Posted: Thu May 07, 2009 5:04 pm Post subject: Would you ever trust your dog off lead in a field of sheep?
We were discussing this last week and wondered how your dogs behave with sheep. Lottie just wants to play (I'm sure she thinks they are also dogs!) but every field we walk through she gets a stern 'leave it' and a tug on the slip lead. She was much better last week but I feel we could never trust her off lead at all. Certainly wouldn't want to test it and end up on the other end of a farmer with a gun. I'd never ever forgive myself if anything happened.A friend of mine's Jack Russell killed a lamb 2 years ago and I was mortified (I wasn't there by the way)
What do you all think and how do your dogs behave?
I trust Basil with cows completely (and horses ) he has no interest at all and stays close. Basil doesn;t chase rabbits or squirrelys either, but has been known to send groups of birds off to see what they were munching at on the floor
Sheep in a field, no I wouldn't. They tend to 'run' in a herd at the sight of a dog sometimes and for most dogs that must ignite even the tiniest bit of prey drive.
I'm sure he'd call away and leave (only because he's a wuss) but i just wouldn't risk it for the sake of popping a leash on in 1 field. It's not fair on the farmer or my dog.
All that said, I will happily leave him off where sheep are more sparse and roaming free, say the moors or something like open access land. He has never paid them the slightest attention, we are usually on a marathon walk anyway and so he'll be plodding very close to me, the sheep also seem a lot more at ease (maybe as on heavy walkers routes they see lots of off leash dogs and aren't herded by dogs?) and i suppose we all are too.
Last edited by Basil on Thu May 07, 2009 5:14 pm; edited 1 time in total
How ever friendly a dog is, a sheep only sees a predator and can panic. If the sheep is pregnant they can then suffer a miscarriage. If one sheep in a flock miscarries this can trigger the same in other sheep and a farmer can end up with a lot (or worse all) his sheep losing lambs.
Sorry to be harsh, but my brother is a trainee sheep farmer and I know how devastating it would be to him to have his sheep lose their lambs because a dog, even a friendly dog spooked them.
Cadbury loves sheep because he was a puppy with bruv's pet sheep. He used to sleep in their pen with them, so I know he would not hurt a sheep - but even so I would never ever let him off lead around a flock.
Both my dogs have been around livestock - including sheep - all their lives and they are now 13 and 8.
However, I would NEVER take either of them in a field of sheep off lead for various reasons, not just that they may chase sheep.
Anything could happen. For example a fox or whatever could cross the field within their line of vision, or sniff range and they could set off in pursuit without thought. This could result in sheep bolting, even though they are not actually being chased, and if you know sheep, they do tend to keel over with the greatest of ease.
My 2 are very much like Basil and take no notice walking through fields of cows or horses although i must admit we've never been through a field of sheep but as they haven't seen sheep close up before i would definately put them onlead... even when we walk straight through a field of young cows recently i slipped them both onlead as the cows were very interested in us and were bouncing around us which neither alfie or billy took any notice of but just incase i put them on. (especially as i hate cows )
I would NEVER take an off lead dog into a field of sheep, unless I knew the owner and had his permission. Farmers can get very protective of their herd (and they have every right to be) and could easily mistake an off lead dog running by the side of it's human as a Sheep Worrier and shoot it.
As for would I trust my dogs...I think I probably would but then they have been exposed from young to farm animals, from Ducks to Goats to Horses and they treat all with respect (especially the geese ) and more often than not, with great indifference.
How ever friendly a dog is, a sheep only sees a predator and can panic. If the sheep is pregnant they can then suffer a miscarriage. If one sheep in a flock miscarries this can trigger the same in other sheep and a farmer can end up with a lot (or worse all) his sheep losing lambs.
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Oh how awful, i didn't realise that could happen i will definately keep my dogs onlead if we ever go through a sheep field now
Baxter has no interest in anything on walks animal-wise, whatsoever. He ignores rabbits, pheasants (even when they shoot out next to you ), cows, he only notices horses if people are on them!
I'd completely trust him, but know how easily spooked sheep are at nothing, so it's no trouble for me to have him on lead for that field. Now that he walks well on lead anyway, I don't even know he's there!
Nope nope nopety nope.
Taz one of my collies is scared of sheep so barks at them if he is off the lead, ( and they are on the other side of a fence so they can't eat him) and Gallie just ignores them - rubbish sheep dogs!. The only time the boys have been off lead with sheep was in Ashdown forest and the pesky sheep just turn up out of the blue, we were playing in some water so they didnt really notice until we were finished then Taz was very quiet and stuck to me like glue - coz there wasn't a fence between him and the scary sheep!
But if I had no choice but to walk through a field of sheep it would be on lead every time, because even with the best behaved dog you really just never know .
Oh and another Taz moment with sheep, we live in the middle of no where and the field opposite our drive gate had sheep in it for about 6 weeks everytime Taz got out of the car in the drive he would bark at the sheep (just one bark as he got out of the car and safe because there was a fence and the sheep couldn't get him). In the field by the gate there are two big white rocks, the sheep were moved a few weeks ago but Taz would still jump out of the car bark at the "sheep" and run to the back door. I had to take him over to meet the scary "sheep", he very gingerly came across the road with me and gave the rocks a thorough evil eye then realised they were rocks - the look on his face was priceless
I'd never let my dogs off lead around livestock of any sort. We have sheep in the field right next to us and my dogs tear off after them if they see them (we are totally fenced in so no danger of the dogs getting to the sheep). Having said that my dogs were there long before the sheep so if a sheep keeled over because my dogs ran up to the fence and barked I would accept no responsiblity whatsoever!!
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) and more often than not, with great indifference.
i will definately keep my dogs onlead if we ever go through a sheep field now 
