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..

why should your dog be off lead in someone else's property.
you have the right to walk through it, but that's all.
other people also have the same right.
they dont want to be worried by a loose dog.
the sense of entitlement by some dog owners to make everywhere their playground is baffling.

@mudstuck

But its nesting season. What is it you dont understand here?

This has nothing to do with pheasants or livestock or farmers. Its nesting season. By law, your dog needs to be on a lead.

Many dog owners dont know that because they dont take the time to learn what their responsibilities are. You have now found out, but you're tailing banging on about being told to leash your dog.

What is it you dont understand?

Now to the more general point. We enjoyed great freedoms in scotland. In return, we need to show responsibility. When you're crossing farmland, stick the lead on the dog.

[quote mudstuck]@CuriousaboutSamphire

That would be something you have asserted rather than something someone else has said though!

Do I really need to rifle through the thread and quote all the people who have said my dog could be shot with no consequence to the farmer? Please read the sodding thread! [/quote]
Paraphrase all you like. That wasn't what anyone but you have said.

Just have some respect and keep the dog on a chuffin lead. Problem solved.

🙄

@Reinventinganna

Dear lord. Are you drunk?

OP, dogs should never be off leash anywhere except your own private property or a dog park. It's not about what animal is wild or not, it's about right and wrong. No one should be out with a dog unless it's on leash. I have to admit it never occurred to me before now that it was common anywhere for dogs to be off leash. I thought it was just taken as read that a dog is never allowed anywhere without a leash on. I am stunned that people even think it's ok. It's never ok to have a dog leave your property without a leash on!

A farmer can shoot trespassers, human and dogs. Put your dog on a lead

@CokeDrinker Access to land in Scotland is a very political issue driven by the feudal nature of landownership.

There are huge tracks of lands owned by a few wealthy people often with hereditary titles where limited animals grouse or sheep etc are kept.

Often this land had historically been forcibly cleared of people.

This led to push to open up the land to more public access, which happened with what's colloquially known as right to roam.

OP should still have had her dog on a leash during nesting season.

How do you know it's an empty field? Livestock don't stand in the middle waving flags.

@LunaLula83

Farmers cannot shoot people.

In Scotland, there is no tresspass so they doubly cannot shoot people.

A farmer can shoot trespassers, human and dogs. Put your dog on a lead

She was in a field in Scotland she wasn't trespassing.

Her dog should have been on lead as it is nesting season.

'My neighbours two cats were shot by the local farmer as they were continually killing young pheasants.'

That is awful. Protect the pheasants so twats can shoot them, lovely.

Op. Of course if there are livestock around you'd keep it on its lead, I guess you get jobsworth farmers as we get jobsworths in every other walk of life.

@CokeDrinker

OP, dogs should never be off leash anywhere except your own private property or a dog park. It's not about what animal is wild or not, it's about right and wrong. No one should be out with a dog unless it's on leash. I have to admit it never occurred to me before now that it was common anywhere for dogs to be off leash. I thought it was just taken as read that a dog is never allowed anywhere without a leash on. I am stunned that people even think it's ok. It's never ok to have a dog leave your property without a leash on!

That's just not how the real world works I'm afraid. Go to any park and beach and you will see.

@CokeDrinker

OP, dogs should never be off leash anywhere except your own private property or a dog park. It's not about what animal is wild or not, it's about right and wrong. No one should be out with a dog unless it's on leash. I have to admit it never occurred to me before now that it was common anywhere for dogs to be off leash. I thought it was just taken as read that a dog is never allowed anywhere without a leash on. I am stunned that people even think it's ok. It's never ok to have a dog leave your property without a leash on!

See no. This I do not agree with. My dog goes off lead everyday. He has great recall though and I don't let him off where he isn't allowed, or where there are ground nesting birds he could disturb.

If cokedrinker is from the USA she may not realize that off leash dogs in the UK are very normal.
They are much less normal in the bit of the USA I'm currently living in.

@mudstuck Not where I am. Any dog must be on a leash at all times or the owner is fined and any dog roaming is picked up and taken to the pound and put down if not collected within 3 days.

If your dog attacked/killed a child, I hope you would be charged with Manslaughter. Unfortunately it is irresponsible owners like yourself that give dogs a bad name.

[quote CokeDrinker]@mudstuck Not where I am. Any dog must be on a leash at all times or the owner is fined and any dog roaming is picked up and taken to the pound and put down if not collected within 3 days.

If your dog attacked/killed a child, I hope you would be charged with Manslaughter. Unfortunately it is irresponsible owners like yourself that give dogs a bad name.[/quote]
Where are you?!

'The first time I met my farm neighbour he said "Good to see your dog is on a lead. Because the farmers here all operate a policy called shoot, shovel and shut up. Stray dogs disappear without a trace."

themalamander That is not true, there ARE trespass laws in Scotland. For instance, you have the right of access through my fields but not on my yard.

www.thompsons-scotland.co.uk/blog/33-main/2527-are-there-really-no-trespassing-laws-in-scotland#:~:text=It%20is%20an%20oft%2Drepeated,delict%20in%20Scots%20legal%20terminology.&text=This%20Act%20provides%20the%20public,Scotland%20in%20a%20responsible%20manner.

@LST Forget about the birds, what about children? Human beings? The elderly?

What are people obsessed about birds for? If your dog mauls or kills a child, you will be held liable. Birds are in trees, so I don't know why they are being brought into it, unless you are referring to chickens, turkey, pheasants etc.

twitter.com/FarmersGuardian/status/1386702258369347586
James Haskell did exactly the same as you OP. He let his dog off the lead and the farmer told him off. He posted on Twitter about it and verbally abused lots of female farmers.

"The person who said bird die very easily from stress caused by dogs, what do you think happens when shooting season comes round? It's all the same to the poor birds."

I said it and I will explain it again as you are obviously a bit hard of understanding. Someone bought those pheasant poults. Someone paid for and built release pens for them. Someone fed and watered them. This is how they make a living. Can you explain why your sense of entitlement makes you think that you can trample over their livelihood with your 'special dog'? If, as your response implies, you disagree with shooting you need to start a campaign against it but since you also failed to address my point about you and your dog trampling about wherever you please risking the deaths of ground nesting birds I find it hard to believe that you care about wildlife or animals at all, apart from your own that is. You come across as an extremely blinkered individual who knows their rights but none of their responsibilities.

I did actually ask if you were pro cruelty towards animals. I think your lack of a response (don't think we've not noticed you answering specific and tiny bits of the questions you've been asked and making sh!t up to justify your actions) tells me all I need to know. Maybe you should watch a bit more CountryFile or check out the work of David Attenborough if you genuinely don't understand how the actions of mankind impact on the planet.

@CokeDrinker There are dangerous dog laws in the UK but most of the risk comes from being knocked over by a badly trained bouncy lab in the park.

@LST Australia. Here any dog that roams is taken to the pound. And you cannot walk on 'fields' or whatever that is without permission from the owner.

I can’t believe you’re even asking. For goodness sake be a responsible dog owner and get the bloody thing on a lead