YP Letters: Well-trained dogs do not need to be on a lead

From: Mr MJ Thompson, Cantley, Doncaster.
Are inconsiderate dog walkers putting sheep at risk?Are inconsiderate dog walkers putting sheep at risk?
Are inconsiderate dog walkers putting sheep at risk?

I FEEL compelled once again to answer the article in Country Week about sheep worrying by dogs owned by inconsiderate dog walkers.

Not every dog owner has to have their dog on a lead to have it under control i.e. a sheep farmer and his border collie. I too, like the shepherd, have spent many, many hours training my dog to be under control without a leash.

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I walk many miles on the fells and moors with my dog who shows not the slightest interest in any livestock as she walks alongside of me. My dog is in fact on a leash, a verbal one. The optimum word is not lead, but control. I do accept sheep worrying is a terrible thing for a farmer to experience, but do not tar everybody with the same brush just because their dog is not on a leash.

Farmers, quite rightly, have the right to shoot dogs chasing sheep, but this will not include mine as she trots alongside of me.

From: Tom Johnson, Northallerton.

ON a walk through the town, I despaired of the amount of dog mess blighting footpaths.

Do owners of the animals responsible not care and what can be done?

The dogs concerned can’t all be strays.