This is the UK's leading website for Walking and Hiking
Walking Hiking and Rambling with Dogs
Beyond Belief
Regarding the shooting of dogs.
My first German Shepherd was shot by a farmer 5 years ago for worrying his flock.
My dog had escaped from me and was bounding around in his fields. However, I was
in the field behind her, shouting at the top of my voice and trying my best to catch up with her
- the farmer must have heard me.
He made no attempt to catch or stop my dog, he made no attempt to allow me to catch
my dog. When I arrived she was dead (shot three times) and there wasn't a sheep in sight!
He told me she had been chasing his sheep and therefore he had a right to shoot
her.
I will never know whether she was worrying his livestock.
The dogs I have now, another shepherd and a collie, have been stockbroken - as I
never, ever want to have to go through the heartbreak again.
All dog owners please be aware that farmers can, and will, shoot dogs they feel
are a threat.
Kirsty, Firth
Booklet
Having read the comments relating to dogs, people may find
the following booklet useful: 'You and your dog in the countryside' (published
in 2005). Copies can be obtained from The Countryside Agency (telephone
0845 100 3298) or The Kennel Club.
I turned to look and saw a red rubber ball about the size
of a cricket ball hurtling towards me and flying past my head missing
me by not more than an inch.
In close pursuit of the ball was a golden labrador bounding
down the slope straight at me which I had to move sharply to get out the
way of.
To my left the path dropped away sharply from a height of
about two metres onto the rocky shore of the lake, had either the ball
or dog made contact with me I could easily have been sent head over heels
down this drop and onto the rocks below.
Two fisherman on the shore who saw what happened were completely
gob smacked at what they had just seen.
I looked up to the path above to remonstrate with the people
who's dog it was but they just carried on walking along as if nothing
had happened.
The stupidity and ignorance of some people is beyond belief.
Simon, Preston
Perhaps the dogs were frightened of your poles
Perhaps the dogs you met were frightened of your poles (see
below)?
You will look very aggressive to even a mild dog with a pair of
sticks - four legs at the front? and if you are nervous, innately aggressive
or anticipating a problem a dog will sense that and growl - doesn't mean it's
going to bite you - it's telling you that you are frightening it - just relax
and be friendly to the dog.
Generally dogs like humans and get a real thrill from meeting
new ones.
My Fell Terrier, Millie, is impossible to stop when she sees new
people to meet - in fact she finds humans much easier to deal with than other
dogs (and she is a hard working dog) but this is true for most breeds.
Don't be frightened of dogs, welcome them with a smile.
The only thing is, last year along with my German Shepherd we
came into the possession of a lab puppy.
Well at six months old I decided it was time to do its first walk.
Everything was going well we had just left Grasmere and heading
up to Helm Crag. We had just got into the valley when about 6 people walking
towards us with a rotty and a heinz dog wearing flags over their sacks, frightened
the life out of my young lab.
She slipped her lead and I made a grab but she was off.
All I could think was lambs - sheep - shotguns.
I set off running, who was I kidding trying to catch a scared
dog running and I thought I was never going to see her alive again.
I kept an eye on the rocks and dry ground for about a mile until
I came across 2 people coming towards me.
I asked if they had seen her but they said no so carried on until
I came to the National Trust pasture land outside Grasmere and talked to a group
of 4 and they said they had seen a pup going flat out.
Well 200 yards further on she was sat shaking. This is why I say
sorry to anyone who has lost a dog whilst walking.
Not all loose dogs are at the owners fault. She has not been on
the fells since. Thanks to the group of 6 who were walking on Remembrance Day
with massive St George's flags on there sacks nice people.
Rick
The guy with the German Shepherd
Just because Rover is your best friend doesn't
mean everyone loves him!
I read the Dogged
on Winter Hill article and couldn't help thinking that I knew
exactly how the hikers felt.
I own 3 dogs and like to consider myself a responsible dog owner.
I pick up after my dogs, I don't allow them to run up to other dogs or people,
and I make sure they aren't bothering wildlife.
I encounter unruly Labradors and their even more unruly owners
more often than any other breed of dog. Why is it that Lab owners seem to think
it's OK for their 80lb dog to run up to me or jump on me?
Just because he's friendly doesn't mean that I want his muddy
paws all over me!
Also, how do these stupid owners know that my dogs are "friendly?"
The answer is they don't.
Once when walking around Ardingly reservoir in West Sussex my
female who was recovering from a ligament injury was strolling along sniffing
at the water's edge when a large, un-neutered male Lab came bounding around
the corner.
I immediately grabbed the collars of both my male and female dogs
and made them sit. Then I positioned myself in between the Lab and my dogs.
The Lab owner upon seeing that did what most Lab owners do - NOTHING.
I called out that my male didn't like un-neutered males and could
she please call her dog or there will be a fight.
She calls back "oh he's harmless."
Well that's not the point is it as I just told you my dog isn't
harmless.
Anyway, the woman saunters over while my 2 are sitting being good
and I am holding her dog by it's collar (at considerable risk to me I might
add) so that it cannot (a) fight with my male, or (b) try to mount my female
with a bad leg.
Anyway, the Lab owner comes and grabs her dog by the collar and
takes him about 20 feet away then let's him go again. Now for any other breed
this distance would be enough for the dog to have lost interest in us...not
for Labs!
The Lab heads straight for my female and tackles her from behind
trying to mount her. When my male dog saw that he ran over and started attacking
the Lab.
So now I have a situation where my female has re-injured her newly
healed crutiate ligament, my male dog has become involved in a fight, and I
am risking my personal well being to split up a dog fight.
Now the Lab owner finally does the right thing - she puts her
dog on a leash. Then, looking at my female who's wailing loudly, she says "is
your dog ok?"
"OK? OK!? Does she look bleeping OK?" I shout.
The Lab owner starts to tell me that I didn't need to use such
foul language. At this point I am as close as I'll ever get to wanting to strangle
someone.
Through gritted teeth I ask her to get her bleeping dog out of
my face and get the heck away from me. She stormed off as if I had done something
wrong.
Needless to say the last 1.5miles back to the car was very long
and very tiring as I had to carry my 65lb female all the way to the car. What
a nightmare.
At that moment I was hating dog owners as well...even though I
am one!
So, I guess what I'd like to say to all hikers out there is don't
tarnish all dog owners with the same brush. There are over 6 million dogs in
this country and many of them are owned by responsible individuals.
And to everyone who takes their dog hiking I beg that you respect
other hikers, bicyclists, animals, etc.
Remember just because Rover is your best friend doesn't mean everyone
loves him!
Melissa Tuttle, Haywards Heath, West Sussex
More on the legal rights of dogs and their owners
Under the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953, amended by
the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, a person in charge of a dog commits a
criminal offence if the dog worries (attacks or chases in a way likely to cause
injury or suffering, abortion or loss or diminution in their produce) livestock
on any agricultural land.
Additionally, if a dog is at large (not on a lead or under close
control) in a field or enclosure containing sheep, the owner and/or person in
charge commit an offence.
This doesn't mean that the landowner can shoot the dog. It also
doesn't mean that the dog has to be chasing the sheep - it just has to be "at
large" - ie running amongst the sheep so as to alarm them. If the sheep
are alarmed, an offence is committed. The owner can be reported to the police
and on conviction can be fined up to £1000.
I would bow to John and Kate's comments (below)
on whether or not the dog can be shot on sight. The landowner would need to
take reasonable steps to stop the worrying, including remonstrating with the
owner to get the dog under control.
The owner, however, has already committed a criminal act and could,
additionally, be prosecuted, and/or sued for any damage. The landowner is perfectly
within his/her rights to call the police.
The dog is in some danger, though, if it's got away from you and
is, apparently, unaccompanied. (Ever tried to be reasonable with somebody else's
dog?)
Shooting the dog owner is definitely illegal, though, even though
the landowner might feel like it.
Note that working dogs of various types are exempt.
Mike Knipe
Dogs on footpaths
On your page about Dogs
you state that dog owners 'should not let the dog foul the right of way'.
I am a dog owner and quite frankly I agree with your sentiment.
Dog fouling is disgusting.
However I do not believe your interpretation is consistent with
the law. The government's website
sets out the Dogs (Fouling of Land) Act 1996. Clause 1(3) specifically
states that the act does not apply to land that is used for agriculture
or forestry, nor predominantly marshland, moor or heath.
The clear inference from this is that dog owners can let their
dogs foul footpaths in the countryside with virtual impunity.
You also suggest that a landowner can legitimately shoot a dog
that "appears out of control and worrying livestock". The website
of Prettys Solicitors provides useful information on this website
They suggest that the circumstances in which a landowner can take
this action are pretty much "last resort".
In particular, there must be "no other reasonable means of
preventing or ending the worrying".
Alternatively, the dog must be "not under the control of
any person and there is no practical means of ascertaining to whom it belongs."
Pretty's advice does not strictly contradict the wording on your
web page, although the general tone of the advice is rather different.
However I would respectfully suggest that your advice could result
in an unfortunate misunderstanding, as a landowner could interpret your advice
to mean that they have carte blanche to shoot any dog that goes anywhere near
their livestock, irrespective of the circumstances.
I hope this is of help. Please let me know if you (or anyone else)
disagree with my findings. I am both a dog owner and a landowner with livestock.
I have therefore been researching my rights and my obligations. I am keen to
ensure that I have correctly understood both!
Yours
John & Kate Lowe
The views expressed here are not necessarily those held by go4awalk.com.
NB. To see our navigational hills you must have the Macromedia Shockwave/Flash Player plug-in installed in your browser. This is free and comes as standard with later versions. If you have an early version browser - click here and follow Macromedia's installation instructions.
go4awalk.com and go4awalk.co.uk are registered trademarks of TMDH Limited.
