@vivainsomnia
Ha, it was time for another let's make generalisations about all dogs threads and nothing but the lead is acceptable.
I have a very small but quite fast running dog. We trained him from the time he was 8 weeks old, on a pouch, that approaching sheep was not acceptable. He is brilliant and can walk next to them and not be bothered. If anything, he's scared of them at times as they can be a intimidating when standing on paths.
We passed the farmers regularly as we often walk later in the day when they are out to look after them. Not once have we been told to put our dog on a lead. I expect because of his size and observation that he is not interested.
I am not saying that dogs should be left to run after sheep freely, or course, but let's stop the 'all dogs should be on the lead in the countryside because all dogs are dangerous to wild life' preaching.
By the way, there's also the whole conversation about poo being left behind and killing sheep. It made me smile when the other day, the farmer's dog did a big poo in front of him and he certainly didn't bother to pick it up, just called his dog over and off they went on the tractor!
Let's stop the 'all dogs should be on the lead in the countryside because all dogs are dangerous to wild life' preaching
It's not preaching or an unfair generalisation by any stretch. It's the legal position in that farmers / landowners have the right to shoot any dog deemed out of control and worrying livestock. Just being off-lead can technically be considered not under control. It's not a case of unfairly labelling or assuming every dog is going to go on the rampage. It's more a case of making people aware that if shit hits the fan and your dog ends up meeting the business end of a shotgun it's your fault.
The owner of dog shot dead by a farmer we know well went to the National rags, posted all over social media and was calling for him to be prosecuted for animal cruelty. Same old same old she insisted the dog was just "playing" and not being aggressive despite several sheep dying and despite a warning shot and two body shots it took to bring the dog down.
Farmer was devastated and said "Owners hadn't any control over it they shouted and yelled and jumped about and it couldn't care a sod. I fired a warning shot first and it didn't even flinch so I had to fire at it. Second shot was in its side and barely broke its stride it stumbled a bit but got up again and the third shot - another in the side brought it down"
Even if he were just playing and if the farmer hadn't bothered to fire a warning first, he was still within his rights and the sad thing is it's always the livestock and dogs that pay for the stupidity of owners.
Re: dog poo on farmland and the health risks. The farmer you saw allowing his dog to take a shit and not pick up after him is his right - it's his land. He could take a shit on there himself if he feels like it but when dogs belonging to members of the public are leaving small presents, they aren't necessarily up to date with vaccinations and treatment. It's the untreated / unvaccinated dog shit that causes such serious health risks and can be fatal to livestock.
We passed the farmers regularly as we often walk later in the day when they are out to look after them. Not once have we been told to put our dog on a lead. I expect because of his size and observation that he is not interested
I'm assuming therefore you are aware that the dog should strictly speaking be on a lead and waited to see what the farmer said or did about yours. They might be less concerned because of his disinterest in the sheep but making a habit of just sticking a lead of for the short distance is a case of common courtesy, decency and respect for their land. If nothing else you can encourage other people to think it's OK for them to do the same. I have border collies and sheepdogs that are trained and one that came to us as a non-worker from a farm and couldn't give a shiny shit about sheep.
Even still the dogs stop at each gate and stile knowing when we're at a certain point or field they have to wait and have a lead clipped on before passing through. The dogs are more courteous than most people. It's not a lot to ask or hard to get into the habit and it makes a huge difference whether it seems obvious or otherwise.