Doberman Chases Sheep

[OEH]

My parents came home yesterday to find a doberman chasing their 4 lawnmowers (Cotswold sheep) up and down their very steep paddock. Their owner was about 500 yards away, on the other side of the house and garden in another field. The woman was unable to call the dog off the sheep and eventually my mother (aged 66) managed to chase it out of the gate. The woman walked off without apologizing with my father bellowing after her.

What should my parents have done/ what should they do now?

The woman lives in their village and they are concerned that the dogs will come back again now they have got the taste for it. They want to report it to the police, but are unsure what the police would be able to do, and are worried that the woman or her family might retaliate.

 

[kim & Tilly]

OOooo the other side of the coin so to speak....

I think they should report it as the dogs WERE activly worrying her sheep....

 

[OEH]

OOooo the other side of the coin so to speak....
I think they should report it as the dogs WERE activly worrying her sheep....

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Absoultely the other side of the coin- interesting huh?

I think they should definately report it, but they are concerned that the police won't be able to do anything and that they will just aggravate the situation.

 

[Mark Roberts]

once a dog starts chaseing sheep it will do it again & again given the chance, your parents need to call the police and get them to have a word with the owner of the dog and explain that if it's allowed to do it again it may end up being shot.

 

[kim & Tilly]

They dont have to give there name or anything if they just want some advice....

But it is better to report it as if it happens again there will be a record of the first incident, and if any problems occur report those as well...

People cant get away with taking the law into their own hands..(the dog owners that is)

Do they know who the local Beat Manager or PCSO is? they could have a friendly word with the owner just to advice what could happen if their dogs worry sheep etc...

 

[Nicola]

Dogs can do an awful lot of damage to sheep. As I mentioned in a previous post, even chasing them and running around them (when it's a strange dog) can cause them to abort unborn lambs, through the sheer stress of being chased. Quite often the lambs are the farmer's sole source of income (hill farmers especially).

I think your parents need to issue a verbal warning to these people, never to let it happen again. If it's done in a non threatening way, and politely and firmly, I'm sure they will get much better cooperation from these people.

It was probably a genuine accident (which they are genuinely very embarrassed about). It is very, very difficult to call dogs back when chasing sheep.

 

[BeeJay]

No question in my mind. Your parents need to report it. The dogs owner should have at least apologised and the dogs owner needs to know what a serious matter this is. ie that their dog may well end up dead if they don't keep it under control. They were in fact lucky this time if a farmer has had some sheep worrying in the past and they had a gun with 'em then they would simply have shot the dog so the dogs owners need to be aware of that.

I don't think that people always understand what damage can be done to sheep by being chased. They seem to think that it's all good fun for their dog and no harm done.

 

[~elizabeth~]

Sorry to hear your parents been having problems

Dogs can do an awful lot of damage to sheep. As I mentioned in  a previous post, even chasing them and running around them (when it's a strange dog) can cause them to abort unborn lambs, through the sheer stress of being chased.

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Yes, our friend we share the smallholding with had problems with this too - in his case from a dog swimming the Thames to reach the paddock he had his lambs in; someone threw a ball over there for the dog which was found beside on of them. One ewe lamb was discovered barerly alive suffering with terrible injuries, the others weren't as bad; however a ramb lamb died suddenly from a heart attack a couple of months later, who knows if it was related to the shock of the initial attack, so I would take it very seriously and keep a close eye on them. I would certainly report it, as it will be taken more seriously if the problem recurs.

I think there are an awful lot of fairly naïve dog owners out there, they genuinely think their dogs are too nice to ever do that sort of thing, they are too well-trained etc until opportunity and latent prey drive prove them wrong. Hopefully these people are in this category, have had a real shock, are now really embarrassed and will keep it well away from livestock in future.

If you know who they are, a gentle word of warning, perhaps from a third party/police might not be a bad thing to reinforce this point rather than an open confrontation. These things can be tricky, my parents' neighbours have had many ongoing feuds over wandering/problem dogs over the years, so it's better to go gently with people if you have to carry on living with them, at least in the first instance.

Hope the ringleted ones are ok :luck: (and if not they make superb whippet beds :- " :b )

 

[Pennymeadow Whippets]

Hi OEH send the police to warn the woman who own the dog & get your parents solicitors to send a letter to the woman who owns the dog stating clearly she has allowed her dog to break the law

 

[kim & Tilly]

Any update?

 

[OEH]

Thanks for asking :thumbsup:

Well they reported it to the police who went round and warned the woman that my father would have been in his rights to shoot them etc. There has been no further sign of them so lets hope it has shocked her into keeping them closer to her.

 

[kim & Tilly]

Thanks for asking :thumbsup:
Well they reported it to the police who went round and warned the woman that my father would have been in his rights to shoot them etc.  There has been no further sign of them so lets hope it has shocked her into keeping them closer to her.

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good, lets hope they heed the warning :thumbsup: