Dogs and fields

[C3BER]

Just a few pointers to walkers with dogs at this time of year.

I know for many I'm teaching granny etc but you would be suprised how many dog walkers just don't think.

Dogs must be kept close at hand and that does not mean halfway across the field chasing lambs. What happens to some owners when they see a field they think it's theirs and let their dogs run over it like its the local park???

Not only do we have cows out with calves, sheep with lambs but our yearly nesting birds that are sensitive to fido dashing all over the place.

The amount of times we have to tell people to keep control of their dogs and to explain why is plainly maddening. Have a great summer but remember its not your garden it's a working environment.

[illmonkey]

+ On bridleways that stipulate dog leads. I'm fed up of slowing down (on my bike) because people don't follow the rules and let their dog run everywhere. If it said dogs were allowed off leads, I wouldn't complain.

[Willy Nilly]

We have a field that people appear to think is common land. People come from up to 10 miles to let their dogs st in our grass. They think it doesn't matter, but it is mown for hay and I bale it. Once in the while the baler blocks and the hay has to be pulled out by hand. It's not very nice having dog st on your hands when there is nowhere to wash them. I doubt it's very nice for the girls who have to feed it or for the horses that have to eat it.

Too many people have dogs that have not the brains for them, the time for them or are responsible enough for them.

[bexVN]

Willy Nilly said:

We have a field that people appear to think is common land. People come from up to 10 miles to let their dogs st in our grass. They think it doesn't matter, but it is mown for hay and I bale it. Once in the while the baler blocks and the hay has to be pulled out by hand. It's not very nice having dog st on your hands when there is nowhere to wash them. I doubt it's very nice for the girls who have to feed it or for the horses that have to eat it.

Too many people have dogs that have not the brains for them, the time for them or are responsible enough for them.

I assume you have signs stating it's private land etc...I don't get why people think it is ok to ignore these signs, just plain rude they wouldn't like it if strangers walked over their gardens!

[C3BER]

You don't have to place signs for people to realise its not common land but we are using "this is not a dog toilet" in our area. Because we have footpaths across our land we have a duty of care for walkers but walkers and dogs just don't seem to understand their responsibility.

[bexVN]

C3BER said:

You don't have to place signs for people to realise its not common land but we are using "this is not a dog toilet" in our area. Because we have footpaths across our land we have a duty of care for walkers but walkers and dogs just don't seem to understand their responsibility.

How do people know what is private land compared to common land if there is no signage?

I'm not trying to be antagonistic but I genuinely don't know.

[Willy Nilly]

bexVN said:

How do people know what is private land compared to common land if there is no signage?

I'm not trying to be antagonistic but I genuinely don't know.

In our case, the padlocked gate with barbed wire across the top might indicate that the land is not public...

Why should landowners/tenants need to put signs up to keep people off? Surely the default choice is don't walk on it unless it's signed otherwise? Then if you do, don't drop litter, keep your dog/kids under control and don't be a cock

[C3BER]

Because there is not much common land left in the country and I'm sure only a little bit of common sense tells you it's not common land

Plus common land tends to be called common.

[bexVN]

Willy Nilly said:

bexVN said:

How do people know what is private land compared to common land if there is no signage?

I'm not trying to be antagonistic but I genuinely don't know.

In our case, the padlocked gate with barbed wire across the top might indicate that the land is not public...

Why should landowners/tenants need to put signs up to keep people off? Surely the default choice is don't walk on it unless it's signed otherwise? Then if you do, don't drop litter, keep your dog/kids under control and don't be a cock

Yep agree with all of that and pretty much as I'd have guessed but if I'm truly honest if there were no barbed wire, fencing or signage I maybe one of those who'd think it was ok to walk on (unless obvious farmland and aniamls grazing etc) but I would clear up after my dog and keep him under control (and I'd never drop litter!)

I lived in area where there is a lot of land that is ok to walk on and the bits that aren't are signed just because they are literally next to each other and would be hard to tell otherwise.

[C3BER]

Is your dog under control?
If you take a dog into the countryside using a public footpath or public bridleway you have a responsibility to keep the dog under control. There is no legal requirement to keep your dog on a lead on a public right of way but unless you are very confident about your dog’s obedience we strongly recommend that you do.
Dogs and livestock
You should be especially aware when a public right of way
enters a field in which there are likely to be farm animals. If your dog ‘worries’ the animals not only could you be prosecuted and fined but you may be ordered to pay compensation and the dog may be put down. ‘Worrying livestock’ means attacking or chasing any farm animal, including poultry. In a field or enclosure a dog that is not a working dog can be regarded as worrying sheep simply by not being on a lead or otherwise under close control. ‘Close control’ has not been legally defined but a dog on a short lead will be under close control while an unrestrained dog may
not be. A landowner is entitled to shoot a dog that is worrying livestock and you may be liable to pay for damages if your dog injures a person, another animal, or any property.
Dog fouling
There are significant health risks associated with dog fouling. Dog faeces carry harmful infections, the most widely known being Toxocariasis. Toxocara eggs are not infectious until they mature, which usually takes at least 2–3 weeks after they have been deposited by a dog. Dog faeces will only contaminate the soil when it has been left on the ground for this period of time so if owners immediately clean up after their dog the threat of toxocariasis would be virtually eradicated. Also, many public rights of way cross land used to produce food and dog faeces can cause serious infections to livestock.
Make sure your dog is wormed regularly, clean up after your dog, and dispose of any mess responsibly. Ask your vet for advice on worming.


Nicked the above

[Who me ?]

Something else to be aware of - in council places a lot of spraying against weeds is taking place. Just be aware .

[pikeyboy]

Not just councils, all the farmers around me are busy spraying like mad.

[Nigel Worc's]

I sometimes go walking in the country, although I've never so far taken my dog(s)

I hopefully keep to the paths, I do try, but sometimes I have difficulty telling where I should be, because landowners and tennants stick electric fences and barbed wire even where they shouldn't.

So, signs would help this thicko walker

[C3BER]

Footpaths can be an issue and to help walkers I mow the path in the silage fields to help in directing them in the right direction. Others have put out poles with yellow tops to help walkers. I'm a big fell walker myself and I know how frustrating it can be to know your path around farm buildings but just ask if your not sure. Ramblers can be good and ramblers can be a pain in the arse if they cannot read a simple map provided by the council.

[illmonkey]

Paddy_N_Murphy said:

illmonkey said:

+ On bridleways that stipulate dog leads. I'm fed up of slowing down (on my bike) because people don't follow the rules and let their dog run everywhere. If it said dogs were allowed off leads, I wouldn't complain.

Not in full agreement with you there I am afraid.
Dogs need to be in control - not on a lead.

If I see / hear bikes I call the dogs in or get them to stop and sit where they are.

No legal requirement for dogs to remain on a lead. Unlike dismounting cyclings on the pavement / cyclists red lights yada yada.

Most owners on the trail don't seem to be able to control them. Owner calls dogs name, dog stops, turns and takes up path. Then runs where ever it wants. Really, it'd be better if they left the dog in the ditches sniffing, I'd be past before its realised!

It also takes forever to get the persons attention. It's like their own personal path walking 3 abreast.

[Nigel Worc's]

illmonkey said:

It also takes forever to get the persons attention. It's like their own personal path walking 3 abreast.

I suspect I need the whoosh parrot directed at me, because as you've posted this on PH, you are of course expecting "just like poxy effing bleeding cyclists on any road in the UK !"

You have of course found something that actually has priority over you ........ if I dare suggest that such a thing exists ...... to a cyclist.

I dislike cyclists almost as much as scamera vans

[illmonkey]

Nigel Worc's said:

illmonkey said:

It also takes forever to get the persons attention. It's like their own personal path walking 3 abreast.

I suspect I need the whoosh parrot directed at me, because as you've posted this on PH, you are of course expecting "just like poxy effing bleeding cyclists on any road in the UK !"

You have of course found something that actually has priority over you ........ if I dare suggest that such a thing exists ...... to a cyclist.

I dislike cyclists almost as much as scamera vans

If you could read the signs, I have priority on said trail (not road!). If the sign said, "let your dogs run free with no restraints, while you don't move over when you see a cyclist/other walker come towards you. Oh and that st your dog just done, we're fine with it being left" They I imagine I'd not cycle along it. I use it as I can normally get a good cycle along it and most people are pleasant and move over if I give them a heads up.

I rarely cycle on roads, as cars are big heavy metal things, where as I'm only big and heavy.

[illmonkey]

Paddy_N_Murphy said:

No one has a Priority as far as I am concenred.

Manners, however, are wonderful thing.

The sign tells me I do. I don't take the piss and the other walkers/cyclists shouldn't either.

I am polite to people I'm coming up behind, although I tend to give them a long warning (as it startles people a bit), so I'm basically shouting. I always thank those who do move over.

But if the signs say keep dogs on leads at all times and that cyclists have priority, it does gripe me that people then let their dogs lose and don't bother to heel them.

[BOR]

Willy Nilly said:

We have a field that people appear to think is common land. People come from up to 10 miles to let their dogs st in our grass. They think it doesn't matter, but it is mown for hay and I bale it. Once in the while the baler blocks and the hay has to be pulled out by hand. It's not very nice having dog st on your hands when there is nowhere to wash them. I doubt it's very nice for the girls who have to feed it or for the horses that have to eat it.

Too many people have dogs that have not the brains for them, the time for them or are responsible enough for them.

I was thinking about this recently. Parts of a local field where I walk my dog had been planted with strawberries. There are non-planted pathways alongside, which people had left their dogst on.

I thought at the time how unplesant this must be for anyone who has to work those beds, and lo and behold, this weekend, fences went up around the beds.

Wife thinks it's to stop people nicking the strawberries, I think it could be because of the dogst.

Dog owners are our own worst enemies. We have now lost use of part of the field, because we can't do something as simple as pick up after our dogs.

[RB Will]

Paddy_N_Murphy said:

illmonkey said:

+ On bridleways that stipulate dog leads. I'm fed up of slowing down (on my bike) because people don't follow the rules and let their dog run everywhere. If it said dogs were allowed off leads, I wouldn't complain.

Not in full agreement with you there I am afraid.
Dogs need to be in control - not on a lead.

If I see / hear bikes I call the dogs in or get them to stop and sit where they are.

No legal requirement for dogs to remain on a lead. Unlike dismounting cyclings on the pavement / cyclists red lights yada yada.

If there is a sign up saying dogs on leads then they should obey. This sign is ignored by people in lots of places.
I know a few cycle routes which have signs saying to keep dogs on leads and no horses allowed. You end up cycling along watching out for loose dogs while weaving around the horse crap.

Yes I am a dog owner and will put my dog on a lead where required