sheep worrying

MotherOfChickens

MotherOfChickens

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very in the news atm with 116 sheep killed in Sussex, an attack in Nottinghamshire leading to a shot husky and of course the 9 dead + multiple injured in Ayrshire very recently and thats probably the tip of the iceberg.

The mind boggles really, the woman with the husky would just let the dog off (when I was around huskies it was a cardinal sin to let go of one-if they needed to run they could only do so pulling something)-amazing it hadn't had a small furry before that. Husky owner 'doesn't understand it' . Makes me so mad for the farmers, sad for the sheep and the dogs.

Pointless post really, I know I live in a bit of a bubble when it comes to dog owners as I am well out of any major towns and in sheep/cattle country so I forget how crap some are.
 
We get Farmwatch emails and sheep worrying is hugely on the rise. Hopefully huskies will soon be unfashionable dogs, although stupid bloody owners never seem to wane.
 
The husky owner showed a complete lack of remorse in the news article, couldn't believe what she was coming out with, all me me me without a shred of concern for the farmer or his stock. It's a horrible and tragic thing to happen but there are no excuses, it should have been on a lead (no such thing as 'close control' with a sibe, leads only).
 
its not breed specific though is it. it was GSDs in Ayrshire and a pair of sheep killers I did know years ago were a terrier cross and a beardie cross. God only knows what was responsible for the sheep in Sussex.

It's a damn shame whats happened with the Siberians, more awesome dogs I've yet to meet.
 
The end is now in sight with their unreasonable popularity, KC registrations have dropped significantly, there'll be plenty of unregistered litters but it's hopefully indicative of a general trend.

The first attack I saw in the news this year was a pair of lurchers, I agree it's not breed specific but if there's any breed that should be on a lead in the first place it's that one!
 
It is my ultimate dread, we have pedigree Texels and Suffolks, we know every ewe individually and can go into a field and know every sheeps parentage. To go through what these have had to go through would break my heart. We are insured against dog attacks but that doesn't recompense the true monetary and emotional investment you put in.
IMO dogs should be by law have to be on a lead outside the owners property. I am getting pretty peed off seeing pics on FB of professional dog walkers taking out groups of dogs and letting them run around farmers fields. Not their own dog, so recall may not be so good, not on the lead, not on the footpath. We have grazed sheep beside the footpath, we erected 3 strands of electric wire, big signs both ends of the field and we still had people with dogs off the lead! We asked if they wanted to carry their dog home.
 
I love my dog so much that I don't want to risk him getting filled full of lead, so I keep him on a lead around livestock or anywhere I suspect we might meet it. For me, it's a no brainer.

Of course accidents happen, but there are plenty of ways to physically and mentally exercise a dog without unclipping a lead, and plenty of places they can run offlead. People just have to drive a little further or put a little more effort in.

I've seen and heard of impeccably trained dogs lose it, their genetics kick in, and that's it, they've got squashed or shot or had to be put down. Not worth the risk of anyone thinking their dog is going to be perfect all the time.
 
I didn't mean it to say only huskys do it, round here 2 border terriers did a lot of damage.
My dogs are all 100% stock proof, however the sheep farmer doesn't know that so if we go through a field with sheep they are on a lead, always. Apart from anything else the labs would hoover up placentas this time of year, disgusting.
My lurcher once coursed a hare through a field of sheep, from a long way off and another field, thankfully it was not a pregnant time and even though the hare ran straight through the flock and split them she stayed on the hare. However, if the farmer had seen and she had been shot it would have been entirely my fault, I was very lucky. (and the sheep knew she wasn't after them and just split, reformed and watched).
 
I am very careful where I walk my dogs off lead and one of my favourite walks is by the river but sometimes sheep are grazed close to the footpath and before I get there I put my dogs on the lead and only let them off if the sheep aren't there....I would hate my dogs to cause stress or damage to livestock and although they take no notice of the sheep when they are on the lead I would never risk letting them off. these days there seem to be so many people who don't seem to understand the basics of responsible dog ownership or how to behave in the country.....
 
around here, at least after the lambs are a certain age, there are cows and calfs in among them-so people would especially need their heads read letting their dogs among them then.
 
I have lambing ewes and I have sheepdogs. The only time that I would ever take a dog amongst lambing ewes would be in an emergency and when I simply couldn't catch a ewe in distress, and unaided. Even then, the dog seems to understand and they always return to the vehicle once the sheep's been 'apprehended'!

I once found a woman in a field of expectant ewes with a dog which was 'sort-of' running about after them. There was no real threat but I was nonetheless less than amused. "He's only playing with them" she said. "PLAYING"? I replied "You have thirty seconds to catch that ****ing dog, or he's dead". She left, with the dog still alive and probably considering that I was some sort of rural oaf. She was probably right! :)

I've given up trying to educate idiots.

Alec.
 
CorvusCorax said:
I love my dog so much that I don't want to risk him getting filled full of lead, so I keep him on a lead around livestock or anywhere I suspect we might meet it. For me, it's a no brainer.
Click to expand...

Spot on.

I was out walking yesterday with my dog, and two others that I have during the day. It was a new walk for us, and I got a bit lost - going down a track that I thought was a footpath. Dogs were on the lead.

The farmer was driving down the track and stopped to say hello, and confirmed that it wasn't a footpath. He then proceeded to point out what land was his, told me that there was no stock on it and invited me to walk it as much as I liked. Why? Because my three dogs were on a lead and he appreciated my caution (if not my map reading skills).
 
The worst one I have seen was away from a footpath on a farm we were viewing to rent (open day with people wandering everywhere). We walked down one field and the sheep came up to meet us followed by an enormous lurcher wearing a muzzle who proceeded to crash into one sheep after another while we tried to catch it. After 10 minutes a woman came into sight making no visible effort to do anything about it and when we yelled at her to call her dog she said "oh he does this all the time and there's no point calling him as he just runs away more but its ok that's why he has a muzzle on"

At this point I gave her the full lecture about the cost to the farmer, deaths from stress etc etc.

Her reply.........drumroll............ I know exactly what the farmer will say as they are my Dad's sheep!!!!
 
This thread saddens me! I grew up on the farm and still live nearby (my Dad still on farm) and I just love walking the paths up to visit him. I have always had sighthounds (lurchers before, now whippets) and while they are completely used to livestock, I have done a lot of work, amazing recall and they show zero interest in sheep(they don't even bother about my chickens) I always ALWAYS put them on the lead before we get near a sheep field! I just could not risk anything happening. I do know of a whippet who lives nearby who excaped and got into the sheep field. Chased the sheep abit then eventually came back. The farmer was not around at the time and, give her her due, when the owner got back to the house (my Dad knows her) she phoned the farmer to tell him what had happened and apologise) There is nothing better than walkinginthe country with your dogs but you have to have some common sense and if in doubt, lead goes on as far as I am concerned! On a slightly different subject I met a man last night who had his black lab off the lead out for a walk and she came over to sniff my bitch (who was on a lead as has just come out of season and I am still debating if she is "safe" to let off again yet) I said to the man "oh she will be sniffing because this one has just come out of season" His reply "Oh she (his dog) is in season just now".....and you are walking around with her off lead lol.......good luck
 
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