Abusive dog walker

[Oldjohnw]

My son has a very small flock (about 40 sheep) and last year his Suffolk tup was found badly mauled, along with several lambs.Months of work lost which he could ill afford.

[Paulatic]

It might be hard to shoot a dog but tbh if they're worrying sheep the sheep will flock and the dog might become clear for a shot. I've known farmers who have shot foxes among their livestock at night before now and they're a lot harder to shoot than a dog that's not scared of you.

I think if they had to a farmer would get the dog. I bet you would too if you see the £600 a time bill stacking up with every sheep mauled. It's often shock that kills not the blood loss.

A fox walking through sheep is a lot easier to shoot. The sheep rarely bother when a fox goes through and carry on grazing. A dog on the other hand is usually close in to the sheep mauling at the rear or neck end. So there may well be a risk of shooting a sheep as well but that would be a small price to pay.

[Cyril Haearn]

Saw a 'responsible' dog walker today, his red setter dropped some sausages, I advised him of this as I cycled by, he was standing by a poo-bag dispenser, I saw him take a bag for the sausages
+1! (?)

[Tangled Metal]

No bag dispensers near us but most of us dog owners round here scoop the poop with bags brought with us. There's still some big dogs leaving their mess without their owners scooping. They'll be one of the Labrador owners I reckon. Not an unfair assumption since there's already one Labrador owner who jogs with his dog and doesn't even lay attention to what they're up to. Other dog owners have confronted him about it but that rarely changes his attitude.

The other thing, if you're walking your dog in the wilds, say the lakes, do you always scoop? Or occasionally do you leave it if it's out of the way or you flick it into some place nobody is likely to come into contact with it?

[pwa]

No bag dispensers near us but most of us dog owners round here scoop the poop with bags brought with us. There's still some big dogs leaving their mess without their owners scooping. They'll be one of the Labrador owners I reckon. Not an unfair assumption since there's already one Labrador owner who jogs with his dog and doesn't even lay attention to what they're up to. Other dog owners have confronted him about it but that rarely changes his attitude.

The other thing, if you're walking your dog in the wilds, say the lakes, do you always scoop? Or occasionally do you leave it if it's out of the way or you flick it into some place nobody is likely to come into contact with it?

In proper countryside (not parks) I reckon that is the environmentally and socially responsible thing to do. Get it out of sight and where nobody can come into contact with it, but without the necessity of someone emptying a bin twice a week. Let nature turn it to compost. One nature reserve I regularly walk in has signs advising dog owners to do that. I don't know whether it is because of that, but there is very little poop evident on the many paths there. But don't flick it into long grass that some poor sod is going to have to strim some day!

[pete75]

It might be hard to shoot a dog but tbh if they're worrying sheep the sheep will flock and the dog might become clear for a shot. I've known farmers who have shot foxes among their livestock at night before now and they're a lot harder to shoot than a dog that's not scared of you.

I think if they had to a farmer would get the dog. I bet you would too if you see the £600 a time bill stacking up with every sheep mauled. It's often shock that kills not the blood loss.

Most foxes killed in this country are shot at night by lampers. It's much easier than trying to shoot a dog that's running about chasing sheep.

[Tangled Metal]

Shooting dogs is possible and does happen. Some farmer friends last year told me of two local cases that had just happened in the previous few months. I doubt any of them are the greatest shots. However I suspect there aren't more dogs shot not because of difficulty but because farmers aren't there with a gun to do the shooting. Bear in mind that guns are controlled such that they can't exactly be carrying one over the shoulder while working. They have storage requirements I understand.

[661-Pete]

A postscript to the above story.

After years of dithering, I've finally gone and equipped myself with a 'Dog Dazer'. Yes I know reviews of this gadget are mixed - some say it's completely ineffectual, others say it works but only at close range and not on all dogs. I won't know for sure until I've tried for myself! Anyway it arrived yesterday and of course I've not yet had occasion to try it out. Perhaps I should do a test on an aggressive dog confined in someone's garden or farmyard first - preferably when the owner's not about (although the blurb assures me it does not harm the animal...)?

Will report further after I've used the thing....

[pwa]

A postscript to the above story.

After years of dithering, I've finally gone and equipped myself with a 'Dog Dazer'. Yes I know reviews of this gadget are mixed - some say it's completely ineffectual, others say it works but only at close range and not on all dogs. I won't know for sure until I've tried for myself! Anyway it arrived yesterday and of course I've not yet had occasion to try it out. Perhaps I should do a test on an aggressive dog confined in someone's garden or farmyard first - preferably when the owner's not about (although the blurb assures me it does not harm the animal...)?

Will report further after I've used the thing....

I look forward to your review, though it might be months away as significant dog incidents aren't frequent. My own impression is that the dog dazer thing is just an early example of the now commonly seen cat deterrents you see in people's gardens. I had one and it did nowt.