dogs and barb wire

[alwayslearning]

Hate the bloody stuff.
2nd dog to rip itself open on it.
Never purposefully ask a dog to jump a fence anymore.. but seems to happen.
Any way to train a dog to stop jumping.
Thinking once they no how they will if they feel they have too.
Want to swap all barb for electric but I am under staffed on a big farm its probley wish full thinking

 

[Anonymous...]

Been slowly replacing our barn with plain wire and insulated sleeves
Hate the barbed wire
Ironically my dog jumped a fence and hung from his back leg (from plain top wire) so still need to be vigilant , luckily he freed himself before I got there

 

[Dry Rot]

I feel your pain. I used to keep some surgical needles and suture regularly having to stitch them up. Thin skinned dogs are the worst. Fortunately, suturing is not difficult after you've watched the vet do it (a hundred times! ) and the poor old dogs are usually very patient and long suffering.

 

[alwayslearning]

Thin skinned is a interesting term a bitch of mine had a massive tear 6 inch long 4 wide and looking back was thin skinned cost over a thousand pound and was out of work for a long time.

 

[Dry Rot]

I probably should have added to my post above that tears need to be stitched as soon as possible so that the edges of the cut knit. Even leaving it a few hours is not good. Haven't tried superglue but that might be an alternative to those justifiably hesitant about sewing up. In my misspent youth, I kept lurchers and the greyhoundy ones only had to look at barbed wire!

 

[Old Shep]

The only way to train it out (as its obviously been trained in - albeit unwittingly) is to watch the dog like a hawk and below NO at it just before it jumps. If you are next to the fence at the time hitting the fence with a stick will make it vibrate to reinforce your shout. It will take a long time - think how many times the dog has jumped a fence and got rewarded by working sheep, and you need to do this more times than that!!

 

[neilo]

I don’t top my fences with barbed wire for this very reason, having peeled my old girl off an old rusty barbed fence in the past, and had her off work for several months over lambing as a result.

But then I don’t run cattle, or sheep that leap fences...

 

[Old Boar]

Just in case, keep some steri strips around. They replace stitching in all but the bigger wounds and are much easier to use. Work from the middle outwards. If nothing else, it will keep the wound closed until you can get the dog to the vets.


They work on pigs too...

 

[bovine]

I feel your pain. I used to keep some surgical needles and suture regularly having to stitch them up. Thin skinned dogs are the worst. Fortunately, suturing is not difficult after you've watched the vet do it (a hundred times! ) and the poor old dogs are usually very patient and long suffering.

Without sedation/anaesthesia then DIY surgery would be in contravention of the Animal Welfare Act.....

Unnecessary suffering

(1)A person commits an offence if—

(a)an act of his, or a failure of his to act, causes an animal to suffer,

(b)he knew, or ought reasonably to have known, that the act, or failure to act, would have that effect or be likely to do so,

(c)the animal is a protected animal, and

(d)the suffering is unnecessary.​

(2)A person commits an offence if—

(a)he is responsible for an animal,

(b)an act, or failure to act, of another person causes the animal to suffer,

(c)he permitted that to happen or failed to take such steps (whether by way of supervising the other person or otherwise) as were reasonable in all the circumstances to prevent that happening, and

(d)the suffering is unnecessary.​

(3)The considerations to which it is relevant to have regard when determining for the purposes of this section whether suffering is unnecessary include—

(a)whether the suffering could reasonably have been avoided or reduced;​

 

[Dry Rot]

Without sedation/anaesthesia then DIY surgery would be in contravention of the Animal Welfare Act.....

Unnecessary suffering

(1)A person commits an offence if—

(a)an act of his, or a failure of his to act, causes an animal to suffer,

(b)he knew, or ought reasonably to have known, that the act, or failure to act, would have that effect or be likely to do so,

(c)the animal is a protected animal, and

(d)the suffering is unnecessary.​

(2)A person commits an offence if—

(a)he is responsible for an animal,

(b)an act, or failure to act, of another person causes the animal to suffer,

(c)he permitted that to happen or failed to take such steps (whether by way of supervising the other person or otherwise) as were reasonable in all the circumstances to prevent that happening, and

(d)the suffering is unnecessary.​

(3)The considerations to which it is relevant to have regard when determining for the purposes of this section whether suffering is unnecessary include—

(a)whether the suffering could reasonably have been avoided or reduced;​

Stitching up a wound in an emergency is not "causing unnecessary suffering" (though it might be construed as "entering the body cavity") and, while I take your point, I think I'd rather stitch a clean cut than wait. Vets are not so readily available in the Scottish Highlands. There will always be stupid people and, unfortunately, there is no legislating against stupidity.

Can't find the Act as I don't have time, but did find the following:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/pets/news-features/vets-people-allowed-treat-pets/

The law does allow for certain exceptions that cover the situations where common sense would dictate that non-vets should be able to offer care to animals.

• The animal owner, a member of his household or his employee, may carry out minor medical treatment. This means that if your pet has a minor issue, like an upset stomach, a grazed pad or a superficial cut, you can go ahead and treat them yourself. You will only be able to use over-the-counter medication in such situations: only vets are legally allowed to use prescription only medicines.
  
  
• The animal owner or person engaged in caring for animals used in agriculture, who may carry out medical treatment or minor surgery not involving entry into a body cavity. This allows farmers and their employees to carry out minor issues to livestock, such as disbudding calves and castrating lambs.
  
  
• Registered veterinary nurses who may carry out medical treatment and minor surgery (not including entry into a body cavity), This allows vet nurses to carry out certain specified procedures: the extension of what nurses are allowed to do has allowed the veterinary nursing profession to expand its capabilities and powers over the past twenty years, becoming an even more important part of the veterinary team.
  
  
• Veterinary students and student veterinary nurses are allowed to carry out certain procedures as part of their training
  
  
• Registered farriers are allowed to carry out certain specified procedures. These procedures are a regular part of their work in treating foot and leg issues in horses
  
  
• Persons providing physical therapies. There’s an extra regulation that allows manipulative therapy of animals by non-vets, including physiotherapy, osteopathy and chiropractic. Under the Veterinary Surgeons (Exemptions) Order 2015, such therapy can only be carried out by someone over eighteen years of age who is acting under direction of a vet. In practice, this means that it can only be done if a pet owner is referred to a professional person by their vet.
  
  
• Blood sampling . Blood can only be collected from pets from a vein by a vet, or by a vet nurse under their direction. Farmers can take blood under a specific legal exemption. The other exception to this rule is that pet owners can take blood by pin-pr*ck for home tests like testing blood sugar.
  
  
• Anyone administering emergency first aid to save life or relieve pain or suffering. Again, common sense prevails: if anyone encounters an animal in trouble, they are allowed to do whatever may be necessary to save the animal’s life or to otherwise prevent pain or suffering. So if someone comes across an animal in distress that needs some sort of emergency surgery to save them, this is allowed. Or if you find a rabbit beside the road with a broken back, you are allowed to painlessly end their lives.