In the latest annual report of the Commoners' Defence Association, mention is made of the increase on the Forest of dog attacks on ponies and other livestock. Of course it is not illegal for a dog to be off the lead on the Forest but it is illegal for them not to be under proper control or to worry livestock. In the last two days I have had encounters with two dogs harassing animals - yesterday a Lurcher puppy that was running around in circles barking at a cow and then a Shetland pony. Fortunately neither animal decided to run away or the situation could have become more serious. The owner, who tells me that he was trying to put the dog on a lead (this after his wife had called me a stupid bitch; surely a compliment from a dog owner) was making no impact on the dog at all since it had gone deaf in its excitement. Today a Collie type dog chased all of the ponies that had called in on me for their lunch. It's bad enough when the Forest ponies are being chased but what about when the foals are around or a ridden horse? Last year the Horse and Hound reported on some very serious incidents of riders being chased and attacked by dogs and the injuries that the horses and riders sustained.
I really really love dogs, but like horses they do need to be trained in order to be safe. Domestication is actually the process of taking the dog out of the dog or the horse out of the horse or at least those parts that it isn't safe to keep. Dog owners need to recognise that their dog is a predator just as horse owners need to understand that their horse is a prey animal. If they buy or breed a dog which is by it's very nature a hunter (and most of them are) they need to train the dog to come back to them no matter how exciting it finds the animals it meets. They need to be more fascinating than anything that the dog encounters - so shouting at a dog or being angry is absolutely pointless, why would you want to go back to someone in that frame of mind? Shouting at a barking dog is insane - it just says to the dog, you're right, because I am barking too!! Clicker training works extremely well with dogs and some tasty morsel can be offered every time the dog comes back to command. Practised in a safe environment and then tested in incremental stages, the dog can be trained to come back each time, every time it is asked to. It shouldn't be left to chance.
If a dog is frightened of horses that can also cause it to bark at them. In those circumstances the owner needs to make sure they don't join in emotionally - either by being cross or being overly reassuring.
Incidentally I think people shout at dogs and horses to let other people know that they are trying to do something about a situation. As a method of training, on the whole it doesn't work although it may momentarily take the animal's attention.
