dogs must be on leads March 1st till 31 july

That's terrible. I've said already on this thread that there is no excuse for anyone letting their dog run loose among livestock. It's especially bad at this time of year because it is lambing season. I remember when I was at high school I was at a schoolfriend's farmhouse when her brother came in with the body of a German Shepherd he'd had to shoot because it was worrying the sheep.

1summer - I hope the farmer got there in time to shoot the dog.
Dogs without rock solid recall should never be allowed off lead. No dog should be off lead near livestock. Sheep will run in fear if a dog is loose. The dog will chase the sheep, sheep miscarry and die - that’s assuming the dog doesn’t attack the sheep to kill them

It was a lovely day today so I went for a walk. I entered a field (on a public footpath) which had sheep in it. A lady in front of me had a dog running wildly around the field, I said to the women you need to put the dog on a lead, she said I am trying to get her to come to me - the lady was blowing a whistle like a demented women!! I said stop blowing the whistle it’s frightening the sheep and me. The dog was ignoring her, I felt so stressed I turned round and returned the way I had come.
Maybe I could have helped but how?

Iam64

Yes they are pably but enforcement is down to owners as not enough police to enforce it plus cross breeding makes identifying the dogs less than straight forward
My question is why would anyone want one

Drug dealers? As a weapon?

Yes they are pably but enforcement is down to owners as not enough police to enforce it plus cross breeding makes identifying the dogs less than straight forward
My question is why would anyone want one

Skydancer ☹
Some owners think their dogs' rights trump anyone and anything else's.

I thought these xl,s were supposed to be muzzled as well as on a lead when outside

Sky dancer, your post made my eyes a bit leaky. We have a kingfisher trail in our area. I used to often catch a fleeting glance but rarely do these days. I’m off in my ‘professional dog walkers ‘ should rent secure fields and be banned from our parks and woodland. We have them with 6-8 off lead dogs, unstable packs.

Brent Geese and other birds migrate hundreds of miles to the coast where I live. They come to feed but unfortunately dogs often run free on the grass where they are eating and the already exhausted birds fly off. Similarly I saw a Kingfisher on a local riverbank trying to feed her babies but she was clearly too frightened to enter the water to catch fish because of dogs splashing around. Many people have no concept of, or concern for, nature which dogs are not part of.

mum2three

I've just been reading that large, aggressive dogs were taken into battle along with warriors in the past. I can see why. They are killing machines.
This law, if it comes into force, is well over-due but I think farmers should also be required to keep an eye on their livestock. Too many are left to roam the hills unprotected. It's no wonder that so many lambs are lost.
(That phrase, 'roam the hills' is accurate where I live. Here in the North of England, sheep are out on the hills all year round, not just in neat little fields).

Is livestock worrying a criminal offence?
It goes without saying that dogs should not be allowed to wound livestock. But, even if your dog does not wound an animal, livestock worrying (chasing or attacking) is still a criminal offence. Your dog does not have to physically harm a farm animal for you to be prosecuted.

The owner will be liable for a fine if so.

By law, farmers on their own land are also allowed to shoot dogs who worry their animals as a last resort.

www.bluecross.org.uk/advice/dog/wellbeing-and-care/dogs-and-livestock#:~:text=But%2C%20even%20if%20your%20dog,animals%20as%20a%20last%20resort.

I’m in the north west mum2three, our moors and hillsides full of sheep. What makes you think the farmers aren’t ’keeping An eye in their livestock? They work every day of the year, very long days in lambing season. Our weather is rarely good and it’s been grim in recent months.
Sheep are hardy creatures, thriving on hills and moorlands. They don’t need ‘neat little fields’
They also don’t need idiot owners letting dogs off lead near them.

Just because sheep are 'roaming the hills' doesn't mean that farmers aren't keeping an eye on them. We are lucky enough to have vast, open fields and hills not far from us, many of which are home to large flocks of sheeps, and we regularly see the farmers out and about checking on them.

I've just been reading that large, aggressive dogs were taken into battle along with warriors in the past. I can see why. They are killing machines.
This law, if it comes into force, is well over-due but I think farmers should also be required to keep an eye on their livestock. Too many are left to roam the hills unprotected. It's no wonder that so many lambs are lost.
(That phrase, 'roam the hills' is accurate where I live. Here in the North of England, sheep are out on the hills all year round, not just in neat little fields).

argymargy

escaped I am genuinely interested - why did you take your dog to a department store? Particularly if he tends to approach people?

I wondered that too. Why?

And trailing it through the linen department.

No need for it to be in the store at all.

Leave the dog at home when you’re doing that type of shopping, surely?

escaped I am genuinely interested - why did you take your dog to a department store? Particularly if he tends to approach people?

Indeed, children should be taught how to behave around dogs - around all animals, in fact - for their own safety as much as anything else. It appalls me to see photos where children are 'playing' with dogs, pulling their ears or tails etc. Then, when the poor dog eventually reacts, it's the one who gets the blame - and may well end up paying the ultimate price. Children should be taught to respect all animals from an early age.

I think children should be aware that all dogs can be dangerous ( even a small dog can seriously damage a small child; I knew someone that was looking after someone else’s dog, they were both on a sofa and the dog bit the child on the face) that they should never touch a dog without the permission of the dogs owner and that a dogs space has to be respected.

Some parents react to dogs as though they are all dangerous and, ‘my child’s afraid of dogs’. This is ridiculous as dogs are everywhere. Teach your child to overcome their fear, not expect everyone else to adapt to it.

I had a chat with a dog today. He was chained up outside a supermarket and was obviously unhappy at being left because he was barking and yelling. He quietened down a bit when I spoke to him, and another woman spoke to him too, but I certainly wasn't going to stroke him just in case as e looked like an aggressive type of dog. Of course, he could have been a softie but a child might not realise he could be vicious and go to comfort him.

I had a situation with my dog, on a lead obviously, in a department store today. In the linens' department, the lady assistant wanted to engage with him and tickle his tummy etc. In order to exit the store, we had to walk through the women's clothing section. My dog expected the lady there to offer the same treatment too, I had to yank him back. It wasn't his fault, he didn't know the difference.

Yes, I agree.

I don't think that just applies to dogs nowadays though. There are far too many parents who seem to take a similar attitude with their children, and simply let them do whatever they want - even when that is to the detriment of others. There seems to be a growing sense of entitlement these days where people think that what they want comes first, no matter what that may mean for everyone else. No manners, courtesy or consideration for others.

I agree, Iam64.

Posters do not seem to be dog haters at all, Colls.

The general consensus seems to be that posters dislike dogs behaving badly and, as Iam64 says, there seems to have been an increase in badly behaved, untrained dogs around, coupled with owners who think their dogs are entitled to run wherever they like, bother whoever they like, do their business wherever they like and that everyone should love them, regardless. They think it's the other person's fault if they don't want to be jumped up at it or that it's normal for their dog to attack other dogs and are just ineffectual in the handling of their dog.

I disagree that ‘it’s always the owners and breeders’. Often it is but……

I’m a dog lover, currently sharing my life with two dogs, my 11th and 12th over many happy years.

Colls this thread isn’t “nasty” imo. It reflects the mixed feelings in our society about dog ownership. As I said, I live with dogs, always have. I’ve found walking my dogs much more of a challenge in recent years. There are large numbers of dogs off lead, whose owners have no idea of their training needs, no recall, worst - don’t worry they’re friendly 😞

This morning I was jumped up on by a big fox terrier, owner a distance away, on her phone. I shouted please call your dog - dog ignored her and continued to bounce all over me and my gentle, calm spaniel. I have a very big young male lab who wouldn’t have tolerated the dog jumping all over him.

I could go on with endless examples. My walks are more restricted because of irresponsible people, including ‘professional’ dog walkers.

I have some sympathy for non-dog people.