Dog chasing sheep

RE: Dog chasing sheep

David Mills — Fri, 16 Feb 2018 20:27:42 GMT

[quote user="Martin Atkinson"]I've been taken down on several occasions while cycling by straying dogs and injured myself and/or damaged my bike[/quote]

Please tell me you have helmet cam recordings of this?

RE: Dog chasing sheep

Christina Smith — Fri, 16 Feb 2018 14:39:00 GMT

South Deeside Road ? Terrible statistics for drivers

RE: Dog chasing sheep

Martin Atkinson — Fri, 16 Feb 2018 09:17:16 GMT

[quote user="Utlendigur"]Yep - fairly common to find sheep loose on the roads, in forestry, in gardens. This was on Tuesday on a main trunk road where most traffic is travelling at 50-60mph. It was about the 3rd/4th time this year I've come across sheep on this stretch. A few miles further on there were several more. [/quote]And even more common to find loose dogs on the road because some idiot has let a poorly controlled dog off the lead and it has run after something - often me! I've been taken down on several occasions while cycling by straying dogs and injured myself and/or damaged my bike and had many more near misses. On one occasion they actually had the dog on an extending lead on the opposite side of the lane on a blind bend and I didn't see it in the dappled light so rode through the middle and snagged the lead. And they had the nerve to blame me.

RE: Dog chasing sheep

Utlendigur — Thu, 15 Feb 2018 21:49:47 GMT

[quote user="Liz w"]

I was going to go one step further and put some responsibility on the farmers to make sure the fences didn’t have holes in them.

[/quote]

Yep - fairly common to find sheep loose on the roads, in forestry, in gardens. This was on Tuesday on a main trunk road where most traffic is travelling at 50-60mph. It was about the 3rd/4th time this year I've come across sheep on this stretch. A few miles further on there were several more.

RE: Dog chasing sheep

Martin Atkinson — Wed, 14 Feb 2018 09:01:54 GMT

[quote user="Kate Richardson"]Substitute dog for bike[/quote]Touche!

RE: Dog chasing sheep

Kate Richardson — Tue, 13 Feb 2018 22:40:55 GMT

[quote user="Martin Atkinson"] The farmer can put his stock wherever he wants, dog walkers do not have a divine right to walk their dogs off the lead wherever they want.[/quote]

I agree. Doesn't mean both sides can't work together on this though.

[quote user="Martin Atkinson"]Maybe its obvious I'm not a dog owner and this 'love me love my dog' attitude dogs owners seem to have pisses me off[/quote]

Substitute dog for bike........

RE: Dog chasing sheep

Martin Atkinson — Tue, 13 Feb 2018 10:46:25 GMT

[quote user="Liz w"] We live rurally and the dogs are usually off the lead ( forestry commission) but every so often an empty adjacent field will suddenly have sheep in.[/quote]Perhaps you should assume there are sheep there until proven otherwise which seems pretty obvious to me. The farmer can put his stock wherever he wants, dog walkers do not have a divine right to walk their dogs off the lead wherever they want. Maybe its obvious I'm not a dog owner and this 'love me love my dog' attitude dogs owners seem to have pisses me off.

RE: Dog chasing sheep

Liz w — Tue, 13 Feb 2018 07:26:40 GMT

Actually I was going to say the same thing as Kate. We live rurally and the dogs are usually off the lead ( forestry commission) but every so often an empty adjacent field will suddenly have sheep in. Fine if you can see them in advance but it’s not always obvious. I was going to go one step further and put some responsibility on the farmers to make sure the fences didn’t have holes in them.

RE: Dog chasing sheep

Kate Richardson — Mon, 12 Feb 2018 22:23:10 GMT

[quote user="Martin Atkinson"]

[quote user="Kate Richardson"]One thing I think farmers should do though is put signs up a couple of fields in advance- often on walks we do all the time, sheep suddenly appear. Obviously it is the farmers right to put sheep there but if there is public right of way a simple notice would be appreciated to give advance warning as when you are training a young dog to recall, getting them under control early is appreciated on all fronts![/quote]Don't you think farmers have better things to do with their time than to go around putting up and taking down notices just because some irresponsible members of the public want to walk their dogs off the lead?! I'm surprised that you suggested such a ridiculous thing Kate.

[/quote]

I'm sorry you think it's a ridiculous suggestion. I like to think I am a responsible member of the public, hence the suggestion. Wouldn't really take much time when you're going around the fields on a quad bike checking the sheep anyway. I like walking my dog off lead. But I'll happily put her on it when necessary. Just a simple suggestion from a dog owner who likes to check out new walks occasionally

RE: Dog chasing sheep

Julie Innes — Mon, 12 Feb 2018 12:41:31 GMT

I thought the risk from dog poo was neospora? (Could be wrong!)

RE: Dog chasing sheep

Iain Richards — Mon, 12 Feb 2018 09:35:26 GMT

One of our local farmers has put up a similar notice - pick up poo as it can give my sheep lepto. OK slightly iffy epidemiology, but a good idea.

RE: Dog chasing sheep

Martin Atkinson — Mon, 12 Feb 2018 09:19:09 GMT

RE: Dog chasing sheep

Kate Richardson — Sun, 11 Feb 2018 17:23:57 GMT

My dalmatian, now 1 and 1/2, nipped under a gate on our usual walk near home when she was about 8m old and there were sheep in a paddock that had previously been empty, thought the sheep were a fun attraction. No aggression but I was mortified. Thankfully i managed to get her to lay down and take hold after a few minutes (seemed like ages) but really shook me. I don’t think she had any intention of harming them, it was just a game but never the less. Have been super cautious near sheep since then and not taking any chances. One thing I think farmers should do though is put signs up a couple of fields in advance- often on walks we do all the time, sheep suddenly appear. Obviously it is the farmers right to put sheep there but if there is public right of way a simple notice would be appreciated to give advance warning as when you are training a young dog to recall, getting them under control early is appreciated on all fronts!

RE: Dog chasing sheep

Julie Innes — Fri, 09 Feb 2018 15:02:21 GMT

[quote user="Gillian Mostyn"]

lol Julie - did you notice I excluded beagles from my comments above? Nightmare dogs!

I agree - you can't beat a border collie! [/quote]

It is quite a revelation to have a dog that actually does as she is told! No thanks to me, she was an ex sheep dog who refused to work, so came pre-trained . She actually hates sheep, and deliberately looks the other way if she sees some in a field, in case she is made to work again!

But for some reason I miss my ill-behaved and infuriating beagles! Not allowed any more, husband put his foot down after 18 years of the buggers!

RE: Dog chasing sheep

Dagmar Steele — Fri, 09 Feb 2018 10:25:52 GMT

[quote user="Martin Atkinson"]

Heck, this thread is littered with accounts by vets who have the knowledge and experience to be able to train/control their dogs and even they are struggling so what hope is there for the average dog owner?

[/quote]

Ha Martin, this may be a case of the shoemaker having the worst maintained shoes of all? In my experience vets are in no way better training their dogs than the average citizen, quite the opposite sometimes. But it's not rocket science really tbh, one just has to dedicate some time and effort.

RE: Dog chasing sheep

Martin Atkinson — Fri, 09 Feb 2018 10:08:22 GMT

[quote user="Gillian Mostyn"]

Dogs deserve to have the freedom to investigate their surroundings and REALLY run free. It isn't actually difficult to train recall..

[/quote]A truer word has never been spoken but the problem is, as we all know from the number of poorly controlled dogs that visit our premises, not to mentioned seeing the consequences, that most dog owners can't/don't train their dogs properly and therefore for the safety of all concerned they are better kept on a lead. In the end even the best trained dog may follow its instincts and its training goes AWOL if it gets the call of the wild. Heck, this thread is littered with accounts by vets who have the knowledge and experience to be able to train/control their dogs and even they are struggling so what hope is there for the average dog owner?

RE: Dog chasing sheep

Dinu Catilina — Fri, 09 Feb 2018 09:58:18 GMT

Maybe I shouldn't hijack this and sidetrack but here I go.

I think (believe, anecdotal, not evidence based, etc) that modern day behaviourists fail to understand that some dogs do need a different type of training. Dog training was a massive passion and I had probably over 100 dogs rehabilitated, many of them impossible to get to with ball, food, other toys. Most of them Caucasian, Romanian, Central Asia Shepperds with extreme aggression. I know this is not Ian's case here and it was just one accident but aggression or hunting can be a strong drive and doing it once can open some dog's appetite.

Someone mentioned before hunting dogs and their recall. Well, working alongside a german international judge and life long trainer with German pointers, I can tell you that invariably some of those dogs ended on 1 mile radius shock collars as the only ways to stop them from chasing deer or rabbit. Many of them ended up wearing life long dummy collars.

What I tried to communicate through my rambling is that expecting that every dog can be trained is unrealistic especially on a reward based protocol. Some are better kept on a lead.

Good luck Iain.

RE: Dog chasing sheep

Iain Richards — Fri, 09 Feb 2018 09:49:43 GMT

[quote user="Rach"]I’m terrible for once I think the dog has learnt something only telling her off when she gets it wrong and not rewarding when she gets it right, turns out I do the same (internally!) to myself too![/quote]

Wow, a whole new concept for vets to consider when beating themselves up about their foibles. Nice one Rach! Thanks for the advice.

Iain

RE: Dog chasing sheep

Gillian Mostyn — Fri, 09 Feb 2018 09:31:10 GMT

lol Julie - did you notice I excluded beagles from my comments above? Nightmare dogs!

I agree - you can't beat a border collie!

RE: Dog chasing sheep

Julie Innes — Fri, 09 Feb 2018 08:53:26 GMT

I understand the arguments against flexi-leads when on the roads/ streets, but they were a must when I was walking my two no-recall-whatsoever beagles at the park! They needed to follow scents and meander, but could not be trusted off -lead

Sheep were never the issue, but picnic-ers were a nightmare!!

Edit: Of course, now I have an impeccably behaved collie, I can be as smug as the next person

RE: Dog chasing sheep

Rach — Fri, 09 Feb 2018 08:52:40 GMT

I think I’m going to bow out from this one now, but just wanted to wish you luck Iain, whatever method you use.

If you do choose to do anything remotely like I have suggested, remember that tennis ball/mangy canvas dummy is the most amazing thing you have ever seen, and your dog is fantastic for bringing it back, because let’s face it the tennis ball itself is less interesting than sheep, but you seem to think it’s pretty damn special and she wants to please you.

Finally, remember to keep up the praise when she gets it right, it was thinking about my faults when dog training that prompted my response to the ‘Dealing with a mistake’ thread, I’m terrible for once I think the dog has learnt something only telling her off when she gets it wrong and not rewarding when she gets it right, turns out I do the same (internally!) to myself too!

Good luck.

RE: Dog chasing sheep

Gillian Mostyn — Fri, 09 Feb 2018 07:28:23 GMT

[quote user="George Cooper"]Having dogs on a lead will give CONTROL[/quote]

I can control my dog without one. [quote user="Michael Woodhouse"]Get a Patterdale terrier and see how you get on with her off the lead. Quite happy walking her on a 7m flexi lead. Close by and locked if next to a road[/quote]

Fair enough. Sounds sensible...obviously only you know how much (or little) control you have over your own dog. But suggesting everybody else should do the same as you is what I object to.

Personally I recommend people use a fixed length lead when they need to know their dog is under control, and let them off the lead when it is safe to do so. But every puppy consultation includes a chat about how important teaching (or, rather, positively reinforcing) recall is.

RE: Dog chasing sheep

Clare Tapsfield-Wright — Fri, 09 Feb 2018 04:33:46 GMT

Iain my lab is same age, I don’t know if she’s a sheep chaser as she never gets the opportunity. On the lead of a sheep in sight , shes still young and learning. Any interest shown in chasing anything , cat , chicken , rabbit etc and she gets a yank and a Bollocking. Just time and reinforcement without opportunity to transgress is my approach. Good luck

RE: Dog chasing sheep

Michael Woodhouse — Fri, 09 Feb 2018 00:40:49 GMT

[quote user="Gillian Mostyn"]Couldn't disagree more. Hideous things. IMO should only be used for training, not permanently. [/quote]

Get a Patterdale terrier and see how you get on with her off the lead. Quite happy walking her on a 7m flexi lead. Close by and locked if next to a road

RE: Dog chasing sheep

George Cooper — Fri, 09 Feb 2018 00:25:05 GMT

That, too, is a derisory comment. Shame on you.