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.

@AgentProvocateur

If you do go to visit, take your dad with you in case the man is nasty again and tries to force you into handing over money he isn’t entitled to

Seriously? Presumably the OP is a grown woman who is perfectly capable of handling situations without her dad

angry men don’t tend to be as angry with men as they are with women

It all sounds like a really unfortunate accident and a horrific experience, OP. You did all you could after the incident but give the farmer some leeway right now. Imagine if your dog had been attacked by another dog - you'd still be annoyed and upset even if it had been on a lead that snapped and probably not ready to see things calmly for a while.

I'd report the farmer to the police for threatening to shoot your dog

He is within his rights to do so.

He is not within his rights to "come and shoot (the) dog" at all. He can shoot a dog that is worrying sheep, he can't go to someone's house with a gun and shoot the dog. 🙄

@Savethewhales

As far as I was aware the farmer has the right to shoot any animals that put his livestock at risk if on his land. That's his livelihood people fgs... Why are people walking through fields for anyway, its private land. And for people saying the farmer was rude, wouldn't you all equally be rude if dog walkers walked through your garden, I'll bet you all would be livid. The lesson here is just because you can doesn't mean you should

There’s a public footpath running through his field, so people are entitled to walk on it. He can be a livid as he likes.

You were on someone else’s property with your dog. Why would you do that?

There is a difference to a farmer having a right to shoot a dog who is worrying his livestock and threatening to hunt down where someone lives and come round at an unspecified time and shoot the dog there.

Just imagine the latter, which is what Op says he said to her father.

Imagine an angry farmer having found out where you live (when you haven't told him) and arriving at a random unspecified time with a shotgun to shoot the dog in your house. This would be totally illegal and a serious crime and threatening it isn't acceptable too.

People need to understand what he actually said...it's the part about hunting down your house and coming round that is the totally unacceptable part.

None if this excuses what the OP's dog did or means the farmer shouldn't have been angry, or even shouted or mentioned the legal right to shoot a worrying dog........but he went too far with what he said.

Isn't it possible to agree that both the dog and Op were in the wrong AND the threat he made on the phone was unacceptable too??

Savethewhales private land can have public rights of way running through them and no, a farmer cannot shoot a dog after an incident. During yes.

@Esspee

You were on someone else’s property with your dog. Why would you do that?

Do you not understand what a public footpath is?

[quote thosetalesofunexpected]@93sdb

I feel sorry for the sheep who must have terrified, why on earth do you carry on using extendable lead that is so loose that you can not control at all.?

My friend was telling how sheep pregnant with unborn Lambs end up having spontenious still born (giving birth to dead baby lambs or having a miscarriage Cause of the shock of being Terrified/shocked of dogs or being attacked by dogs.

The farmer is within his rights to ask for Compensation and to shoot dogs who injury or kill his sheep.[/quote]
If you read, as soon as she felt him pull, she locked the lead, and it snapped.

Why would she have it on the lock when in the previous 20 years there's never been sheep in that field?

@Fuckitsstillraining

Why are you walking in a field not belonging to you? I'd be bloody furious if you did that on my land. No excuses at this time of the year, you can cost a farmer thousands just by shocking a flock. I love my dogs but never ever ever walk them on private land. You cannot apologise enough to that farmer, if you think you've had a shit day think about him, an animal he has raised and protected has been terrorised by your dog.

You do realise that plenty of farm fields have public footpaths running through them, right?? Including some that contain livestock. You don't have to own the field to be allowed to walk through it, though you must follow the countryside code, which is common sense - close gates, stick to the footpath and have dogs on a lead.

OP, I think you did your best and the fact that you did what you could afterwards and remain horrified by what happened shows that you are a responsible dog owner. A lead snapping at a critical point is one of every dog owner's nightmare scenarios. It was certainly one of mine when I had a labrador who was a confirmed puller. I had to regularly inspect for damage and too much wear and tear on his leads.

Leads can and do unfortunately break. For the nylon ones I think it is if they get wet and then dry multiple times it weakens the material and it can tear much more easily. Extendable leads are worse, because a) the force exerted on them when they run to the end and the dog stops with a jerk and b) in wet and damp weather the wet lead is retracted into the enclosed space, so it also never dries properly and is further weakened.

It was an accident and you have learned a lesson.

I see your side and you do get a lot of my sympathy. I also see the farmer's side and he gets some too. There are sheep farmers in my extended family and this sort of thing can be a big problem.

@bitheby

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.

You did everything you could. He is understandably upset but the sheep didn't die; you didn't leave it to die and you could've done. Hopefully he'll learn from this too.

If it was the farmers field then it's irrelevant whether he normally pits sheep in their or not; or whether anyone sees sheep in the field. It's the farmers field! You don't need to put up a sign to tell dog owners that - assuming they even have the right to walk in the field - they need to control their dog on other peoples property. He has nothing to learn.

OP, it's horrible this happened and it wasn't something you might have foreseen. I was a genuine accident, and you did the best you could. Equally, the farmer has cause to be angry - unfortunately he's probably heard "the lead snapped" or something similar dozens of times. In the summer we have a lot of tourists around here, and you wouldn't believe how many people have excuses for why they and their dog are in the farmers fields when they have no business there - or are using a footpath without having their dog on a lead. Regrettably, people lie, and it's hard for farmers to sort the genuine people from the liars.

Extending leads like this have an unfortunate history of snapping - and bad though this was, such events have led to serious injury to dog and/or owner as a result. I think you would be advised to reconsider this choice of lead anyway. They aren't safe.

Don't know why the farmer is bothered. He's just going to send it to die horrifically in a few months.
As for threatening to shoot your dog. Report him. He sounds like a psychopath. Today your dog. Tomorrow some poor lost rambler.

I do not need to calm down @MrsHusky. You need to think about what the OP just allowed to happen, purely through her own stupidity and sense of entitlement. How would you react if someone walked their dog along the pavement on an inadequate lead and it chased and killed a pet cat? I love my sheep and will continue try educating people like you until it finally sinks in 🤬

@93sdb

Animals get traumatised by bad experiences for e.g like almost drowning
Its not just people who are traumised by bad experiences for ff sake.!😠

This sounds so stressful. Don't beat yourself up about it, you've done what you can to make amends. Wishing you a stress-free evening to recover

Dear God there's some idiots on this thread. Why can't people just read the OP?!! To clarify:

-the lead snapped
-she was walking along a public footpath
-farmers cannot go to peoples homes and shoot dogs that have worried or attacked their sheep.

Even if you are convinced your dog's recall is 99.9% bombproof, you need to have it on a proper lead near livestock.

If it worries sheep, you could cause a whole field to abort.

If it worries cattle, you or the dog could end up dead (a disproportionate number of fatal incidents with cattle involve a dog - www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/sep/23/farmers-union-issues-warning-after-teacher-trampled-to-death-by-cows - in fact, don't walk your dog through a field with cattle on or off lead).

@Esspee

You were on someone else’s property with your dog. Why would you do that?

PUBLIC FOOTPATH!!

The public are allowed to walk through farm fields on PUBLIC FOOTPATHS.

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.

Utter nonsense. The farmer is entitled to keep his livestock in any of his fields. People know they are walking onto a persons land and that it is a farm. Why people walk onto a farmers land I have no idea.

@Bisquiteen

I do not need to calm down *@MrsHusky*. You need to think about what the OP just allowed to happen, purely through her own stupidity and sense of entitlement. How would you react if someone walked their dog along the pavement on an inadequate lead and it chased and killed a pet cat? I love my sheep and will continue try educating people like you until it finally sinks in 🤬

people like me? i live in the country and i've worked on a farm thanks, i've also had a pet cat chased/attacked by someone's dog that snapped a lead.

It happens, its an accident, its upsetting, yes, but the OP apologised, rescued and sat with the sheep until the farmer came, offered to pay for any vets bills and has checked on the sheeps welfare... which is more than i got for my cat.

People are being so harsh on the OP.

It was a complete and utter accident, different if she walked in knowing there was sheep there or walked him through a field with no lead. Accidents happen.

I can completely sympathise with the farmer and totally understand his feelings (personal experience) but this was an accident. It wasn’t some careless idiot just letting their dog do whatever it wanted.

@93sdb - It was an accident, you apologised, you helped the sheep and offered to pay for any vet bills, you didn’t flee the scene and your dog didn’t savagely attack the sheep and the sheep is now ok.

@Bisquiteen - That’s a bit rich coming from a sheep farmer, who sends their animals to have their throat slit for money

@Bisquiteen i'd also love to know how the OP is stupid and entitled for walking a leashed dog down a public right of way?

Your dog is lucky it didn’t get shot. I imagine you won’t be as lucky next time. Don’t let it happen a third time.

Just to clarify.. I understand the extendable lead is the issue. Never, before this conversation, have I heard anyone say that they are dangerous. Lessons learned.

I appreciate those who are associated with or are farmers - you'll have seen this way too many times and I get why you're pissed off. But we were in the snow and they were white and laid down by a wall. As soon as I saw them I reacted. I didn't look for them granted as I was unaware the field had been sold and it was always a summer field for a pony previously. Lesson learned.

But. I feel terrible as it is. I've offered to do everything I possibly can for the sheep. I offered to pay for everything when I was there (vet bills, miscarriage,death). Spoken to the farmer ever since and asked what I can do to help if anything. Im heartbroken by it and feel so guilty. I know why the farmer was so angry.

But at the end of the day I am only human and can't forsee every event and my dog is an animal. I thought I had done everything possible to avoid that happening with his thick harness, lead, previous training but unfortunately it was not enough and I fucked up. Thankfully the sheep is okay and I will learn from this. The dog will not be going in this field ever ever again. He's also getting a new lead. However as I said, I tried my absolute best to do the right thing.