Dogs That Attack Sheep

[Frank-the-Wool]

Once again had another dog attack today, all very depressing as last week I appeared on TV in the South East highlighting the problem.

What has occurred to me is that a high proportion of the dogs that we actually catch in the act or soon after are dogs that have come from re-homing centres and I wouldn't be surprised if that was why they were put there to start with.
My point is should these re-homing centres be made responsible for the damage these dogs do. If they were they might destroy a few more of these before they had a chance to attack livestock.

Today's attack which killed 4 lambs and another that is unlikely to survive was by a rescue dog that was a classic Pikey dog that was a Lurcher cross. The idiot who had it just let it run and of course it disappeared!!

 

[yellowbelly]

I honestly don't know what the answer is to this dog problem but something needs to be done as it just seems to get worse.

Talking to these dog sanctuaries that re-home dogs, even if they can't be persuaded to destroy them (I know our local one is very anti, putting dogs down) might just make them more aware that they need to think very carefully about how they place dogs back out into the community. It can't make the situation any worse.

 

[unlacedgecko]

I think that far too much time and resources are dedicated to "rehabilitating" problem dogs.

I think it would be a better world all round if any animal that attack sheep was destroyed, along with more "rescue" dogs. It is unfortunate for the animals, but they are just animals...

 

[Downton_shep]

I'll grab some popcorn!

 

[Old Shep]

I do quite a lot of work in dog rescue, fostering rescue dogs until they are fit to be rehomed permanently, transporting, fundraising etc The suggestion that rescues to have some accountability for the dog for the rest of its life along with the new owner is quite a sensible idea. The best rescues already have joint ownership for life with their rehomed dogs and have both the rescue and the owners name on the chip. As in all walks of life, there are good rescues, so so rescues and appalling dog rescues. A good rescue would be appalled that a dog with evidently no recall be let off lead.

By the way the "big" rescues that boast they never put a healthy dog down - do put dogs to sleep, stating some health problem, or will never take a dog on with problems so it ends up being put down by someone else.

(sorry _Sheptastic - not a very argumentative post ;-) )

 

[J 1177]

Iv said before that i had a collie put down of my own that went for my todler son. It wasnt easy but it had to be done. The ammount of town folk and some semi rural folk that were horrified i couldnt quite belive. They couldnt see what was wrong with rehoming the dog.
Im sure that is echoed in dogs that worry livestock.

 

[Jewells]

A couple of years ago we were alerted early one morning that a dog had got one of our in-lamb ewes down a banking in the stream and was mauling her, it was an awful sight. My husband managed to shoot the dog which was a husky cross thing. I took the collar off the dog and found it had been rehomed locally from a dogs home in Manchester. I dread to think what could have happened if we hadn’t shot the dog as the new owner had a toddler. She lived in a flat and wasn’t allowed dogs as part of her tenancy. I did email the dogs home and told them about the incident and suggested they should review their rehoming policy, needless to say I’ve never had a reply so obviously were not interested. (I did also ring the police to tell them we had shot a dog)

The ewe survived and went on to have her lamb but she died a short time after, so the lamb became a family pet.

 

[Alicecow]

A couple of years ago we were alerted early one morning that a dog had got one of our in-lamb ewes down a banking in the stream and was mauling her, it was an awful sight. My husband managed to shoot the dog which was a husky cross thing. I took the collar off the dog and found it had been rehomed locally from a dogs home in Manchester. I dread to think what could have happened if we hadn’t shot the dog as the new owner had a toddler. She lived in a flat and wasn’t allowed dogs as part of her tenancy. I did email the dogs home and told them about the incident and suggested they should review their rehoming policy, needless to say I’ve never had a reply so obviously were not interested. (I did also ring the police to tell them we had shot a dog)

The ewe survived and went on to have her lamb but she died a short time after, so the lamb became a family pet.

They did a thorough home check then

 

[Jewells]

Once again had another dog attack today, all very depressing as last week I appeared on TV in the South East highlighting the problem.

What has occurred to me is that a high proportion of the dogs that we actually catch in the act or soon after are dogs that have come from re-homing centres and I wouldn't be surprised if that was why they were put there to start with.
My point is should these re-homing centres be made responsible for the damage these dogs do. If they were they might destroy a few more of these before they had a chance to attack livestock.

Today's attack which killed 4 lambs and another that is unlikely to survive was by a rescue dog that was a classic Pikey dog that was a Lurcher cross. The idiot who had it just let it run and of course it disappeared!!

So sorry to read this. I don't know what the answer is as how do you make irresponsible dog owners into responsible dog owners.

 

[It was already broken.]

Has the problem increased because there are more dogs around? When I was a kid in the 60's there didn't seem to be as many dogs (or cats) that there are now. I now think it odd when a household doesn't have a dog or a cat. It would therefore follow that if there are more dogs then there must be more out of control dogs.

 

[wr.]

Through the seventies and early eighties we had a lot of dog trouble as we farm on the edge of town. Our neighbour shot 26 in one year which were marauding and killing. Then when the milkmen and post men were getting followed by packs of dogs as they did their early morning deliveries, the council employed a dog warden. He worked hard to round up loose dogs and impound them and it made a huge difference. Now the council is strapped for cash again and doesn't have a warden which is a bit worrying for the future.
In recent threads on this subject, there have been some members opposed to shooting but you just can not shooo them away and hope they'll not come back. Once they've found that chasing woolybacks is great fun, they'll want more.
Until you've seen your sheep with their throats torn out and jaws hanging off and some still alive, I reckon you've got no right to judge the man who reaches for the gun to protect his stock.

 

[llamedos]

Indiscriminate breeding, wholly unsuitable breeds sold to wholly unsuitable owners who lack the wherewithal to train their dog, and the poor dog spends most of its miserable life shut in the house or yard, and then taken to the playground to get rid of its frustrations on what ever it comes across first.

If the police wont do anything to take these dog owners to prosecution, then the R$PCA should, allowing your dog to worry sheep while out of your control is a breech of animal welfare regulations. It is about bloomin time it was treated as the serious crime it has become. Someone somewhere needs to take and show some responsibility.
Until every dog which has attacked is put to sleep, no one will sit up and take notice.

 

[Filthyfarmer]

Until you've seen your sheep with their throats torn out and jaws hanging off and some still alive, I reckon you've got no right to judge the man who reaches for the gun to protect his stock.

This quote would make a good poster

 

[Tim W]

The whole dog attacking sheep thing seems to have spiralled in recent years
I'm not sure where to go with future actions?

I now put large signs up warning people to keep dogs on leads , I also put notices on FB pages where there are popular dog walking areas which does seem to help
However there are always idiots who don't seem to care or understand the potential every dog has to do damage

There are more people on our island and more of them seem to have dogs
Most of them are aware of their rights but few seem to be aware of the responsibilities that go with these rights

It also seems to me that dogs have more rights than sheep? I think the laws need reviewing

I would like to see;
1) more onus put on dog owners to control dogs
2) heavier penalties for non compliance (to include a ban on owning or keeping dogs)
3) Equal animal rights---sheep having equal rights as dogs ---

 

[llamedos]

Worrying of livestock need to be encompassed in the dangerous dogs act.
Our lobbyists should be fighting for this.

 

[unlacedgecko]

Worrying of livestock need to be encompassed in the dangerous dogs act.
Our lobbyists should be fighting for this.

It is already covered by the Protection of livestock act 1953. The law just needs to be applied correctly. Unfortunately, this is what we are up against - rich people who can enlist the assistance of specialist firms of solicitors.

http://wheldonlaw.co.uk/dog-law-solicitors/dogs-dangerously-out-of-control/

 

[llamedos]

It is already covered by the Protection of livestock act 1953. The law just needs to be applied correctly. Unfortunately, this is what we are up against - rich people who can enlist the assistance of specialist firms of solicitors.

http://wheldonlaw.co.uk/dog-law-solicitors/dogs-dangerously-out-of-control/

Should have clarified, I meant destruction of a dog. The Dangerous dogs act amended 1997

 

[unlacedgecko]

Should have clarified, I meant destruction of a dog. The Dangerous dogs act amended 1997

Still run into the same problem of rich townies lawyering up...

 

[llamedos]

Still run into the same problem of rich townies lawyering up...

possibly, but worth the test no?

 

[unlacedgecko]

possibly, but worth the test no?

Absolutely. Anything which reduces the incidence of sheep worrying is worth a go!