Keeping Dogs Safe Near Livestock on Walks

Know the Rules Before You Set Off

Walking a dog in the British countryside is one of life's genuine pleasures — until a field of sheep appears on the horizon and you feel your stomach tighten. A little preparation turns that moment from a crisis into a non-event. Before you even park the car, it's worth understanding what's expected of you.

Under the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953, it is a criminal offence for a dog to worry livestock, and "worrying" covers far more than biting. Chasing, barking at and circling animals all count, and no contact is needed for an offence to be committed. The law was tightened further in recent years, with steeper penalties and wider definitions, and it applies to cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, horses and poultry. If your dog causes a ewe to abort or a lamb to be abandoned, the consequences for the farmer are real and long-lasting.

On open access land in England and Wales, dogs must be on a lead of no more than two metres between 1 March and 31 July, and at all times when livestock are present. On public footpaths across farmland there is no blanket lead rule, but your dog must be under control — and "he's usually fine" is not a defence in a field of in-lamb ewes.

Read the Field Before You Enter It

Good practice starts at the gate. Pause, look properly, and take in the whole field rather than the path immediately in front of you. Ask yourself three questions: what animals are in here, where are they, and what is my exit if this goes wrong?

• Look for distance. Sheep grazing quietly at the far end are workable; a mob pressed against the gate you need to cross is not. Consider a detour, retracing your steps or finding an alternative right of way.
• Check for young. Ewes with lambs, and cows with calves, are the animals most likely to react. Spring and early summer demand the greatest caution.
• Watch for horses too. They spook easily, and a startled horse can injure itself, its rider and your dog.
• Note the ground. If the only route goes between a cow and her calf, don't take it.

If the field is empty of livestock but clearly in use, keep your dog close anyway. Sheep can be moved into a field while you're halfway across it.

Sheep: Give Them Every Metre You Can

Sheep are the single biggest source of countryside conflict, largely because a dog that means no harm can still cause catastrophe. A single chase can send a pregnant ewe into premature labour, separate a lamb from its mother, or push animals through a fence.

Put your dog on a short lead — a fixed lead of a metre or so, not an extending one — before you enter the field, not after. Walk a wide arc around the flock rather than heading straight through it. Keep your body between the dog and the sheep where you can, and keep moving at a steady pace. Don't stop to take photographs or let your dog stare. If sheep move towards you, turn slightly away and continue; they will usually settle once you've passed.

A flexi-lead is genuinely dangerous here. If a dog bolts at the end of one, the thin cord can wrap around a leg or a hand, and you have no real control.

Cattle: Stay Calm, Stay Unhurried

Cattle are curious rather than predatory, but they are heavy, fast over short distances and fiercely protective of calves. Most incidents involve a herd following a walker, or a cow reacting to a dog it perceives as a threat.

• Walk steadily and quietly. Don't run, shout, wave your arms or make eye contact with an animal that has its attention on you.
• Keep the herd in view. If cattle are moving, let them move. Give them space to drift away from you rather than pressing past them.
• Don't get between a cow and her calf. Go around the edge of the group, or wait until she moves on.
• If you feel genuinely threatened, let your dog off the lead. You cannot outrun cattle; your dog can. A dog that is loose will usually escape, whereas one on a lead tethers you both into the middle of the danger. Move calmly to a gate or fence and get yourself to safety.

If you are charged, put a solid obstacle between you and the animal. Report any incident to the landowner afterwards, even if nothing came of it.

Gates, Stiles and the Little Courtesies

Leave every gate exactly as you find it. A closed gate means livestock are being held in; an open one may mean a farmer is moving animals through. A gate left swinging is how herds end up on a road.

Lift your dog over stiles rather than letting it scramble through gaps, and be careful with barbed wire on either side. Use the kissing gates and bridle gates designed for the purpose, and keep to the line of the path — crops, hay meadows and young trees are someone's living. If you meet a farmer, a nod and a brief greeting costs nothing and does a great deal for the reputation of everyone who walks with a dog.

Practise Before You Need It

Reliable recall and a solid "leave it" are the two most valuable skills you can teach a country dog, and both need rehearsing somewhere safe and enclosed — a garden, a secure field, a training class — long before you rely on them beside a flock. Reward your dog for checking in with you, reward it for walking past something interesting, and make yourself more interesting than the sheep.

Carry a short lead, a spare slip lead, water, treats and a bag for waste, and tell someone your route and expected return time. Do that, and you and your dog can enjoy the lanes, bridleways and footpaths that make the British countryside such a superb place to walk — quietly, safely, and welcome back any time.