Told by the farmer to keep dog on a lead?

[mudstuck]

I was walking my dog through a field and the farmer came up on his tractor and complained that he had seen my dog off the lead. There are no sheep or livestock around, and I would always always put her on a lead if I there was any chance of encountering any livestock.I did raise the fact that the field was empty with him and he said there are young pheasants going about... I apologised and agreed to keep her on a lead in future. However on reflection I am wondering if he is in the right to ask that of us? My dog doesn't have a very high prey drive at all and lives happily with three house cats. I don't allow her to chase wildlife although her recall, even though it's good, is not 100% and we have had the very occasional chase of a squirrel or deer. She probably would chase a pheasant if she saw one running away but she would never catch it. What do you think? Like I said I am happy to keep her on a lead just for an easy life. I live close to the farmer and don't want the trouble/conflict. Just wondering who is in the right..

Dear lord. Are you drunk?

A dog was shot a few years ago near to us when it got into a pheasant pen and couldn’t be caught. There were news stories about it. Absolute nightmare for the poor owner who saw it all but couldn’t get their dog back. If the farmer has spoken to you, it’s not worth the risk IMO.

It's the farmer's land, presumably? So you should do as he has asked you.

He is. Keep your predator under full control. Too late when it's torn a sheep's throat out.

You do as the farmer says and don't do that again.

Do you want your dog shot? You got a fair warning.

@Reinventinganna

Dear lord. Are you drunk?

No. Please elaborate.

Please have a look at thechiefshepherdess on Instagram to understand what impact dogs off lead can have on wildlife.

She has had lambs and sheep killed by dogs with apparently no prey drive.

Please respect what the farmer has politely asked.

You were on his land I presume? Yabu

100% he is right.
Basic etiquette on farmland.
You had no idea about the pheasants, so might not havelnown of other livestock.
Also, most owners, when their loose dog has attacked a farm animal say that it has never done anything like that before. You just don't know, and the farmer certainly doesn't know.
Dog on lead on farmland.

@JackieLavertysWeirdVoice
Can the farmer shoot my dog for being off her lead? I know they can shoot a dog if it's worrying their sheep, or livestock but not for simply being off lead with their owner in sight surely?

I think it's fair enough thinking it's an empty field and having your dog off lead but now the farmer has explained about the pheasants then you need to do as you've been asked. Pheasants are livestock too, they provide an income via organised shoots.

Happy for farmer to shoot it?

It’s bird nesting season, including ground birds. Keep your dog on a lead.

they are 100% in the right, you are also lucky he is happy for you to walk across his land. it is private property

You do as you were asked by the person who was working (and mostly likely owns) the land.
You wouldn't let your dog randomly run round somebody's back garden if you were asked not to so why is someone's workplace/home/livelihood any less important?

How would you feel if someone came traipsing through your place of work with their pet? Then said, well, it will probably behave?

@user1483387154

they are 100% in the right, you are also lucky he is happy for you to walk across his land. it is private property

It's in Scotland so we have public right of way and access laws..

[quote mudstuck]@JackieLavertysWeirdVoice
Can the farmer shoot my dog for being off her lead? I know they can shoot a dog if it's worrying their sheep, or livestock but not for simply being off lead with their owner in sight surely? [/quote]
Dog has to be worrying livestock, not just off a lead. But you just said your dog would chase a pheasant so the farmer could shoot it then.

Of course the farmer is in the right! Regardless of whether or not there is livestock in his fields it is still his land, just because it is agricultural doesn't mean it is a free for all to allow dogs to run free - that is NO different to allowing your dog to run free in someone else's domestic garden.

Added to which, many, many ground nesting birds like skylarks, plovers, pheasant and partridge are either incubating eggs or have young chicks, they are having a hard enough time as it is with predation from the exponentially rising number of badgers hoovering them all up. Add loose dogs into the mix and it is no surprise that many species are now on the cusp of being lost forever.

People like you give dog owners a bad reputation of being entitled and the rules not applying to them.

I bet your the type who would let your dog rush up to a scared child / adult abs state that 'dog is just being friendly- wouldn't hurt a fly'

@CovidCorvid
I honestly didn't know that pheasants were livestock. Whoops. Learn something every day 🙂

Here’s the Countryside Code -

Always keep dogs under control and in sight
The countryside, parks and the coast are great places to exercise your dog but you need to consider other users and wildlife.

Keep your dog under effective control to make sure it stays away from wildlife, livestock, horses and other people unless invited. You should:

always keep your dog on a lead or in sight
be confident your dog will return on command
make sure your dog does not stray from the path or area where you have right of access
Always check local signs as there are situations when you must keep your dog on a lead for all or part of the year. Local areas may also ban dogs completely, except for assistance dogs. Signs will tell you about these local restrictions.

It is good practice wherever you are to keep your dog on a lead around livestock.

On Open Access land and at the coast, you must put your dog on a lead around livestock. Between 1 March and 31 July, you must have your dog on a lead on Open Access land, even if there is no livestock on the land. These are legal requirements.

A farmer can shoot a dog that is attacking or chasing livestock. They may not be liable to compensate the dog’s owner.

Let your dog off the lead if you feel threatened by livestock or horses. Do not risk getting hurt protecting your dog. Releasing your dog will make it easier for you both to reach safety.

His land - his rules ( and he was nice about it)

From a dog owner!

Fair enough. He probably had enough of the "oh he's never done anything like that before", or the my personal favourite "your (inset name of livestock species) must have looked at him the wrong way". Keep your dog on a lead on someone else's land. My own dog got chased by two off lead dogs on my own land a couple a weeks ago, with the trespassing owner brazenly walking through as if she owned the place.

Dogs should be on less from March until the end of July due to ground nesting birds. So he’s right.

Although, I disagree with leaving pheasants alone just for the moment when the farmer is likely to hold a shoot later in the year and send a dog in to flush the pheasants out and for them then to be shot. There could be other ground nesting birds that aren’t there just for a shoot but I would assume he’d just say ground nesting birds rather than pheasants.