GRRRRR rant- stupid people

[Lauram]

Hi everyone,

I have just had a massive go at a total moron, cannot repeat what I yelled at him, but the 'F' word was used.

A footpath runs across our top field. Stan and Bobby ( horses) were out while I was mucking out. This total idiot just walked his Spaniel through the field allowing it to run between the legs of the horses, snapping at their heels etc. He made absolute NO attempt to call his dog back, stop it in anyway just carried on dithering and wandering pointlessly. I went mad!!!! I have dogs and understand that sometimes they choose to ignore you, sometimes their behaviour is disgraceful and they are an utter embarrassment, but this guy was making no attempt to control his dog.

I shouted at him and swore quite a bit, my blood boiled. When he finally shouted at it, it left the horses and continued on its way. Why did he not do that at the start??? Did he think that harrassing horses is acceptable, some kind sport. I am sick of this type of person, stupid moronic imbeciles that make their dogs everyones elses problem, just like the ridiculous chavs and their screaming devil spawn who I have to deal with on a regular basis at the pub where I work, they make their children everyone elses problem. What is wrong with people these days? I am all for live and let live, and despite my ranting I'm pretty tolerant but these fools (trying not to swear) are taking it too far.

I'm furious.

[Mattie]

Threaten to shoot his dog, we know you won't do it but he doesn't You are entitled to shoot his dog as he is worrying your horses.

[Lauram]

If I had a gun its not his dog I would be shooting!!!!

[jacksdad]

Threaten to shoot his dog, we know you won't do it but he doesn't You are entitled to shoot his dog as he is worrying your horses.

you know, that might be legal is some states

ok, only joking, but there are stranger laws left on the books

[thepennywhistle]

You have my sympathies over this one. Nothing makes me madder than someone's dog having a go at my
horses. They seem to think 'big horse, not going to be hurt by little doggie having some fun' Wrong.
Horses can get hurt, dogs can get hurt, and the people who own said ill-mannered dogs can most certainly
get hurt. By us, defender of the horses, if nothing else. Hopefully your justified anger will have gotten
through to this man with marshmallow brains. I'd have been irate at him just walking through my fields
without an invite, dog or no.

I was lucky. I'd had several rounds with a neighbor who let his dogs 'play' with my horses. I was furious,
but my horses settled it for me. The neighbor's dog, a big German Shepherd, was not lucky. I warned
his owner that my horses could hurt his dogs, but oh no, had to let them come visit me. He crawled home
one day, poor dog, in terrible shape. They couldn't figure out if he'd been hit by a car or beaten with
something like a baseball bat. I guess the vet didn't offer any opinions, but it required orthopedic surgery
and much aftercare to get him on his feet again. I dared not point out that my angry Clyde cross might
have had something to do with it, but I knew. Funny, the dog never came in my fields again.

I personally like paint ball guns. Those pellets hit with quite a sting, and leave neon-colored paint splotches
on them that look very satisfying to me and seem very upsetting to owners. Won't cause permanent damage,
but it gets the message across to both dog and owner.

Stupid people. Make sure to tell 'em that you're not responsible for the vet bills if your horse smashes something
on their sweet doggie like a head or a pelvis. Go get 'em, Jack's Dad, and we'll cheer you on

[Mattie]

Jacksdad, you can shoot a dog in the UK if it is worrying your livestock, you don't even have to prove it, just say it was

When I first got Tumbleweed my horse he was 7 months old and the local dogs thought it was fun to chase and nip hip, being a normal stroppy colt he wouldn't take this and started to attack the dogs with his heels and teeth. This stayed with him for the rest of his life, and dog that barked round his heels or went to nip him was fair game and would get both back feet.

I used to ride a Welsh Cob when I was a teenager and he would also attack dogs if they tried to attack him but one day I was riding a heavyweight hunter on the beach when a JRT came racing up barking and nipping all the horses heels, Monach got fed up, we were trotting, and instead of putting his hind foot down he left it up, the dog ran into his hoof and didn't regain consciousness. I was terrified of any dogs approaching a horse I was riding for many years after that.

Owners who allow their dogs to chase and worry horses don't realise that a horse can kill their dog.

[Sarah83]

I used to walk Shadow and Wolf regularly where there were horses and I was always astounded that so many people thought it was fine for their dogs to chase horses. I didn't leash my two around them since they ignored them but if a horse had to pass us on the path I'd call them back, move off the path and put them in a sit. It seemed to make the rider feel better about passing but I think both dogs sort of rolled their eyes and gave a "here we go again" sort of sigh lol. It wasn't just for the horse and riders sake though, I've seen a dog kicked by a horse and I wasn't about to let that happen to mine if they got too close to a horse.

[chelle&honey]

idiots!! I feel for your i really do!!

I'd go with Mattie's idea

Michelle x

[Lauram]

So glad you guys can feel my fury!!!!

I think my dogs may have to keep me on a lead for being 'reactive' or 'other owner aggressive'.

[Mattie]

I you know who he is and were he lives you can report him for letting his dog worry your horses, and if you really wanted to be nasty, you can demand that his dog be pts for this. Insist that the police order him to keep his dog under control. They may try to get out of this but if you check the defra site, this is what it says on http://www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-pets/p ... ndex.htm#8


Dogs worrying livestock
The Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953
Under the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953 the owner and anyone else under whose control the dog is at the time will be guilty of an offence if it worries livestock on agricultural land. The dog must have been attacking or chasing livestock in such a way that it could reasonably be expected to cause injury or suffering or, in the case of females, abortion or the loss or diminution of their produce. An offence is not committed if at the time of the worrying the livestock were trespassing, the dog belonged to the owner of the land on which the trespassing livestock were and the person in charge of the dog did not cause the dog to attack the livestock. The definition of 'livestock' includes cattle, sheep, goats, swine, horses and poultry. Game birds are not included.

The Animals Act 1971
Civil liability arises from the Animals Act 1971. Anyone who is the keeper of a dog that causes damage by killing or injuring livestock is liable for the damage caused. For the purposes of the Act the keeper is the owner or the person in possession of the dog. The head of the household is liable where the owner is under the age of 16.

The keeper of the dog is not liable where the damage is due wholly to the fault of the person suffering it or if the livestock were killed or injured on land onto which they had strayed and either the dog belonged to the occupier or its presence was authorised by the occupier.

Under the Act there is a defence available to someone who is the subject of civil proceedings for killing or injuring a dog that was worrying or about to worry livestock. The defence can be used where there were no other means of ending or preventing the worrying or where the dog that had done the worrying was still in the vicinity and not under control and there were no practicable means of establishing ownership.

The definition of livestock in the 1971 Act is wider than in the 1953Act. Here it includes pheasants, partridges and grouse whilst in captivity.

[DawnStorm]

Threaten to shoot his dog, we know you won't do it but he doesn't You are entitled to shoot his dog as he is worrying your horses.

you know, that might be legal is some states

ok, only joking, but there are stranger laws left on the books

I believe it is in Virginia. There's a lot of yuppie types that have learned that the hard way.
As far as I'm concerned you and everyone has a right to protect himself and/or his livestock.

[itsbeth]

I know you have to protect what's yours, but I can't stand the thought of dogs being shot for just being dogs. It's the owner's fault for not keeping their dogs under control. I would exhaust all possible humane options before resorting to anything that could harm a dog (and I know the OP isn't considering shooting the dog, I'm just commenting in general).

[Mattie]

What about the farmer, he sees many of his sheep abort their lambs and many sheep die of serious injuries because of dogs, yes it is the owner's fault for allowing this but sheep shouldn't have to go through all this trauma and pain either.

[itsbeth]

That is true, I guess I was thinking more about dogs "worrying" livestock (which sounds like play, though of course the other animals don't see it that way) than actually attacking them. A dog that's hurting other animals would have to be dealt with.

I was also a bit shocked at coming on Victoria's board and seeing mention of having a dog put to sleep after one incident to punish the owner. Can't we punish owners without sacrificing dogs?

[Nettle]

The dogs are never, ever EVER playing. They mean to kill.

I agree it's sad that the dogs pay the penalty not the owners - but it takes that threat to make some owners act responsibly, and once a dog has chased livestock it is very difficult to stop it doing so in future.