Dogs on leads

[stigofthedump]

Originally Posted by larachmor

The police, at present, are simply not interested

Not interested Bill, or haven't got the resources to put man-power into it?


Vince

[stripee]

In Wales, many rights of way, footpaths etc, run from property to property through fields, and woodlands and historically were for community use. Such as going to work, school, chapel, farm work, neighbours short cuts, cart roads.

Now they are used increasingly for local dog walking! When a ROW goes through a farmyard or close to a house then it would be nice if dog owners put their animals on a lead and did not let it mess too close to someone else's home. Unless it's going to be picked up. Some dogs are not controllable when they can see a cat or some other dogs or children, and it isn't fair to people who have homes on ROWs to have their animals, or kids chased around, many dogs don't have any training at all. Although of course some dogs and owners are considerate too.

The law says that a dog is 'a usual accompaniment" on a footpath, but the entitlement to take a dog on a right of way is confined to the line of the path, and exists while the dog is accompanying its owner or keeper. Thus if a dog is allowed to run around off the line of the path, trespass is committed against the holder of the land. This law has been used against hounds and the hunt (League Against Cruel Sports vs Scott 1985) an injunction was granted against the master of hounds to stop hounds going on land closed to hunt. Useful to know for landowners opposed to the hunt!

Must the dog be on a lead? There is no rule requiring that on a right of way a dog must be on a lead. A highway authority may make an order to require dogs to be on a lead, failure to comply is an offence. Also it's an offence to allow a dog to be at large in a field where there are sheep.There are other rules for Open Access land such as moorland.
(From Riddall and Trevelyan "ROWs Law and Practice".)

How to monitor or police dogs in areas such as urban parkland, is very difficult. Perhaps more people around such as wardens, park keepers. If you live in a rural area then generally it seems to be down to the landowner to sort out problems, and the council can help.

The RSPCA have a campaign to bring back the dog licence and on their website there is a very interesting file about the subject, with comments invited, although the Dogs Trust don't seem to like the idea much!

[larachmor]

Originally Posted by stigofthedump

Not interested Bill, or haven't got the resources to put man-power into it?


Vince

Both: We had a meeting with our 'part-time' wildlife officer. (Can you believe it? Here in this part of The Highlands the force is one of the few that does not employ a full-time officer)
We had instances of owners with loose-running dogs in our SPA woods during the caper's breeding season. Potential disturbance was a possibility. The owner in question REFUSED to keep the dog under control, and was, as we described, at the very least, "pushing the boundaries" of the law. The officer agreed to "knock on doors" in any further instances where owners could be identified. We had a repeat incident and provided the officer with details of the dog and its owner. What happened? Absolutely nothing.
Yes, they are under-resourced. But that is no excuse for failing to take action when it is justified, particularly when the officer concerned is the person designated with, supposedly, particular responsibilities for wildlife crime.

[stigofthedump]

Originally Posted by animartco

Hi Eeyore,
But there is a problem with this in that so many owners nowadays keep vicious dogs that cannot be trusted. This is a growing problem in the UK, and will very soon necessitate a law that dogs must be kept on leads at all times.

Tis the owners that cannot be trusted and I'm of the opinion that there is no such thing as a vicious domestic dog......just out of control owners.
Rottweiler, pit bulls, Bull terriers, greyhounds, poodles........I have never fostered a bad dog, never. I have had to establish a mindset with the animal many a time. Now if we could do that with owners.......


Vince

[John_M]

It would be simple enough to make attendance at dog training classes a compulsory part of gaining a dog licence, but the problem, as has been stated, is enforcing the licence. The sort of owners who would attend classes and acquire a licence are the ones who are responsible anyway; requiring all dogs to be microchipped would be a good aid to enforcement, but there's an awful lot of dogs out there to be checked, and not that many dog wardens.

[stigofthedump]

Micro chipping and registration, to an address rather than an individual, would be my choice. And yes I would make it compulsory. I fully understand that many people may find the cost prohibitive and I hold my hands up and say I haven't the answer to that one.

But I truly believe that dog ownership should be accompanied with responsibility and accountability.

Now dont get me started on cats, flak jacket on


Vince

[Jemma 11/11]

Please can we just have the enforcement of common sense and good dog ownership?
My dog is a fantastically well behaved collie who has been taught from a puppy no to chase birds/sheep/cats or anything else. I don't let her off the lead on commons where ponies are present (as she's terrified of them!) but at other times I do let her off the lead she is perfectly happy to walk 'to heel' and does not instantly run off and bite children or birds' necks, comes back when I tell her to and generally enjoys herself.

If there is a by-law which asks for dogs to be kept on leads, then I assume there is a valid reason and I will, but please take note that not all dogs run around attacking everything as soon as they are off the lead and it is up to the owner to act responsibly when out walking and to teach the dog what she/he can/can't do and to know their dog well enough to be able to judge when it is safe to do so.

Dogs can be trained to do all manner of things, such as adhere to footpaths even!

[Cowgirl]

Hear Hear Jemma (& welcome to WAB)

[Cowgirl]

Originally Posted by Jim Ford

Nah - do unto others, before they do unto you!
;^)

Jim

You're just trouble tho !

[animartco]

Originally Posted by stigofthedump

Tis the owners that cannot be trusted and I'm of the opinion that there is no such thing as a vicious domestic dog......just out of control owners.
Rottweiler, pit bulls, Bull terriers, greyhounds, poodles........I have never fostered a bad dog, never. I have had to establish a mindset with the animal many a time. Now if we could do that with owners.......


Vince

Hi Vince. Well yes of course, dogs are vicious because the owners make them vicious. I once heard a man boasting about how many people his dog had bitten! To be fair though attack breeds need much more careful handling. they DO have a natural tendency to be vicious because they have been BRED to be vicious.
I would never trust a doberman for instance unless I had trained it myself from a puppy.