dogs (as 'revenge' for an accident) is not on, it's violent and unacceptable.

If the farmer had caught the dog in action, he would have had the right to shoot and kill.

Farmers are well within their rights to shoot dogs "at large" amongst their livestock.

Yes to shoot a dog "at large amongst livestock".. Not to threaten to come and shoot it after the fact in revenge

First is fine, the second definitely isn't. It is the difference between hurting someone in self defense who is attacking

@Scrowy

Well said, all of it.

Is it just me or is the 'sheep taking a liking to OP's coat' most likely the farmer's passive aggressive way of trying to inconvenience OP by not giving it back? I don't know much about sheep, but that stood out as seeming utterly ridiculous to me. They're not like puppies. Are they?

( Posted too soon) ... You and chasing after your attacker when they have left with the intent of hurting them in revenge

Sheep fleeces are virtually worthless. We got £131 this year for the total fleeces from all our 900 sheep, that's not profit after shearing costs that what we got before we took any costs off. Why would shearers injure or half kill a valuable breeding animal to get a virtually worthless fleece from it?
I did want to respond to the BS about sheep being 'maimed' during shearing, but I wasn't well up on the price of wool.

I've seen shearing. DH's chin looks worse after a close shave than those sheep looked when they shook themselves down, found their lambs and went back to grazing.

The farmer wants to shoot your dog because he cares about his sheep so much he is going to slaughter them for meat later

If your dog was off a lead in a field with livestock in then this was not an accident, you are one of dozens of irresponsible dog owners who have caused massive distress, death of animals and financial loss to famers this winter because you are not in control of your dog.
Dogs should be licenced, have madatory microchips and be banned from farmland.

[quote Eckhart]@Scrowy

Well said, all of it.

Is it just me or is the 'sheep taking a liking to OP's coat' most likely the farmer's passive aggressive way of trying to inconvenience OP by not giving it back? I don't know much about sheep, but that stood out as seeming utterly ridiculous to me. They're not like puppies. Are they?[/quote]
People put special wee coats on lambs when it's very cold. Grown sheep have thick fleeces and don't need coats.

@truthisalie

The farmer wants to shoot your dog because he cares about his sheep so much he is going to slaughter them for meat later

It isn't in any way inconsistent to want your sheep to lead a stress free life.

Understandable that the farmer would be upset, but threatening to shoot a dog he's never had a problem with before was going too far. I'd go out of my way to avoid that man from now on, and I'd remember that he probably has anger problems.

I have sympathy for the sheep, of course, but the dog was being a dog. The farmer, however, is an adult human who needs to learn to control his temper. He should be ashamed.

The farmer has every right to shoot your dog if it worries his sheep, so getting arsey and threatening to report him won’t do you any favours. It might well just be money to him, but that’s a moot point.

He threatened to shoot the dog well after the incident had occurred, whilst on the phone to OPs dad. So no, he has no fucking right to do that and I would absolutely report him. So do one with your fucking ‘moot point’. HTH.

People are getting confused between the right to shoot a dog AT THE TIME it is worrying livestock, and what happened here....the farmer MUCH LATER on the phone threatened to HUNT DOWN THE OPs ADDRESS AND COME SND SHOOT THE DOG....which clearly is threatening and intimidating behaviour. No doubt it was said in anger and not intended, but who could be sure....people cannot make such threats no matter what has happened to them.

I think we all agree that what happened to the sheep was terrible.
I think we agree the farmer had a right to be angry.
But people are confused about the shooting part. It is only allowed at the time of the incident. It would be fine to later mention to Op that her dog could have been shot, but it it totally different to be threatening to find out where she lives, and come round armed with a shot gun to shoot the dog. The latter is a terrifying thought and not acceptable no matter what had happened.

Wow there are some vicious tongues on this thread!

OP clearly cares about what happened. I expect plenty of others would not have been half as bothered.

@truthisalie

The farmer wants to shoot your dog because he cares about his sheep so much he is going to slaughter them for meat later

It's perfectly possible to try and be the very best custodian you can be of your livestock and your land in order to ensure that you give every animal in your care the best possible life before they go to slaughter.

Stressed, neglected, unhealthy animals don't make money. If anyone wants to make money then they should not go into farming.

Anyone who thinks that working 7 days a week 365 days a year in all weathers and if in lambing time often for 18 hours a day so on a rate of about 80p an hour is just in it for the money is deluded.

But you can see why the loss or injury of each and every animal really hurts farmers when you really break it down into those kind of figures...

The idea that we don't care for our animals is ludicrous.

🙄

It's a farmer's right to shoot a dog worrying sheep. I grew up on a farm (with several dogs) and it's about the first rule of the countryside not to let your dogs worry sheep.

I'm not at all surprised the farmer is angry.

@Gindrinker43

If your dog was off a lead in a field with livestock in then this was not an accident, you are one of dozens of irresponsible dog owners who have caused massive distress, death of animals and financial loss to famers this winter because you are not in control of your dog. Dogs should be licenced, have madatory microchips and be banned from farmland.

Annnddd someone didn’t read the OP or any of the subsequent posts... 🙄

Literallynoidea

Maybe read the circumstances in which the farmer threatened to shoot the dog.

I grew up on a farm (with several dogs) and it's about the first rule of the countryside not to let your dogs worry sheep.

The first rule of mumsnet should be to RTFT.

A friend of mine 5 of her sheep were savaged over night by a dog. 2 sheep were dead and the other three the vet had to operate on.
My sympathy lies with the farmer. It's his livelihood.

RunningFromInsanity its not the first time the dog had done it and it wasn't under control, no recall means it was no accident. Can't recall your dog don't walk near livestaock if there is any chance of it getting away.
We have suffered sheep worrying and constantly dealing with walkers who trespass and dont keep their dogs on a lead so I'm afraid I have zero sympathy

Sorry, but this is totally your fault, and feeling sorry for yourself and being upset at the poor farmer shouting is ridiculous. Your excuse that you had not seen a sheep in the field before !! That’s ok then. The farmer should have checked with you first before he put his own animals on his own land ? Should you have been in the field? As a farmer, I have heard it all. ‘I didn’t realise they would chase them’...’they have never done it before’ and the best ‘you shouldn’t keep the animals in the fields with the river as it’s so pretty’. It’s their land their livelihood. He will care for those animals and be devastated that it has been hurt and distressed. Sheep will die of fright days after the event. The National Farmers Union is working closely with a number of police Forces to take proper action and pressing for convictions. This is a real problem, that is on the increase.

@yohoheaveho

The threat to shoot your dog would make me less likely to listen to him having a go so in a situation where a farmer is threatening to shoot your dog for worrying livestock you'd put your hands over your ears and walk off muttering 'how dare he, it's not as if my dog was trying to kill a child'

Don't be ridiculous. That is not what I said and you know if. The farmer was threatening to shoot the dog after it was away from the sheep. I wouldn't listen to his shit then.

My sympathy lies with the farmer. It's his livelihood.

Most of my sympathies lie with all the sheep, the one in OPs post and the ones in yours. I also feel for the OP who did everything she could and has been threatened. Zero sympathy left for a violent thug who threatened to shoot a dog way after the incident happened. It’s quite worrying that he has access to a gun when he’s so unstable. I couldn’t give a shit that it’s his livelihood, he acted badly, and if you listen to the farmers on here, they barely make a living and do it all for the love of the animals anyway. 🤔

Farmer is permitted to request the dog is put down at a later date as a danger to livestock, it doesn’t need to be in the heat of the moment. Speaking from our local vet experience.

No matter how well trained your dog is, it’s instinct is to chase prey. No amount of training can stop that for definite. Sheep can be killed by exhaustion (chasing short distance) and dogs ravaging them, dogs don’t even kill quickly.

In our area sheep last year were killed having their noses bitten off raw and ears ripped off, gashes to neck, being chased off fell side, exhaustion from chasing across fields. Lambs are even more vulnerable and three were taken - one by a dog that just grabbed at its stomach. Died hours later.

If you’re in a field - full stop - assume it has livestock in. Very rare for farmers to keep fields empty (unless pure crop part of country). Same on fells and moors. Our neighbour had to shoot a dog and pained him to do so, but rather that than sheep being attacked. Saw one attack myself, was like pit fighting and horrifying. No animal should be treated like that, at least slaughterhouses are quicker.

To anyone saying “oh farmers send the sheep off to slaughter anyway”, you’ve never seen a dog messily rip a sheep to bits. They die slowly in pieces.

@DevonTF how is feeling bad about an awful event ridiculous? OP has owned the fact she was at fault, even though it was an accident. She done her level best in the aftermath.

Many others would have just left the poor sheep to drown and fled. Instead OP did everything she could.

Well if it happened twice in one day, arguably the farmer should learn from this that putting sheep in a field that had never had sheep in it before requires signage up to warn unsuspecting dog owners. well it was his field!