Off lead dogs vs loose horses

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SadKen

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I came across this report in the Rabid Mail a few days ago and thought it might make an interesting discussion.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...g-school-chiefs-seized-pets-I-didnt-lead.html

Basically the dog owner was asked to put the dogs on leads around some loose horses, and when she refused to do so, the horse owner said he'd shoot them and one of them got put in the back of a land rover.

The piece is presented as slightly biased in favour of the dog owner.

I'm feeling that I'm on the side of the horse owner here. I think it's only fair and reasonable that you put your dog on a lead when asked to do so, regardless of the reason. I also think that if she had decent recall and control of her dogs, one of them wouldn't have been so far away that it was put in the land rover.

Anyone else have any views?
 
I think that the RS owners sound bonkers and the dog owner likes her 5 minutes in the press.
Stealing/dognapping the dogs is unacceptable, as is use of foul language and intimidation, being pig headed about putting dogs on a lead is not illegal but not really advisable, is it?
 
The law does not allow a land owner to shoot a dog who is not actively chasing stock there's no suggestion that the dogs where chasing horses .
IMO threatening to use a gun is intimidation and putting a dog with it's owner into your car is not on ,the law does not require dogs to be on leads .
I can't understand why the dog owner is running off to the papers but the riding school owners sounds deeply unpleasant .
 
They weren't threatening the horses and the owner had them on the footpath so why did the RS owners have to resort to intimidation just because they've seen other dogs chasing the horses? That's out of order.
 
There is nothing to suggest that the dogs were out of control from that report. So as long as that is true then the RS sound like aggressive idiots TBH. You never know the full story though.

I regularly walk footpaths through fields of cows (primarily) and sometimes horses. I never put my dog on a lead and don't intend to a) because he doesn't bother the animals but more because b) he is really scared of the animals if they come over to investigate so be likes to keep out of their way!
 
Why, just because its a public footpath, do people think they can do as they please on someone else's land?

At the end of the day, he is the land owner- she should have done as asked. His reaction was probably pure frustration.

Ax
 
ihatework - just remember that your dog is meant to be on the footpath as well, not just you. You or your dog have no rights over the rest of the field.
 
My first reaction, if somebody asked me to put my dogs on lead, would be to comply as I would assume they know something I do not. Perhaps one of the horses has been attacked by a dog before and might panic when seeing loose dogs? Or the person asking has had a bad experience and is made extremely nervous by the sight of my loose dogs? After all, it would not cost me anything to put my dogs on lead for a few minutes and I might then ask why they felt it necessary for me to do so. I prefer being friendly towards my fellow human beings and keeping the dialogue open to trying to score points. i certainly would not feel I have to defend my 'rights" over such a trifle. "Mountain" and "molehill" come to mind.
 
I wouldn't base my opinion on anything in the Daily Fail as you know full well the article will at best be over-dramatised and loosely based on the truth, and at worst totally fabricated.

To answer the general question, if the dog is well behaved and stays with you then leave it off the lead. Ours walked to heel so wouldn't have needed to be kept on the lead all of the time. I'm not sure where the "loose horses" bit came in (I only scanned the article as I can't stand the writing in DM, it makes me angry so can't read for too long!) - presumably the RS said the dogs were posing a danger to horses turned out in fields? Personally I've been on public rights of way with horses on and it's an absolute nightmare because they are so nosy and curious, they just pester you the whole time. So in that situation I'd have dog on the lead, more in case one of the horses did something rather than the dog. Cows and sheep IME just leave you alone. Unless you are on a horse, in which case it is apparently necessary for ALL of the cows in the field to come and investigate you.. :-S
 
I am on the side on the land owner, we have a foot path crossing our car park and I get peed off with owners coming down the drive with the dogs off the lead, allowing them to cr4p on our premises and enter our yard if gates are open.


They may have been well behaved but some are not and can and do chase horses. IMO the rules should stand if you cross a field with livestock or private drive your dogs should be on a lead.

If I had a footpath through my fields I would double fence the path so dog walkers and dogs are contained and cannot deviate from the path as they do.
 
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i bit over dramatic as most newspaper articles! in fairness- the dognapping was ridiculous and wrong, however, i can see how land owners with horses/livestock can want to say keep your dog on lead. yes- a few people may have very trustworthy dogs who walk to heal- but a lot of owners could not garuntee if the peacefully grazing horses suddenly started zooming around that their dog would not chase.

i sometimes go on footpaths through fields and my dog always goes on lead- even if no livestock- as like some have said- the dog has no right to run around the whole field, just to stick to the path, but he probably would want to run around the whole field!

i just wonder how they managed to grab the dog!
 
There is the question of Insurance in the event of an accident/incident..... I know that our policy excludes all loose dogs except our own. We have a DIY Livery along side the farm business. We do have the Scottish Access Code of course as well as a few ROWs...... the ROWs are mostly but not all double fenced now, we are working on more being so. We do expect dogs to be on a lead or under close control (SNH advise that close control is at heel, within 4' of their handler) at all times when there are ground nesting birds or their fledglings, hedgehogs etc at a vulnerable stage or when they meet other access users be they walkers, riders, cyclists or indeed other dog walkers. We have banned all liveries from having dogs on the yard at all, sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander and unfortunately it is usually one person who spoils things for the rest.

Locally there is a large area of woodland fenced for dogs to be loose....... there have been so many incidents between dogs and it is filthy now, it stinks, so unfortunately many dog walkers won't use it.

It does drive me nuts if dogs run amock, particularly through the mares and foal.

I have a couple of times caught a dog and kept it here...... the owner even denied it was his until he knew that it had merely been caught after our bitch!!! Although he was a mile from home, so yes in some circumstances I think it's fine to hold/kennel or shoot a dog depending on the circumstances. ,
 
Over reaction from the land owner but I expect it was out of frustration from dogs previously worrying horses and her disobeying the request to put them on a lead - why didn't she do as she was asked? The dog napping is a bit much but I expect they just wanted to prevent the dog from being loose and teach her a lesson in their oddly reasoned way.
 
Just a thought but if the dog was under control the land owner wouldn't have been able to get hold of it...

Fwiw - a dog doesn't have a to actively bothering livestock for a landowner to be allowed to shoot it. Also now due to the increased information available about dog faeces and permenent recurrent abortion in livestock it is now mandatory to have a dog on the lead (no longer than 2m long) when passing on a footpath through "common ground". This tends to be interpreted by dog walkers as common grazing but u have known the police not to do anything on 4 occasions now when a farmer has shot a dog on their land when the owner has been unwilling/unable to recall when asked. We need to protect our livestock and if that means shooting a dog that is causing a problem then I don't think that is unreasonable. No one I know would shoot a dog with an owner in sight without first asking the owner to put the dog on the lead. A loose dog with no owner in site in a field of livestock - I'd try and call the dog to me but if it continued, it would be night night doggy :(

IMO no one in their right mind would have their dog off lead when there is livestock about (regardless of type) - there is a real risk the dog will get shot. And it will only be the owner's fault - after all no farmer would shoot a dog on the lead...
 
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