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..

If your dog is good at walking to heel, it's not really that much of a hardship to put it on a lead is it? Especially as the OP said it would probably chase a pheasant.

@JaniieJones

Tbh coke I am very responsible and my dog is on the lead a lot, except when well away from other people (and farmers).

However I can't get wound up about someone whose well controlled dog is walking to heel.

The point is there is no such thing as a dog that is 100% walking to heel. The risk is far too great. They are unpredictable animals. Why take that chance?

Ok so if your dog is not on a lead how are you going to prove it was not Worrying livestock even if it wasn’t it’s just best for all involved and to keep everyone and thing safe

[quote Wombatt]@CokeDrinker Well if you inserted velociraptor in for dog you'd have a point otherwise it's nuts. If you take the hatred you clearly feel for dogs out of it and look at risk perspective then you'd need to outlaw a whole lot of things - starting with the car you drive! [/quote]
Velociraptor? Cars? I think this is really nuts, I agree. None of what you said makes sense. And being a responsible citizen that knows no dog should ever be in public without on a leash does not make me a hater of dogs, but...whatever excuse and deflection you need.

@cokedrinker what chance? I dont have my dog in any situation where they are going to bite or maim any kids or elderly people. He isn't interested even if he was in a field full of them! The only time he is off lead around more than people we know is when we go camping to a place where your dogs are allowed off and kids come and ask if they can play football with him if they see him playing with our kids.

I don’t agree that off lead dogs are a hazard to people-don’t think that point is relevant here. There are millions of dogs in the UK and dog attacks on people are incredibly rare even though many are out of control a lot. The vast majority of dogs in the UK never show aggression to people. However many lovely dogs do chase/could and do kill wildlife so should be on lead in some areas to protect wildlife and livestock

I had to have 2 sheep destroyed 10 days ago. A third has survived. 2 local dogs got into the fields and went to town. And once they start running, it's unstoppable.

Thankfully the mums and lambs were elsewhere.

We've only a small flock. I'm as fond of my sheep as I am my dogs. And the sheep have better recall.

[quote Wombatt]@CokeDrinker Well if you inserted velociraptor in for dog you'd have a point otherwise it's nuts. If you take the hatred you clearly feel for dogs out of it and look at risk perspective then you'd need to outlaw a whole lot of things - starting with the car you drive! [/quote]
Or this!

@CokeDrinker do you live in a country where dogs are largely kept as guard dogs not pets? You’re attitude is largely unheard of in the UK where most dogs are small companion animals and no danger to the public even if out of control. I still think dogs should be under control (excellent recall or lead) at all times, and on lead on farm land/countryside in March-sept. This is to obey laws and protect other animals and avoid annoying/upsetting people though, not to protect humans from attack.

[quote LeopardSheet]@CokeDrinker do you live in a country where dogs are largely kept as guard dogs not pets? You’re attitude is largely unheard of in the UK where most dogs are small companion animals and no danger to the public even if out of control. I still think dogs should be under control (excellent recall or lead) at all times, and on lead on farm land/countryside in March-sept. This is to obey laws and protect other animals and avoid annoying/upsetting people though, not to protect humans from attack.[/quote]
I think there are just gazillions of cujo like dogs roaming road Australia! Ready to attack children and elderly people on sight

[quote LeopardSheet]@CokeDrinker do you live in a country where dogs are largely kept as guard dogs not pets? You’re attitude is largely unheard of in the UK where most dogs are small companion animals and no danger to the public even if out of control. I still think dogs should be under control (excellent recall or lead) at all times, and on lead on farm land/countryside in March-sept. This is to obey laws and protect other animals and avoid annoying/upsetting people though, not to protect humans from attack.[/quote]
You clearly don't think pets are instinctive animals that operate on instinct.

No danger to the public even if out of control? Even if out of control??? Are you really this dislocated from reality? Ever been to an A and E and seen the injuries an out of control dog can do to a toddler or child? If my attitude of responsible pet ownership is 'unheard of in the UK', then I am very glad I do not live in the UK.

I think dogs do operate on instinct but dogs don’t have the instinct to attack humans. Dogs are not natural predators of humans we have been coexisting together for thousands of years and humans have selectively bred dogs to be our companions and have instincts/behaviours that benefit us. Aggression towards humans away from the home isn’t a beneficial trait so is rare. Dog attacks do happen, but they are rare-it’s not the case that every family pet will attack people if let off the lead.
I’m not dislocated from reality-I see out of control dogs every day and they tend to be small fluffy things running around saying hello to people which isn’t good manners but is definitely not dangerous.

Leopard the U.K. law would disagree with you. If someone is frightened by your dog running over to say hi then the law deems it a danger. They have to just say they felt there was a risk. A scratch? A child being knocked over? Maybe they’re allergic?
Dogs should be under control when in public. It’s the law. Not just big dogs.

Lots of things we do everyday can lead to injury @CokeDrinker. A&E is full of them. We make laws around risk. You can't take all risk out of life. Horse riding has huge risks as do trampolines. Life is a balance and off leash dogs are not one of life's great bloody dangers. The only reason you'd ever make a law requiring all dogs to be on lead would be if you truly didn't understand risk management or you flat out hate dogs.

@Wallywobbles

I had to have 2 sheep destroyed 10 days ago. A third has survived. 2 local dogs got into the fields and went to town. And once they start running, it's unstoppable.

Thankfully the mums and lambs were elsewhere.

We've only a small flock. I'm as fond of my sheep as I am my dogs. And the sheep have better recall.

I'm really sorry to hear that :( I'm also sorry that there are a lot of idiots, and not just the ones on this thread, who will swear until they are blue in the face that their dog would never do that... until it does, and even then they'll still be denying it has happened.

@LeopardSheet

I’m happy to eat grass fed meat, but I think even grass fed meat has a higher carbon footprint than nearly all plant based foods, and grass fed livestock is a small minority of the meat industry, so in general vegan diets are more sustainable. I’m definitely not an expert though. I also saw something interesting about how it would be better for UK wildlife/sustainability/diversity if most upland sheep farms were rewilded and the land owners paid higher subsidies for this as sheep farming is not very profitable/relies on subsidies anyway and leads to low biodiversity. Feel free to research this if anyone’s interested-it may not be true but I thought it was interesting.

Sources?

[quote LeopardSheet]@CokeDrinker do you live in a country where dogs are largely kept as guard dogs not pets? You’re attitude is largely unheard of in the UK where most dogs are small companion animals and no danger to the public even if out of control. I still think dogs should be under control (excellent recall or lead) at all times, and on lead on farm land/countryside in March-sept. This is to obey laws and protect other animals and avoid annoying/upsetting people though, not to protect humans from attack.[/quote]
I wouldn't equate size with danger tbh. Worst injuries I've received from dogs were from a miniature yorkie and a chihuahua (needed hospital treatment & stitches for that one). Also had run ins with miniature poodles & a daschund.

Just about all terrier type breeds can be snappy and bite, and possibly the worst breed I know for trying to bite people is the JRT.

Bear in mind that I've had a fair bit to do with dogs of all sizes over the years, and the majority of them seem to get on with me pretty well.

Your poor dog....
Why would you risk it? Just keep your dog on the lead.
Entitled....

@Wolfiefan

Leopard the U.K. law would disagree with you. If someone is frightened by your dog running over to say hi then the law deems it a danger. They have to just say they felt there was a risk. A scratch? A child being knocked over? Maybe they’re allergic? Dogs should be under control when in public. It’s the law. Not just big dogs.

I agree that all dogs should be under control in public. My point was that if you go to any busy park you will likely see many out of control dogs running around and approaching people and the vast majority of these dogs are not behaving aggressively and won’t ‘maul’ a person on instinct like coke appears to think. I think it’s annoying and rude that friendly dogs approach people but I don’t agree that it’s dangerous/humans are likely to get attacked. I know that technically these dogs are dangerously out of control under the dangerous dogs act if someone is scared, but practically this law is almost never enforced. I doubt anyone has ever been prosecuted because their friendly dog approached someone in the park. I’m not saying it’s right-i said in my previous post that dogs should be on leads to obey laws and protect animals and to prevent them annoying members of the public.

It means gun crazed farmers aren't allowed to shoot dogs that are close at heel.

This is embroidering the truth to the point of deliberate falsehood @JaniieJones. The farmer in the OP simply asked that the poster put her dog on the lead: complained that he had seen my dog off the lead

The poster then came here and suggested that the farmer didn't have the right to ask her to do that.

Various bits of legislation (you know, actual laws) have been quoted to suggest to the OP that the farmer was within both the spirit and the letter of the law of Scotland.

You live in Scotland, and you're not aware that pheasants are livestock?

@Barbie222

You live in Scotland, and you're not aware that pheasants are livestock?

It really is beyond belief

He does not know what your dog is like though, or any other dogs.

Keep your dog on a lead when on farmland. Surely that is common sense.

@JellyBabiesFan

He does not know what your dog is like though, or any other dogs.

Keep your dog on a lead when on farmland. Surely that is common sense.

Common sense is anything but common these days, along with common courtesy. Being 'right' is more important to many people, especially when they are talking through their ar$es 🙄

I have three dogs, two are arseholes and one is an angel. They ALL go on leads through fields where there might be livestock/birds. It's not a big deal, they've never complained.