COUNTRY VIEWS
Untrained dogs are a danger in the countryside – and the owner is always responsible
Untrained dogs are a danger and the owner is responsible, says Sara Maitland.
I grew up with dogs. Our first family dog was a small poodle called Perro. At that time we lived in London and Perro was chiefly trained by my grandfather who lived with us. Perro was so well trained that when we moved to the Scottish countryside we had to put down a fake curbstone, because he could not relieve himself without a gutter to step into.
Later, my husband gave me a dog for my wedding present – a West Highland Terrier called Haggis, who did not need a lead even in towns because he was trained not to step down from a pavement on his own but sit until I caught up with him. Now I share my home with Zoe, a small hairy terrier-type dog. She is very old these days and I love her.
I did not acquire Zoe as a puppy. She came to me because she was out of control and not manageable in a city. At first she wasn’t manageable in the countryside either: she ran away, she chased anything that moved – which, up on my moor, meant sheep and cows as well as wild animals and game. However, Zoe was housetrained and never attacked anyone.
In the end, I went to the vet for advice and she said something truly useful: “This is a dog who has been loved but not trained. You can always, even when they are older, train a dog that has been loved. Dogs are pack animals – she wants to be in your pack. You just need to make absolutely clear to her that you are the boss and what it is that you want.”
This worked. She still has a tendency to take off after hare, but she never catches one and comes in when called. And she occasionally likes to sneak off and visit the people who live near the signal box, half a mile away, who I am convinced give her snacks – though they deny it!
TRAINING IS VITAL
In the last year of coronavirus lockdowns a great number of people have acquired puppies for the first time, but are not ‘dominating’ them as a puppy needs to be dominated – both to make the dog fun to own and, I believe, to make it happy. A dog who is not under control can – and will – do an unexpected amount of damage.
For example, we talk about dogs ‘worrying’ sheep: a dog that chases sheep is not in the human sense ‘worrying’ them – she/he is damaging them: causing them panic, distress, miscarriage and even death.
This is not only extremely upsetting for the sheep, it is also properly infuriating to their owners, who, incidentally, have the legal right to shoot your dog if it is harassing or distressing their stock.
Ground-nesting birds, most rodents and indeed more or less anything they can get their teeth into are fair game from the dog’s point of view. It is your business – not the dog’s, not the farmer’s and not the victim’s – to prevent your dog ‘worrying’ anything.
This is very simple to achieve: keep it on a lead where there are any animals around and keep it in sight at all times. Remember that your dogs will not mind being kept close to you – don’t be deceived by the tugging, that is part of the game. They are pack animals and they like being with others.
For centuries dogs have been ‘best friends’ with humans. Few humans will love you as your well-trained dog will love you, and it will give you exercise and joy. But an ill-trained dog is nervewracking, dangerous to wildlife and may render you criminal.
It is, very simply, up to you.