The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Community => Coffee Lounge => Topic started by: Roxy on March 19, 2011, 10:52:01 pm
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I have had ongoing problems with a neighbour walking her large GSD down the farm track (public path) off the lead. I think its off the lead due to it being too strong for her. I have had "words" in the past regarding this dogs behaviour ....as in jumping our field wall and chasing the hens. It also on numerous occasions chased and caught my farm cats.
Last week it came down their drive, and chased one of my cats. Cat was not seen again for two days, and came back with a lot of missing on its tail, and two large gashes where it had been bitten. Fortunately, this cat is one I can actually pick up, so I was able to spray its tail with tea tree antiseptic, and it is now healing.
On Monday, I saw the neighbours mother walking the dog down the track. Again, no lead, definitely too strong for an older lady. Suddenly, there was a lot of cackling, and the dog was in the bottom field and was pulling feathers out of a hen. Lady did very little to stop it ....probably unable. Fortunately hen managed to escape leaving feathers in the dogs mouth, getting through the sheep netting into the next field.
Today, mid afternoon, we hitched the flat trailer to go and pick up some haylage bales. Called on a friend on the wasy back,. so away just over an hour.
Spotted a pile of white feathers in the bottom field, and my heart sank ......my lovely silkie hens. Rushed down, no body, so hunted round. Found the tiniest silkie hen we have, cowering by the goats field shelter. Fortunately, she is tiny, so had managed to get through the sheep netting out of the dogs way.
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I have had ongoing problems with a neighbour walking her large GSD down the farm track (public path) off the lead. I think its off the lead due to it being too strong for her. I have had "words" in the past regarding this dogs behaviour ....as in jumping our field wall and chasing the hens. It also on numerous occasions chased and caught my farm cats.
Last week it came down their drive, and chased one of my cats. Cat was not seen again for two days, and came back with a lot of missing on its tail, and two large gashes where it had been bitten. Fortunately, this cat is one I can actually pick up, so I was able to spray its tail with tea tree antiseptic, and it is now healing.
On Monday, I saw the neighbours mother walking the dog down the track. Again, no lead, definitely too strong for an older lady. Suddenly, there was a lot of cackling, and the dog was in the bottom field and was pulling feathers out of a hen. Lady did very little to stop it ....probably unable. Fortunately hen managed to escape leaving feathers in the dogs mouth, getting through the sheep netting into the next field.
Today, mid afternoon, we hitched the flat trailer to go and pick up some haylage bales. Called on a friend on the wasy back,. so away just over an hour.
Spotted a pile of white feathers in the bottom field, and my heart sank ......my lovely silkie hens. Rushed down, no body, so hunted round. Found the tiniest silkie hen we have, cowering by the goats field shelter. Fortunately, she is tiny, so had managed to get through the sheep netting out of the dogs way.
Time for the dog warden to be called.
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I agree with DOGANJO :wave:
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the dog should have been reported to the police and you should have insisted that the dog be destroyed and the stomach contents examined with you paying initially
or shoot the bloody thing it will only be a matter of time before the dog turns on them or worse YOU it has the taste
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Laptop had a blip, and had not finished post before it got sent.
Little silkie is missing a lot of feathers, but seems ok, very scared though. Obviously, did not see incident, but too much of a coincidence, not to be the dog.
Not sure what to do .....neighbour would say it was not her dog, I know that. Also I worry if I involve police she will contact council about cockerel noise goats bleating, farm smells. Did think of putting up a sign asking for dogs to be on lead, and say I know whose dog is worrying livestock ....
As it stands, my silkies and banties cannot go out, and even the big hens are not safe. Thats not fair when they love an outdoor life, but safer indoors until its sorted.
Pity dog did not get in the field with the llama. He takes no prisoners - it would be dead ;D Then she would sue me for her dead dog probably!!!
Its not just my livestock, neighbour has hundreds of sheep just over the wall from my field, and once they get that chasing and killing instinct, thats it.
What would you suggest?
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Tell them that you've seen 'predators' attacking/worrying your stock but luckily the police have issued you with a firearms license, you feel safe now because the next time you see something you can protect your animals.
Seriously though, we have a paths right through our land and occasionally we have had people coming through with dogs off the lead despite signs - most the time its been OK but we have had a good few run-ins after the our chucks have been chased - normally followed with a torrent of apologies from the owners. Point is we have more animal understanding than the average dog owner thus we all know the randomness of behaviour that animals display. Dogs will sometimes be dogs if caught out, its in there nature.
Mate of mine (on here ello mr slavo!) :) came to ours the other weekend and my dogs attacked one of his chucks and he is perfect with ours - prob cos he wasnt introduced and was caught on the hop and in surprise.
You need to seriously sit down and have an adult conversation - get them to put the dog on a lead if its not on their land.
Baz
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It's the dog owner's responsibility to keep it under control. Call the police and make a complaint.
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As an add on the to the comments and suggestions. Is there anywhere else they could walk their dog, or do they have to walk dog past your property in order to find somewhere to exercise it. If they cant control it then it needs some sort of corrective training, or at the very least a method of controlling it whilst on the lead. If you were to walk your hypothetical bull past their property they would not expect you to let it loose to chase their dog around their garden.
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Shoot it; at the very least put up a sign warning dog-walking to keep their pets under control as the law allows you to shoot them if worrying.
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For the short term , can you run a netting electric fence down the side your chickens are on? It might be worth the extra expense just to keep your chickens safe. Then hang around as much as possible when the dog is being walked and explain the problem.
But - my husband always says I am too nice to the public - he would probably hang around with a big stick!
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lothian and borders police are mounting a campain (in the pentland hills) warning dog owners of there responsibility at lambing time with there dogs also they are on quad bikes as well
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Picking up on ffix point on electric netting. Had forgotten that when we first started we had a few problems with hunt dogs. OH lowered the first line of the electric fencing to dog nose height, after which we have never had a problem. So if you h ave some electric fencing maybe 2 or 3 strands fairly close together may help.
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Some electric fencing sounds like a great idea, the dog would certainly think twice before poking his nose in your field again ;) though if thats not practical do think police might be the best bet.
Do be very careful with considering shooting pest dogs though. Yes the law allows you to shoot dogs that are attacking your livestock but have heard that a kind of counter claim can be made for destruction of property and a dog is classed as property. Now thats only what I've heard so could be wrong, maybe if we have someone that knows the law of this area they can comment. Also dog fanatic groups are becoming more and more organised and if someone were to post online on one of their forums a dog was shot on your land you could be opening yourself up to all kinds of ongoing abuse from these people.
I hate irresponsible dog owners and would be hate to be in your situation. How many brain cells does it take to realise that letting your dog run wild after someones animals is bang out of order >:( !!!
Hope it gets sorted out soon for you :hshoe:
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If it were my dog I would change where I walked as it spoils things, to say the least, for everyone. The farmer near where we live has shot lots of dogs so we def avoid that place even though non of our dogs have chased livestock we can never say never....I say put a warning sign up, I would hate you to have to shoot the dog but that dog may do more seriouse harm to others and your livestock if nothing is done!!!!! Can you warn them and suggest other walks, electric fence sounds brill idea to me...good luck!
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Sorry, but shooting the dog is NOT the right way to go about things, that farmer now has a reputation(he has shot two dogs in 15 years I believe, and threatened a whole lot more with warning shots). That is only going to create more antagonism than is there already. It is not the dog's fault it is the owner's. Can I suggest you buy a 'gentle leader', 'halti' or similar and ask them to use it. It will make leading the dog easy and is a compromise way of dealing with the situation. You could suggest she buys one herself but as relations are strained it is unlikely she would do that. If you get one and hand it to her on the pretext that you have seen her being pulled along and thought it might help then it just might work. As I said perhaps it is time to contact the dog warden - that is exactly the advice he/she would give anyway.
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Have you actualy been and asked the farmer? When we moved in here 4 years ago we were warned by the previouse tenants, then, Steve met some one walking there and the farmer had killed his dog!! Not sure why you would go and ask him as you do not walk up here anyway???? We do not as we know the times he puts sheep into his fields and sometimes there are cattle that are a bit concerning as they follow VERY quickly!!
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Yep, totally agree with Annie here - it's not the dog's fault & the owner may welcome some guidance.
The electric fencing should work a treat - just be careful, if you are putting it alongside an area that the public have access to, remember to put-up the warning signs & use a low charge, as they have been known to (rarely) induce heart attacks in dogs. Though you could mention that to unruly owners of dogs (yes, that way round) as it may encourage them to keep them under control!
:pig: :dog: :chook: :bee:
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Now I stand corrected if I’m wrong but I was led to believe that as a responsible dog owner while out walking its your responsibility to keep your dog under control, I’m sure the law states that :-\……….. Going back 10 years ago my neighbour a hill farmer and my self had a similar issue with a Sunday hill walker, his dog a lovely Dalmatian took great delight in chasing and continually worrying all the animals he stumbled across. We gave up count how many times he was politely asked to leash his dog……..Now I wish I had this document to hand but I don’t any more. It was provided by the local council office at the request of my hill farmer neighbour…..It clearly stated the definition of being in control of your dog while out walking was that the animal is leashed………And that a dog no matter how obedient if not leashed is deemed out of its owners control…………Now the law may have changed but for years I kept a stash of these documents in our yard and took great delight in dishing them out on the odd occasion………..Have a word with your local community bobby they may be able to give you some direct support especially as far as the law goes in this area
Good Luck
Dave
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Course its the owner, thats why we are carful where we go with our dogs just in case. I know a farmer or livestock owner CAN kill any dog in another field but roaming free just as it IS a risk to thier livestock, not nice for dog owners, dogs or in fact the livestock so they should walk where there is less chance of intimidating animals or keep them in control with a lead, even a well controlled dog without a lead can be shot!!! not nice!!
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No , Dave, that's not the case. A dog doesn't have to be leashed to be considered as being under control. Look at all the various shoots and training grounds there are. The dogs there are very much under control but are not leashed. However, I agree that it most definitely IS the owner's reprehensibility to keep a dog under control. Mine are only allowed off leash in a safe area, well away from any farm land. I know that mine will retrieve birds (usually only dead pheasants and partridge etc, and they don't kill the ones they retrieve), they are safe with 4 legged animals, and I don't take the chance. A deer shot across in front of us this afternoon at Kelty woods and they just sat on command and watched it away.
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Well across my land the council have put up signs saying that dogs have to be kept on a lead because there is stock in the field, and I think thats actually the law :)
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Well across my land the council have put up signs saying that dogs have to be kept on a lead because there is stock in the field, and I think thats actually the law :)
Yes, where there are stock in a field that is true. I can't imagine why anyone would walk their dog in a field where there are stock in it anyway. I sure wouldn't, except in a field trial and those are sanctioned by the specific landowner.
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Those signs are along the disused railway, thats why we do not go anymore as those big open fiels look tempting, like you say, best to keep well out of the way of livestock, I see loads of nice pathways etc but dare not go until I go without dogs and up to now thats never, the Forest or the dam for us around here!!
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Even the Dam can be a problem, Sandy. Last year Freckles went off hunting rabbits at the sluice side and got into the field next the the wooded area - it wasn't stock fenced at all. No animals in there on that occasion thankfully, but she was right at the far side of it before she suddenly realised how far she was from me and started to come back. And last week Allez went across the reeds on the left hand side and couldn't find his way back. Took me half an hour of whistling and coaxing to persuade him to come past the swans which were displaying like, crazy! (He loves ducks but he's a wimp when the swans come out to play ::) ;) ;D) There is farm land beyond that and it's too far away to see if it is fenced off.
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I thought that after I posted, we took Ben there ages ago and he saw the car at the end of the walk around the dam and he ran off, after the cattle, the swans and everything else around!!!!!! I used to be able to trust Islay and Bruce as I used to use the short cut between farmers fields and they always stuck to the path next to me!! Dare NOT do that with all four and o ur Ben!!!!!
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Having seen what a cow can do when she is angry or a ram protecting his ewes or worst of all Hilary on a rant I can't understand why anyone would risk their animal by walking it off a lead near livestock.
Perhaps a quiet word with the lady concerned suggesting that if you find her dog in your fields again you will have to borrow a llama and of course graphic and gory account of what llamas do to foxes etc.
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Next ime the dog pays you a visit why dont you tie him up and call the pound...found a stray dog on my farm...... they will take it to the pound and the owner will have to pay to get the dog out. wont take too long for this to stop.
One way to get thru to the owner surely!