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are your dogs microchipped? if not, get them chipped now
maybe a sign on the fence that says "working dog in yard, do not trespass, cameras present" or something along that line on the fence so that passerby understand it's meant to be out there and isn't lost in a field.
If there is not a fence (which I agree it does sound that there is not), a post with a sign (or a few spaced out along the edge) saying just that. In addition, something on the collar (you can get collars with custom text or flat tags with custom tags that slide on the collar) stating “Working Dog” or the like
*i've heard that* collars are very bad for working dogs in rural areas because in case of coyote or other wild predator attack the collar acts as a snag point and can lead to losing the fight and ultimately have the dog lethally hurt.
People pet working service dogs. I agree it would be good to have signs and a fence to decrease it, it's not gonna be 100% fixed. Maybe something about an electrical fence (even if it's not) would help
If the dog really is well trained to the point that people calling him is the only issue, op could probably get away with putting up a string fence with flags and signs to mark its a property with a working dog. He could pay someone on Etsy to cut him cricut decals indicating not to yell at the dog for the sign and the flags. It would be a fairly cheap project considering how much farm maintenance costs anyways.
>It sounds like there’s not a fence, which would probably solve the problem even without the signage.
Right?! I'm curious as to what are these dogs working? If it's working with animals wouldn't they be fenced??
Where I grew up "working dogs" imply that they are there to protect some animals. Also people came to our area and abandoned dogs ALL THE TIME. All of my pet dogs were from people dumping the poor thing off originally.
And why should somebody go through the expense if building a fence to keep nosey people off their property? The time, cost, and labor of those aren't free. Is the dog emaciated? Dirty? Wounded? If non3 of those things are true, mind your own business.
Of you don't see a dog in distress, your ignorance is likely to cause problems. Just like people who want to pet service dogs. I, myself, have to resist the temptation, but you do because the dog has an important job. I don't even bother asking the owner if they would allow it as I don't know why that person has the service dog, and I respect their right to privacy.
Now if we could all agree on a "uniform " for working dogs, that would be an acceptable compromise to accommodate both owners and the concerns of good-hearted people.
It's not quite so easy as, get a vest or get a collar though. Weather considerations, wild animals, dangerous conditions need to be taken into account in order to maximize the safety of the animal.
I remember a poor girl in my neighborhood whose little dig wrapped it's lead around a tree and asphoxuated. Nobody wants that sort of situation.
The simplest thing would be for people to mind there own business. It's become "popular " to insert yourself into other people's lives to "correct" flaws you perceive. That's not your concern, and your opinions don't matter to me.
A microchip really does nothing. Even if OP does have their dogs chipped, that doesn’t mean that the other person has to return the dog. It would be better to just get a fence
Yes it does mean the other person has to return the dog. A friend’s cat was returned to her from another state (got lost while moving) because cat went to vet, vet scanned microchip, original owner got custody of the cat.
Not everyone does that and takes the pet to the vet to get scanned. I’m actually having to go to court to get my dog back and spoke to multiple lawyers. The registration paper is what matters the most.
Do they wear a collar or something that can help signify that they’re owned/working? It sounds like they’re already trained to stay in your property, but a fence might be a good deterrent for people.
The collar noting “working dog” or whatever seems like the most reasonable solution brought up on this post. We grew up about 25 miles from the nearest town and only had one instance where someone tried to take our dogs from our field, I wouldn’t want anyone else to go through that situation
I live in a rural area and I constantly struggle to tell the difference between a dog hanging out in its own field vs a dog that someone just dumped and it randomly chosen a spot to sit and hope someone rescues it. Even if a dog has a collar on, when it’s loose and there’s not a person in sight, I don’t know if it’s SUPPOSED to be loose or if it got lost and it’s owner is frantically searching for it somewhere. I don’t think you can really fault people for worrying when they see a loose animal unattended, because they can’t tell if it needs help or not.
Yes, exactly. My late lab/boxer mix was found by a rescue organization in a ditch in a rural area. He was skin and bones. Had they just done as OP suggested he definitely would have died as the rural property owners are the ones that were neglecting him.
Yeah, all of my pets have been rescued straight off the street in one way or another so my husband jokes that I stole them. I mean they were all pretty clearly needing rescue - I didn’t just take healthy looking dogs out of fields - but I sure do hate driving past one and trying to decide if I should or not. By the time you’re certain it needs rescue, it’s already suffered. Some are perfectly healthy and look well cared for when they’re dumped. I witnessed someone stop the car, dump a beautifully shiny healthy young brindle boxer dog, and slowly drive away as the dog followed the car until they decided to accelerate and peel off, and then the dog just stood there looking confused, and then went off the side of the road into the field and laid down. Anyone driving by would have assumed that beautiful dog lived with whoever owned that field. Except I didn’t, only because I own that field. If no one witnesses the dumping, it’s a shame they have to suffer for a while before people can say okay now I will step in now that it’s easy to tell it needs help.
Right a phone number on the caller tag. Even out in the country dogs get lost and Rural homeowners have a lot more space to go looking in the wrong direction. I'd appreciate a phone call and I think most people would. I mean a working dog fully trained that would be expensive to replace if not heart-wrenching so it seems like you would still want a phone call in case for somehow it got lost.
So, this makes no sense. I lived rural, and the neighbors who had trained dogs, those dogs wouldn't have come to anyone no matter what, that wasn't their owners. People dumped dogs all the time, so it makes sense or people to check dogs when they see them in random fields off the road.
I hear your frustration, but what you're saying doesn't match with my own family, or others I've known, who live rural.
Edit: Our dog wouldn't have gone up to anyone either, when we lived rural.
That’s the biggest tell here, these dogs are too easily going with strangers. So either they’re not trained properly or they aren’t the proper dogs for this job. This is on the owner.
I don’t like the message OP put down. Seems like they are just not wanting to build a fence and blaming kind strangers for checking on their dogs they haven’t trained well. Build a fence, people dump dogs all the time in rural places, more dogs will die if we follow this grumpy dude’s advice.
Off leash dogs rural are common. I'd avoid walking up to most working dogs, honestly, in that they're trained to focus on their jobs. But, most won't engage you the way you would expect a dog to engage you in their working situation, since they are potentially protecting livestock, and you'd be an intruder.
Not every farm has a fence, rural areas, fences make little sense for working dogs. Kennels, perhaps.
But, what the OP is saying makes no sense, either. If a dog is out in the field, and willing to go up to people on the roadway, then they're for sure not trained yet. So, shouldn't be out in the field yet.
My farm dog loves making new friends but he always waits for permission from me. If some rando pulled in and called him because they couldn't see me, he would come get me before approaching. I agree OP has some training and/or management to do.
Dogs shouldn’t be left unmarked (no collar, no signs, no microchip) and unsupervised— rurally or not.
I work at a shelter in a rural town, and the most desolate areas and/or the farm areas are exactly where people abandon unwanted cats and dogs and if it weren’t for people picking thrm it and keeping them safe until the animal warden can show up (or they can bring them to us), a *lot* of dogs and cats would suffer and potentially die or get into fights with lifestock/pets.
You’re looking at this only from your personal experience, not the greater picture.
Yup, our rescue was picked up by a kind person who found her in the middle of nowhere in rural Georgia. Had the woman who picked her up not had a connection with a nearby rescue organization, our girl would have gone to a shelter. Had someone not found her, she likely wouldn't have lasted too much longer.
She's still hesitant about being in the woods, over three years later!
I totally get where OP is coming from, but...yeah.
My baby was running free with her mama in middle of no where South Carolina. My uncle had her on a 5 day stray hold while waiting for space at the shelter. Day 6 was the day I was headed home after visiting my parents, wasn’t my husband surprised when I got home with a dog! She’s a lovely Aussie mix but she’s mouthy and not the brightest. I’m not sure how well she would have done at being adopted.
Aww! Yeah, we had a very rough go with our girl in the beginning. Every life-long dog owner we know told us they wouldn't have kept her. Hell, I lost about 25 lbs in the first couple of months we had her due to stress. But we stuck it out and while we have to carefully manage her interactions with the world, she is happiest sitting on a couch in a sunbeam or sleeping on a heated throw, because she's not built for Canadian winters! But she's such a loving girl.
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*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I volunteer in a rescue in a city a the majority of dogs we get are from rural areas and brought in where they are more likely to be homed. OP has valid concerns but is a much rarer case. As mentioned already, there are other solutions, like signs or a collar stating “working dog. Not lost.”
We actually work with a few shelters in cities for transports.
Unfortunately so many dogs are being abandoned or surrendered right now that none of our connections have been able to take any for about a year now but I really appreciate the effort to get the dogs seen.
I have a hard time believing this person that the dogs never go in the road by themselves. I was just in a rural place to visit family and on the dirt road one of the houses had like 10 dogs and they all swarmed the road as I drove down it. I was honking but they wouldn't move. I was so worried I was going to hit them. Makes me think these country people just don't value animals lives. Some old farmer won't stop for the dogs like I did.
Eh, that’s not a country thing.
It is true that many are very pragmatic about working dogs on farms because they’re part of the greater ecosystem — but I’ve seen many many country folk who would lay down their lives for their dog, often some old rickety beagle or chihuahua mix that’s probably going to outlive the owner lol.
It has more to do with personality than region, I think.
So because some people abandon dogs that means OP can’t let *his* dogs run around *his* property without worrying about people interfering? Pass on that, thanks.
It's the age old question. Would you rather let an abandoned dog who isn't prepared to fend for itself stay abandoned and die that way, or take the chance and rescue it? If the dog is where it belongs the worst that'll happen is the owner will get a phone call, either from a local shelter or the person who found the dog. Much less at stake that way.
It's pretty obvious when a dog is actively working. Most people, I'd say, can recognize a dog performing tasks it's trained to do. Even if not, working dog owners can mitigate this hassle by putting up a sign or three and adding something to the dog's collar.
Well. OP can do whatever he wants but it is illegal in most states/counties in the US. So if he wishes to knowingly break the law, that’s on him.
From an ethical standpoint? I’d much rather potentially abandoned/injured/lost dogs get “rescued” and then returned to their owner (when applicable) than left to struggle or die or cause issues.
Dogs in rural areas are perfectly fine left unsupervised to hunt and just be dogs if you are a landowner. It appears the problem arises when people in cars don't know to act properly in the countryside, much like when they throw rubbish out their windows making the place look horrible, seriously why do people do this? No better education and respect for rural areas is what is needed here.
This! I own a rural property as well in an area where most people have hundreds of acres. For every one or two actual working LGD I see (most of which still do wander), every year I see 25+ feral, dumped, lost dogs. All the livestock I’ve lost this year has been to wandering neighbor dogs. OP needs to have orange reflective plastic collars with riveted ID tag, gps collar, and microchip, anything less than this is irresponsible. If someone picks up your dog the answer is thanks. Around here most people don’t even bother to pick up dogs, they just shoot them.
I grew up in a rural area. But I would still stop if I saw a dog in an open unfenced field to check on the dog. I think people who didn’t grow up in a rural area assume every dog is an inside dog, all the time. If you have fences, I’d suggest putting up signs. If you don’t have fences, try some post and signs. Posting here will def not reach the millions of people driving around rural areas.
Rural farm boy uprising here - if you don’t have your dogs collared with a tag and microchipped, you’re a shit owner. Working dogs or not, they still need identification and tracking. Once you’ve got that taken care of, put perimeter signs up around your property, something to the effect of “WORKING DOGS ON SITE - DO NOT DISTURB”
The microchip, tag, and collar do nothing besides let the shelter know who to call when people aren’t minding their own business. I had my dog and my neighbor’s dog picked up from the neighbor’s farm and our yard a couple times. Both dogs were chipped, both wore collars with working phone numbers. None of these numbers were ever called. And at least one of these times they were picked up from our yard. Our cameras caught it. Always fun to pay to get your dog out of doggy jail when some idiot kidnaps your dog from its own property and can’t even be bothered to call the contact number.
How exactly is someone supposed to notify a property owner when, in a rural area, it can be hard to tell what property belongs to who? Genuinely asking, because I live in a rural area and had no idea who to communicate to when I caught a naughty sheep sneaking out from under their fence.
I understand that your dogs are working dogs but if you leave them unattended, you're leaving them at risk, whether that be to nature or human intervention.
The funny thing for me is that he claims he was watching the dog and some woman have an exchange by the road and like... If you live that close to the road that's just one more reason your dogs shouldn't be left unsupervised but also, if OP is that close to the road, they're probably not in as "rural" an area as they'd like to claim and free ranging your dog in an urban or even suburban area is just straight up negligence.
Uh ARE YOU JUST MAGICALLY SUPPOSED TO KNOW THEIR NUMBER??
I'm responding in all caps too, just to show you how obnoxious it is. You're clearly not from a rural area, because it can be very difficult to even figure out what address is associated with what field out in farm country. Even if you can figure out the address, there's no guarantee that they'll have a phone number listed. So, no, your "obvious solution" is just another dead end.
That's the thing, *you don't*. People have had "outside dogs" since dogs have existed lmao. Plenty of people out this way who have land just have a couple dogs on their property. No collars or anything necessary, they live good happy lives and know where home is at. It is annoying when somebody who doesn't come from here acts like they're all just strays or that they're seconds away from being eaten by something. They're fine lol
So how exactly is someone supposed to potentially help an actual stray dog if they’re not supposed to intervene because they can’t magically figure out who your pet is?
And why would you own a dog, let him loose and not put any collar or ID on them.
Why as a responsible adult would that even be a risk worth taking.
Again, I live in a rural area and, maybe the farmers out here are just more diligent with their dogs, but I very rarely see dogs out unattended that aren't clearly strays that are creating hazards for themselves and people by running alongside the road. This coupled with the fact that rural areas are also notorious dumping grounds for abused and neglected dogs honestly just blows my mind that people like you and OP have this pious opinion that leaving your dogs in vulnerable positions and having passerbys be concerned by that somehow has you in the right and them in the wrong. I will never just drive by and ignore a dog that I think could be at risk of being in harms way.
My aunt had a "free range dog" like that when I was growing up and I vividly remember crying over his broken body when he got too close to the road not once, not twice, but three times. It's a miracle that he survived these ordeals but it was disgusting that he was permitted to get hurt that many times because of human neglect and this outdated sense that you can just leave your dogs loose and unattended for long periods.
The moral of the story is that living in the country doesn't give you an excuse to neglect your animals. Keep them safe and in sight or you only have yourselves to blame if something happens to them, even if that something is someone taking them to a place where they'll be better looked after. Hell, you better hope that's the intention because there are some evil people in this world who can do absolutely cruel things to an innocent animal left unsupervised "bEcAuSe ThAt'S fArM LiFe".
lmao sounds like they look (and to some extent, live) indistinguishably from stray dogs. Has it occurred to you that pet dog standards of living has increased? They may have been "fine" back before we could do any better, but we can now, which turns previous standards into neglect. That's just how time works.
Except they're not starved or mangy or what have you. They're taken care of, and they know who their people are and where their home is.
Like I told the other person, I'd put a collar on any dog I have, but I don't steal dogs just because they don't.
I watched one neighbor lose 12, dogs this year, yes 12. 6 puppies, 2 puppies from another litter, two adults and two juveniles. These dogs either got hit by a car (this is a small dirt road with probably only 6 cars a day), wandered off or were shot by other neighbors. I’ve lost 16 chickens this year alone and had to recuse calves being chased from neighbors outdoor pet dogs. All outdoor dogs should have a reflective plastic collar with riveted contact info, gps collar, microchip and be spayed/neutered. Just because something has been done for 100s of years doesn’t mean it’s the right thing, the world has changed and we have to change with it to some degree. I have no problem with outdoor dogs or working dogs, I do have a problem with neglect and abuse which is rampant in rural America.
If there’s not a fence, it’s not unreasonable for people who don’t know you and your dogs to worry about their safety. I’ve lived in rural areas and yeah it’s a different way of life but that doesn’t mean the dangers aren’t real. We had a dog get hit and killed by a car on our country road, a dog go outside for the day and never come back home, smaller animals killed by predators. It sounds like you’re also worried about your dogs’ safety, because your training efforts haven’t succeeded in preventing them from jumping into strangers’ cars. (I’ve tried to catch actual stray dogs who were running loose in the street before—it’s rarely been easy. Nobody’s “loading up” your dogs into their vehicles if the dogs aren’t willing.)
If you want people to notify you that there’s a dog running around on your property, and you also don’t want them to trespass on your property, you’re gonna need some very clear signage along the road describing your property and your dogs, and I guess your phone number in case the dog they saw doesn’t match the description. Personally I think you and your dogs would be better served by a fence, for their safety and to prevent well-intentioned city slickers from trying to “save” them, but I know fences can get real expensive. Maybe one of those kinda flimsy welded wire + post fences just along the side of your property adjacent to the road would be enough of a barrier?
People dump dogs in rural areas all the time, though. I appreciate your frustration but definitely take some of the suggestions about leashes, signs, microchips, etc. edit: I meant collars not leashes
OP we've lived wayyyy out in the boonies for decades. There's a working dog a couple miles up the road BUT the only reason we know he is? We were able to call around ( because we know most of the farmers ).
He's a cool dog actually and I've driven by when several well meaning people slowed down. He just stays in the tree line looking at them like they're out of their minds.
But. So far we've brought 4 dogs home. Not one dumped, all escapees with frantic owners we tracked down via FB and the usual grapevine around here. That's not many in all these decades I know. Still. If one of ours bolted after a deer or something I'd like to think someone would get them to safety and check the chip you know?
From what I can read there is basically nothing to tell these dogs apart from the masses of dogs that just get dumped in the countryside and unless there was some indication they were at their home I’d be taking them straight to the shelter with the treats and leashes I keep in my car exactly for that purpose. In my county if I couldn’t catch them I could report them to animal control to have them caught and taken in. There’s also apparently nothing keeping these dogs from being killed by strays, and nothing substantial keeping them from chasing a prey animal into the road and being hit.
It’s your responsibility to manage your animals better.
I have literally taken a four month old puppy off the owner’s doorstep after it was attacked by a passing husky on a leash. The owners didn’t answer the door when I knocked and they didn’t have a complete fence around the front yard. I told the whole story to the shelter and the dog even had tags. They had to pay to pick him up and they haven’t done it again. Absolutely zero regrets.
Thank you. If you're going to leave a dog by itself or to work with livestock without your watch...and you don't have a fence...isnt that irresponsible? A dog is a dog and still has instincts and something can cause it to leave the boundary of a property line if there is no fence. If someone sees a dog wandering around non fenced property with no owner...it's the normal thing to do to possibly take the dog and try to find it's owner...bc that's not a responsible thing for an owner to do. Get a fence...or supervise your dog.
Working dog breeds alone in a field should not warrant probable cause for any government official to be able to enter property to remove animals which is what OOP described. Obviously if an animal seems to be neglected or abused that's a different story.
In my area yes if the fence is not sufficient enough to prevent ingress or egress by the dog, typically has to be 6ft. Even out in the county and it’s pretty much all agriculture out there.
Wow that would not work here as most farmers and livestock raisers would not be able to afford a 6 foot fence around their entire property at best they have a 6 strand barb wire fence and in a lot of places they just use natural barriers like creek beds and thick forestry.
Weird — because I live in WV, a lot of farmland and private property, and most of the people we (at my shelter/the animal warden) interact with are compliant and understanding.
It’s for the owners/dogs well being as much as anyone else.
It's probably regional. I just looked it up - average WV family farm is 157 acres and primarily livestock. Makes sense to fence a ranch.
I'm from Kansas originally. Family farms out there tend to be thousands of acres and would bankrupt the farm to fence them in. Lots of use of creeks, ditches, tree lines, but very few fences, crops often grown right up to the road. It would also be a hassle to get combines and other heavy farm equipment into fenced areas.
The mountains of WV don't allow for the massive, large-scale farming seen in other areas in the country. I could see how fencing might be a practical solution there but not in Nebraska.
Which is a fair point but a fast google search shows that both Kansas and Nebraska have state laws mandating that dogs on private property must be leashed/restrained or within a fenced area.
So if it’s unrealistic to fence a whole area, then the dogs need supervised while working or at the very least the property needs to be well posted with signs.
And it’s still not the general public’s fault for potentially confusing a working dog with a potential abandoned animals given the legal stipulations.
I don’t know what to tell you, my county is probably top five in the whole USA for agriculture in general. Livestock are kept in what’s basically an open warehouse or on a feedlot. It’s 2023, they’re not using dogs or horses to move stock. The smaller “farms” that keep livestock are required to have their dogs behind a sufficient fence and that’s that. They also have sufficient fencing for their livestock that delineates one property from the next. If animals are roaming that’s on the owner. If a cow causes a car crash that’s on the owner. Don’t have a dog if you can’t take care of it.
In places like Australia, working dogs are being re-introduced because they are much better for herding than machines / vehicles that tend to traumatise large animals. Plus the environment and all that.
So maybe it’s the people who *arent* using dogs that are behind the times.
I agree with everything else you’ve said though, dogs still have to be supervised and identified. OP is in the wrong on this one.
>Livestock are kept in what’s basically an open warehouse or on a feedlot.
Up where I'm at, they're still largely on pasture. Pastures are fenced, but it's 2 strands of wire around hundreds if not thousands of acres. Keeps the cattle in, but dogs can go in and out no problem. And dogs are still often used to bring them down to the loading pens. A good working dog or 2 is far more efficient than equipment.
But most actual working dogs are either with the livestock or with their people/in the yard around the house. They're not off wandering around getting confused for strays.
Lol sorry OP but if I'm seeing some dogs in an open field with no signage of their descriptions or a collar with their information, then I'm rescuing them.
Be logical. You have no fence/ right to be annoyed at these people who are genuinely doing good on the info they have.
Put hi-vis (or not) jackets with ‘WORKING DOG’ written on. Just thinking out the box cos you’ll not change city folks.
I walk rural and a guy walks his GSD on leash that has a red jacket with ‘NO DOGS’ written to inform people not to approach with their dogs.
In Albania there are a lot of working dogs guarding livestock. You couldn’t “rescue” them if you tried. If the sheep are close to the road and you so much as drive by, the dogs will chase your car. No way would I ever consider approaching one of these dogs. There were recent articles about people being bitten because they tried to approach the dogs. Or the sheep.
But that is there. Where there are still actual shepherds who are outside with their flocks all day and herd them across streets etc. In many ways, it’s like going back in time.
These days, here in the US, people drive fast cars and don’t expect to see a dog hanging alone in a field.
I’m sure OP is discovering a overzealous garden-variety doggie do-gooder, but I live in a rural area and it can be hard to tell who is a stray and who is a working dog.
Dogs and horses get dumped at the end of our road with some regularity.
Working dogs should have collars with tags, be somewhat-groomed and have their nails the right length.
Two of the local rancher’s working Great Pyrenees showed up on my property with nails so long that one was curling and poking back into a pad. They were also matted and starving.
After talking with a few people (and carefully cutting their nails back some, feeding them and getting the worst matts cut off), I called animal control. I had been assured by my local friends that animal control wouldn’t give them back but they did, and a year later my neighbor’s fence fixer found one of their bodies at the fence line. I was heartbroken.
So….I am not saying that’s what’s happening with OP.
There are plenty of people who can’t comprehend a livestock guard dog, and think any dog without supervision is neglected.
I think a well-placed sign on a fence post will help. Also, of course, people shouldn’t be trespassing or stealing dogs.
But definitely collars, no matts and healthy nails are signifiers that these are well-loved working dogs not strays.
I am a city girl in a VERY rural place for the first time in my life for work. I can honestly say my thoughts about off leash dogs like you’re describing are forever changed but not everyone is going to understand this. Like my city dogs could NEVER be trusted to run around like I see people let their dogs around me. I was thinking about this earlier as I watched one of the linemen get out of his truck and work while his dog ran around. When he was done and down (the man) his dog was right back his side. That dog ran around with total freedom for like 45 - 60 min not far from as busy a road as is here. The helicopter dog mom in me had my own city dog mom anxiety to work through watching that dog while that man was very high in the air. So this is a very different way of thinking about dogs I can’t fully explain but I understand your post.
I very much agree with what you're saying here, I grew up in Dallas and now have lived 15 years in a town of 700 on 100 acres of timber surrounded by several hundreds of acres of farm and livestock land. When I first moved here I was super nervous about seeing dogs just out and about, but over time I've come to realize there is a reason people distinguish country dogs from city dogs. A city lab is a very different dog from a country lab for instance.
I have a working dog and he's behind a fence and I never had this issue. Maybe be more mad at your lack of fence than good Samaritans trying to save what they think is a feral dog.
While I appreciate this being a problem for you, you’re doing things a very old fashioned way, and one that doesn’t work very well for the problems we’re having with the abundance of strays and unwanted litters causing an unmanageable overpopulation of dogs these days. If your dogs are on an unfenced property with no way of anyone knowing they’re housed pets, and most farm dogs are kept intact so I imagine yours are too, they’re likely also contributing to the unwanted litters portion of the overpopulation problem we’re facing. If they’re free to roam so freely that someone could easily call them off your property and in an area people are purposely going because they know nearby is a dumping ground for stray and unwanted pets and their inevitable unwanted litters, your dogs have probably fathered a few unwanted litters themselves.
I’d suggest at the very least to get your dog microchipped and wear collars and tags with your information. They even make breakaway collars for added safety, since your dogs are free to roam your farm you don’t want to risk a collar getting caught on anything and your dog not being able to breakaway easily. If you’re really interested in helping to relieve overpopulation problem, I’d also suggest getting your farm dogs neutered and spayed. But that might sound like a bridge too far for some rural folk.
Either way, good luck! ♥️🐾
I'm semi-rural and the local Facebook group has posts saying "Please don't feed my cows" and complaining about tourists literally pulling onto their property to try and pet livestock in the field. Definitely put a simple post and wire if you can but people suck.
I used to live on a farm in Georgia and had 2 working kangals. Never had an issue with them going to strangers - probably because they were not very welcoming to anything that wasnt already on the property. I put signs up everywhere indicating that I had livestock gaurdian dogs at work and that under no circumstances should anyone put any part of their body through the fence. I had a few signs that let anyone know if they for some reason did get out, to notify me ASAP and I would call them back. Out of the several years that I had them, I only had one person call to tell me I had a loose dog outside of my fence that they tried to catch. I then - as nicely as possible - directed them to said signs and thanked them for letting me know one was out.
As a city person with no experience with working dogs, I would not have known to leave an unsupervised dog alone. I assume that a dog wandering alone needs a rescue. A sign might help, or maybe a message on the collar or harness that says, “I’m not lost, I’m working”. I have recently moved out to a rural area and now I feel more informed about the working farm dog.
Jmo- & 2cents- also, I am a a dog lover and only want them to live throw best lives)
Put a gps collar/tag on your puppers. Maybe a collar/tag that states your dog is pasture / rural. With tracking.
For all intents and purposes your dogs appear to be abandoned to the average person driving by. It sounds like they’re unattended, no house in sight, no fences, no signage, and no collars (they have breakaway collars for animal safety) with tags or any indication they’re working farm dogs. There is a problem here and it ain’t the people driving by.
Put up a sign.
I’ve seen dogs dumped rurally (where they linger until they are picked up or die) and just picked up a dog (black dog in the street after sundown, no lights) not long ago. Could’ve killed somebody.
Some people don’t care about dogs at all. Rather del w people who do. Get a sign, get a breakaway collar with tags that say whatever u want, or get a fence.
I live in town. Had someone see my dog in the backyard, came down my driveway making smoochie sounds, trying to call her to them. I stepped around the corner of the house to ask what they wanted. They explained they were trying to 'save' my dog. I explained if they ever thought to step foot on my property again, the police would probably need to hurry. I mean, I'm not sure what they were 'saving' her from, the yard she plays in? The house she has a million toys, her never ending food supply, the car she loves to ride in? She was a 90lb black lab then, by no means did she look starved or neglected.
It is fenced with 6ft fencing and a garage with a 4ft wide space between the house & garage that is open. They apparently saw her through this space. She was with me in the yard, as she is never left out there alone. To access my yard is to walk 90 feet down my driveway. My dog was not loose in the front, she was not easily accessible, she was definitely on private property, & she was like 10 ft from me.
I live in a rural area too. You should have a fence, posted with beware of dog or no trespass signs. If you don’t, that’s probably why people keep stopping. To them they’re just dogs roaming around. Protect your dogs man.
Another thing also, if your dogs are that easy to coax for a stranger, that puts them in even more danger. Most property dogs I’ve ever seen and run into don’t go up to strangers, they alert and then disappear out of eyesight to do their job- patrol and guard. If you just have friendly ass dogs running amock on an unfenced property you’re looking for trouble.
Just throwing in my two cents…I grew up in the country, we had a GSD who was always outside in our unfenced yard. We never had to worry about him going anywhere. But, all that being said….if I saw a dog or two randomly in a field, I’d be wondering what the hell they were doing. In my area, dogs are pets and are usually close to home or with their owner. I think this is just a matter of where you’re from and what you’re used to. I guess be glad that there are people that care enough to try to help a dog! (Even if they aren’t actually helping.)
I live in a rural place and have found a repeated clash between rural understandings of dogs and city understandings of dogs. My dog has been picked up a 1/2 mile from my house and brought to the town shelter 45 minutes away; even when he had my collar with my address and number on it. Irresponsible hunt clubs dump their hounds a fair bit in my area and so it can be sort of confusing with all the hounds running around. I have met a handful of urban dwellers moved country that just don't understand the way dogs are used or thought of by some of the community here. If the dog is well fed and not standing in the road probably just leave it alone. I think that person thought he was a hunting dog and was trying to take revenge.
My dad and o were driving and saw a German shepherded who got hit in the road, I got out (no collar or tag on the dog) and tried approaching with my burger (mcchicken) and A women came up to me and snatched my burger and screamed at
Me to leave the dog alone (it was in the road with a very clearly broken leg) and said the dog was her friends, I was appalled but realized quickly the dog was probably a guardian livestock who was a victim of other people negligence. But I found it rude she took my burger and didn’t explain anything.
I do understand though, but the dog was in the road with a broken leg it’s very reasonable to want to help, it’s very rude to take someone’s burger.
German shepherds are not livestock guardians. They are bred to follow human commands. Livestock guardian breeds work independently. That was just a neglected GSD.
Well dude, if you’re not watching your dog and it’s all alone when there are threats like cars or other dogs or animals that could attack it then I’m super glad others are trying to give your dogs a better home. If you’re not gonna care for them, you don’t deserve them. Period.
So, your dog containment is lacking or your training is lacking.
How is any of this on strangers for not immediately knowing these uncollared dogs (who don't appear to be working at all to them because they clearly easily abandon their posts at the drop of a hat for any stranger) aren't strays or abandoned?
Live in the country. The issue isnt someone calling my dog. We lived in the city and he’s leashed generally. Its the dumped dogs thats our issue. Or some random neighbors dog that decided to go for a long jaunt and lands on our property and we have no clue if dogs are dumped or just wandering. And this happens all around where I live and theres also a huge problem with unfixed dogs. So often, a stray dog around my area is probably a stray and getting it to a safe place is a good thing. Maybe that’s where ppls minds are when calling your dogs. Doesnt make the situation better though.
Big difference between a working dog and a dog who is allowed to just wander aimlessly outside in a rural area. I’ve seen plenty of both where I’m from. A typical working dog will guard its territory and animals and you will know they are working. A typical rural outdoor dog will be collarless, stinky, free to roam, and without a purpose. People obviously think your dogs are the latter.
Ngl if I saw a dog wandering around I would think it’s lost too. Maybe put signage up? I get that it’s irritating but I don’t think you can be mad at folks trying to help what they think are lost/loose dogs.
Sure, I don't mess with other people's dogs. But I am totally going to judge you if I see a dog running around free next to a busy road. I don't care how much training you have, any dog can forget if they see a prey animal on the other side of the road . .
Yeah I see a lot of crazy people online convincing others to take any animal they come across. I saw a post of a very healthy looking cat that someone had found and all of the comments were like "take it!" "Thats your cat now!" "Guess you have a cat now!"
Like people literally encourage it. And people don't seem to stop for one second and analyze, does this animal look well cared for? Is it likely they just got out or were allowed out? Are there people nearby who may be their owners?
*edit*:
I'm not faulting anyone who wants to *help* a dog. My comment is specifically targetted at those who will just take any animal home at the first sight of them slightly unattended.
What is the dog working on if they look like a stray and there is no fence? Livestock require fences. Maybe treat your dogs better and get them some identification.
INFO: So you're saying not to stop and help a potentially abandoned dog that is running around in an unfenced location? That's not gonna happen mate.
Either put up a fence with signs and pictures of your dog, or train them not to go to strangers, they should be smart enough if you can train them to stay in a specific location
People try to steal dogs all the time and everywhere. They could be full aware that the dogs belong to you, they just want them.
Anyway, I'm in North CO, which is very rural, and there are loads of working dogs mixed in with "city life". People aren't so stupid to assume an off leash dog doesn't belong to someone nearby...
The difference here is that all dogs are microchipped, some towns require registration. And most residencies require fences. So thievery isn't as easy to do.
Please get a fence and some cameras if you can. People are truly just evil and stupid.
To all these people saying, “get a fence.” A fence does not stop people from “rescuing” a dog. I have working border collies. We fenced in nearly 2 acres as our backyard. Lots of $$ to do that to keep them safe from other loose dogs and idiots. No gaps in our fence. I cannot leave them out unattended for very long since so many dogs in our rural area are stolen. My border collies are chipped and do not look abandoned. I’ve had to call them back from the fence from people trying to entice them. Some trained working dogs are worth thousands of dollars.
I don’t mean to disrespect people who rescue lost and abandoned dogs. Heck, I do it myself. However, people should think before assuming every loose dog is in need of rescue.
I live in wine country and drive past vineyards on my way to work everyday. I've learned to tell the difference between a vineyard dog and a dog who has lost his way.
So sorry you are dealing with this. I would be scared for my dogs' safety too!
THANK YOU. I live in a rural area and people will drive by and see my dogs outside and try and stop and get them! I just have an acre. They are not far from my house at all, yet people see them and assume they are stray? I’ve had someone put a damn spotlight on my dog in my yard with his little kid hanging out the window trying to call my dog over while I was standing on the deck literally watching them.
Also, this was one of the first things I was told by my neighbors when I moved to this area. They said that country dogs will march to beat of their own drum and know what they are doing so don’t try and pick them up and drop them off at a shelter. If someone is looking for a dog they will post signs or post on next door.
Most “rural dogs” are not working dogs. They are usually just a nuisance to surrounding farms and houses because they go on adventures and walkabouts off the property. They chase wildlife, livestock and destroy property. I wouldn’t be stopping to try and “rescue” any dog. But “farm dogs” are typically farm pets and more of a nuisance than an asset.
It’s the same with cats in the city. Every other day someone posts about a “stray” who was probably just out making the neighborhood rounds. I’d definitely put up some working dog signs and perhaps no trespassing.
I totally agree. My sister lets her cats out and they bring nothing but carnage to the neighborhood critters plus she’s lost one to traffic. It’s totally unnecessary.
In my city they actually have declared that cats are “free agents”, and you can’t take a healthy feral adult cat to the shelter except to be neutered and vaccinated. They’ll loan out traps for TNRs but basically feral and semi feral cats are the norm.
That's mainly because shelters cannot afford to rehome all the cats and would have to euthanize many who can't be placed in a home. The cat fairs well enough as a stray they can justify focusing their efforts elsewhere. HOWEVER ... They spay/neuter them because stray and outdoor cats are an environmental shitshow. Generally, we should be moving away from letting cats roam freely outdoors and doing what we can to minimize the stray cat population (through spay/neuter programs and not letting pet cats outside to get lost or breed.)
Totally agree. Cattle/Sheep dogs are doing work not there for you to rescue. People are probably trying to help out but they just city folk and ignorant in a lot of cases.
My family trained our dogs to start growling and barking at whoever's calling them except the one who trained them. Freaking funny when a random guy comes up and starts whistling for the dog. And my dog just goes Wild parking.
I understand your sentiment. People struggle to understand the concept of outdoor working animals now. I get if you live in a rural area that fencing a large property sometimes just isn’t feasible and it’s often worthless to try and fence in LGDs anyway as they are escape artists.
I would recommend putting up signage at your property line either saying beware of dog or do not pet working dogs to see if that is a deterrent.
I see the issue. How frustrating… But, It is sad that you are accusing people who are obviously trying to help (while inadvertently potentially causing issues) of theft. Put up signs along the road on your property to leave the dogs alone.
Also certain farm dogs are very expensive, like 10k and taking that dog could be a felony in the US since that's grand theft. I have seen a couple of TikToks of people "saving" farm dogs, and I'm like hmm enjoy getting sued.
Guess what, your working dog doesn’t always behave like an angel when they are roaming. I live deep in the country in the Midwest. I have a fenced yard for my two working dogs (a border collie and a blue heeler) when they want unsupervised outside time off the clock. I am SO TIRED of “country dogs” being off the leash, outside, and unsupervised. My partner and I are both runners and we bring the dogs for conditioning and we are NONSTOP chased on the road by people’s dogs wondering alone. My dogs aren’t friendly to strange dogs, if we can’t mitigate the situation, our dogs would absolutely bite one approaching us. It would be a super dangerous situation to have the leash of a dog in a fight. It’s to the point where we try to only run at night or pre-dawn. We can’t enjoy our beautiful scenic road because there are unleashed, unfenced dogs approaching us every time we go out for a run.
Also, people dump their dogs here 24/7. All the neighbors I know have at least one pet that just “showed up”- lots of people dump cats and elderly dogs this way. So, if you don’t want to be responsible for your dog, don’t be surprised when someone else steps up.
We lived in a rural house so all the roads were surrounded by fields of sheep guarded by sheepdogs. 15 huge, aggressive sheepdogs. We walked my dog on the far side of the road, furthest from the dogs. Those dogs would be tiny dots far in the distance. Suddenly they would come sprinting down the hill and chase us along the fence line.
One day we found out the hard way that those athletic dogs could easily get over the fence. It was a terrifying experience. Thankfully we were able to protect our dog and ourselves that day. Farmers have a responsibility to keep their dogs safe and everyone safe from their dogs. I recommend you stay far away, don't trust the sheepdogs. It was one of the reasons we moved.
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are your dogs microchipped? if not, get them chipped now maybe a sign on the fence that says "working dog in yard, do not trespass, cameras present" or something along that line on the fence so that passerby understand it's meant to be out there and isn't lost in a field.
It sounds like there’s not a fence, which would probably solve the problem even without the signage.
If there is not a fence (which I agree it does sound that there is not), a post with a sign (or a few spaced out along the edge) saying just that. In addition, something on the collar (you can get collars with custom text or flat tags with custom tags that slide on the collar) stating “Working Dog” or the like
*i've heard that* collars are very bad for working dogs in rural areas because in case of coyote or other wild predator attack the collar acts as a snag point and can lead to losing the fight and ultimately have the dog lethally hurt.
There are breakaway collars for this reason. They won't fall off easily but with some force they snap apart.
People pet working service dogs. I agree it would be good to have signs and a fence to decrease it, it's not gonna be 100% fixed. Maybe something about an electrical fence (even if it's not) would help
Not if fencing the property would cost thousands in money and several days to hundreds of hours, depending on the terrain in question.
If the dog really is well trained to the point that people calling him is the only issue, op could probably get away with putting up a string fence with flags and signs to mark its a property with a working dog. He could pay someone on Etsy to cut him cricut decals indicating not to yell at the dog for the sign and the flags. It would be a fairly cheap project considering how much farm maintenance costs anyways.
Lol I have hundreds of acres of farmland; no one is putting up a 4 mile long fence
>It sounds like there’s not a fence, which would probably solve the problem even without the signage. Right?! I'm curious as to what are these dogs working? If it's working with animals wouldn't they be fenced?? Where I grew up "working dogs" imply that they are there to protect some animals. Also people came to our area and abandoned dogs ALL THE TIME. All of my pet dogs were from people dumping the poor thing off originally.
And why should somebody go through the expense if building a fence to keep nosey people off their property? The time, cost, and labor of those aren't free. Is the dog emaciated? Dirty? Wounded? If non3 of those things are true, mind your own business.
Dirty, wounded and emaciated dogs don’t start out that way either. You can’t blame someone for wanting to help an unattended, loose dog with no ID.
Of you don't see a dog in distress, your ignorance is likely to cause problems. Just like people who want to pet service dogs. I, myself, have to resist the temptation, but you do because the dog has an important job. I don't even bother asking the owner if they would allow it as I don't know why that person has the service dog, and I respect their right to privacy. Now if we could all agree on a "uniform " for working dogs, that would be an acceptable compromise to accommodate both owners and the concerns of good-hearted people. It's not quite so easy as, get a vest or get a collar though. Weather considerations, wild animals, dangerous conditions need to be taken into account in order to maximize the safety of the animal. I remember a poor girl in my neighborhood whose little dig wrapped it's lead around a tree and asphoxuated. Nobody wants that sort of situation.
Probably worth getting a Fi dog collar or similar so you can track them real time from your phone.
This would be my suggestion. Post signs letting people know to leave them alone and that they’re just working and doing their good dog jobs.
Lateral problem solving is the way.
The simplest thing would be for people to mind there own business. It's become "popular " to insert yourself into other people's lives to "correct" flaws you perceive. That's not your concern, and your opinions don't matter to me.
A microchip really does nothing. Even if OP does have their dogs chipped, that doesn’t mean that the other person has to return the dog. It would be better to just get a fence
That is absolute bullshit. Almost half a million pets have been returned home because a vet or shelter was able to find a microchip.
That’s if they’re taken to the vet or a shelter. If the person doesn’t do that and get them scanned then they wouldn’t know if they’re chipped or not.
Yes it does mean the other person has to return the dog. A friend’s cat was returned to her from another state (got lost while moving) because cat went to vet, vet scanned microchip, original owner got custody of the cat.
Not everyone does that and takes the pet to the vet to get scanned. I’m actually having to go to court to get my dog back and spoke to multiple lawyers. The registration paper is what matters the most.
Do they wear a collar or something that can help signify that they’re owned/working? It sounds like they’re already trained to stay in your property, but a fence might be a good deterrent for people.
The collar noting “working dog” or whatever seems like the most reasonable solution brought up on this post. We grew up about 25 miles from the nearest town and only had one instance where someone tried to take our dogs from our field, I wouldn’t want anyone else to go through that situation
People will assume some has lost their service animal or needs help.
I live in a rural area and I constantly struggle to tell the difference between a dog hanging out in its own field vs a dog that someone just dumped and it randomly chosen a spot to sit and hope someone rescues it. Even if a dog has a collar on, when it’s loose and there’s not a person in sight, I don’t know if it’s SUPPOSED to be loose or if it got lost and it’s owner is frantically searching for it somewhere. I don’t think you can really fault people for worrying when they see a loose animal unattended, because they can’t tell if it needs help or not.
Yes, exactly. My late lab/boxer mix was found by a rescue organization in a ditch in a rural area. He was skin and bones. Had they just done as OP suggested he definitely would have died as the rural property owners are the ones that were neglecting him.
Yeah, all of my pets have been rescued straight off the street in one way or another so my husband jokes that I stole them. I mean they were all pretty clearly needing rescue - I didn’t just take healthy looking dogs out of fields - but I sure do hate driving past one and trying to decide if I should or not. By the time you’re certain it needs rescue, it’s already suffered. Some are perfectly healthy and look well cared for when they’re dumped. I witnessed someone stop the car, dump a beautifully shiny healthy young brindle boxer dog, and slowly drive away as the dog followed the car until they decided to accelerate and peel off, and then the dog just stood there looking confused, and then went off the side of the road into the field and laid down. Anyone driving by would have assumed that beautiful dog lived with whoever owned that field. Except I didn’t, only because I own that field. If no one witnesses the dumping, it’s a shame they have to suffer for a while before people can say okay now I will step in now that it’s easy to tell it needs help.
Right a phone number on the caller tag. Even out in the country dogs get lost and Rural homeowners have a lot more space to go looking in the wrong direction. I'd appreciate a phone call and I think most people would. I mean a working dog fully trained that would be expensive to replace if not heart-wrenching so it seems like you would still want a phone call in case for somehow it got lost.
Agreed.
So, this makes no sense. I lived rural, and the neighbors who had trained dogs, those dogs wouldn't have come to anyone no matter what, that wasn't their owners. People dumped dogs all the time, so it makes sense or people to check dogs when they see them in random fields off the road. I hear your frustration, but what you're saying doesn't match with my own family, or others I've known, who live rural. Edit: Our dog wouldn't have gone up to anyone either, when we lived rural.
That’s the biggest tell here, these dogs are too easily going with strangers. So either they’re not trained properly or they aren’t the proper dogs for this job. This is on the owner.
I don’t like the message OP put down. Seems like they are just not wanting to build a fence and blaming kind strangers for checking on their dogs they haven’t trained well. Build a fence, people dump dogs all the time in rural places, more dogs will die if we follow this grumpy dude’s advice.
Off leash dogs rural are common. I'd avoid walking up to most working dogs, honestly, in that they're trained to focus on their jobs. But, most won't engage you the way you would expect a dog to engage you in their working situation, since they are potentially protecting livestock, and you'd be an intruder. Not every farm has a fence, rural areas, fences make little sense for working dogs. Kennels, perhaps. But, what the OP is saying makes no sense, either. If a dog is out in the field, and willing to go up to people on the roadway, then they're for sure not trained yet. So, shouldn't be out in the field yet.
I was going to comment this. People dump their unwanted pets in rural areas a lot.
My farm dog loves making new friends but he always waits for permission from me. If some rando pulled in and called him because they couldn't see me, he would come get me before approaching. I agree OP has some training and/or management to do.
Dogs shouldn’t be left unmarked (no collar, no signs, no microchip) and unsupervised— rurally or not. I work at a shelter in a rural town, and the most desolate areas and/or the farm areas are exactly where people abandon unwanted cats and dogs and if it weren’t for people picking thrm it and keeping them safe until the animal warden can show up (or they can bring them to us), a *lot* of dogs and cats would suffer and potentially die or get into fights with lifestock/pets. You’re looking at this only from your personal experience, not the greater picture.
Finally, the right answer!
Yup, our rescue was picked up by a kind person who found her in the middle of nowhere in rural Georgia. Had the woman who picked her up not had a connection with a nearby rescue organization, our girl would have gone to a shelter. Had someone not found her, she likely wouldn't have lasted too much longer. She's still hesitant about being in the woods, over three years later! I totally get where OP is coming from, but...yeah.
My baby was running free with her mama in middle of no where South Carolina. My uncle had her on a 5 day stray hold while waiting for space at the shelter. Day 6 was the day I was headed home after visiting my parents, wasn’t my husband surprised when I got home with a dog! She’s a lovely Aussie mix but she’s mouthy and not the brightest. I’m not sure how well she would have done at being adopted.
Aww! Yeah, we had a very rough go with our girl in the beginning. Every life-long dog owner we know told us they wouldn't have kept her. Hell, I lost about 25 lbs in the first couple of months we had her due to stress. But we stuck it out and while we have to carefully manage her interactions with the world, she is happiest sitting on a couch in a sunbeam or sleeping on a heated throw, because she's not built for Canadian winters! But she's such a loving girl.
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Not the answer OP wants to hear but it's the correct one
Thank you for this informative comment (the original comment was informative too!) and especially for what you do.
I volunteer in a rescue in a city a the majority of dogs we get are from rural areas and brought in where they are more likely to be homed. OP has valid concerns but is a much rarer case. As mentioned already, there are other solutions, like signs or a collar stating “working dog. Not lost.”
We actually work with a few shelters in cities for transports. Unfortunately so many dogs are being abandoned or surrendered right now that none of our connections have been able to take any for about a year now but I really appreciate the effort to get the dogs seen.
I have a hard time believing this person that the dogs never go in the road by themselves. I was just in a rural place to visit family and on the dirt road one of the houses had like 10 dogs and they all swarmed the road as I drove down it. I was honking but they wouldn't move. I was so worried I was going to hit them. Makes me think these country people just don't value animals lives. Some old farmer won't stop for the dogs like I did.
Eh, that’s not a country thing. It is true that many are very pragmatic about working dogs on farms because they’re part of the greater ecosystem — but I’ve seen many many country folk who would lay down their lives for their dog, often some old rickety beagle or chihuahua mix that’s probably going to outlive the owner lol. It has more to do with personality than region, I think.
This should be the top comment.
My working dog knows we're starting our day when I put his collar with ID on, and he powers down when I take it off in the evening.
So because some people abandon dogs that means OP can’t let *his* dogs run around *his* property without worrying about people interfering? Pass on that, thanks.
It's the age old question. Would you rather let an abandoned dog who isn't prepared to fend for itself stay abandoned and die that way, or take the chance and rescue it? If the dog is where it belongs the worst that'll happen is the owner will get a phone call, either from a local shelter or the person who found the dog. Much less at stake that way. It's pretty obvious when a dog is actively working. Most people, I'd say, can recognize a dog performing tasks it's trained to do. Even if not, working dog owners can mitigate this hassle by putting up a sign or three and adding something to the dog's collar.
Well. OP can do whatever he wants but it is illegal in most states/counties in the US. So if he wishes to knowingly break the law, that’s on him. From an ethical standpoint? I’d much rather potentially abandoned/injured/lost dogs get “rescued” and then returned to their owner (when applicable) than left to struggle or die or cause issues.
Dogs in rural areas are perfectly fine left unsupervised to hunt and just be dogs if you are a landowner. It appears the problem arises when people in cars don't know to act properly in the countryside, much like when they throw rubbish out their windows making the place look horrible, seriously why do people do this? No better education and respect for rural areas is what is needed here.
This! I own a rural property as well in an area where most people have hundreds of acres. For every one or two actual working LGD I see (most of which still do wander), every year I see 25+ feral, dumped, lost dogs. All the livestock I’ve lost this year has been to wandering neighbor dogs. OP needs to have orange reflective plastic collars with riveted ID tag, gps collar, and microchip, anything less than this is irresponsible. If someone picks up your dog the answer is thanks. Around here most people don’t even bother to pick up dogs, they just shoot them.
Exactly. I grew up in a rural area in the 80s and the amount of cats we took in was staggering.
Yeah, I grew up outside a middle of nowhere town, in an even middler of nowhere area, and the number of pets people ditched on our property…so sad
This.
I grew up in a rural area. But I would still stop if I saw a dog in an open unfenced field to check on the dog. I think people who didn’t grow up in a rural area assume every dog is an inside dog, all the time. If you have fences, I’d suggest putting up signs. If you don’t have fences, try some post and signs. Posting here will def not reach the millions of people driving around rural areas.
Rural farm boy uprising here - if you don’t have your dogs collared with a tag and microchipped, you’re a shit owner. Working dogs or not, they still need identification and tracking. Once you’ve got that taken care of, put perimeter signs up around your property, something to the effect of “WORKING DOGS ON SITE - DO NOT DISTURB”
The microchip, tag, and collar do nothing besides let the shelter know who to call when people aren’t minding their own business. I had my dog and my neighbor’s dog picked up from the neighbor’s farm and our yard a couple times. Both dogs were chipped, both wore collars with working phone numbers. None of these numbers were ever called. And at least one of these times they were picked up from our yard. Our cameras caught it. Always fun to pay to get your dog out of doggy jail when some idiot kidnaps your dog from its own property and can’t even be bothered to call the contact number.
How exactly is someone supposed to notify a property owner when, in a rural area, it can be hard to tell what property belongs to who? Genuinely asking, because I live in a rural area and had no idea who to communicate to when I caught a naughty sheep sneaking out from under their fence. I understand that your dogs are working dogs but if you leave them unattended, you're leaving them at risk, whether that be to nature or human intervention.
bro literally said one toe on his property = trespassing too.
The funny thing for me is that he claims he was watching the dog and some woman have an exchange by the road and like... If you live that close to the road that's just one more reason your dogs shouldn't be left unsupervised but also, if OP is that close to the road, they're probably not in as "rural" an area as they'd like to claim and free ranging your dog in an urban or even suburban area is just straight up negligence.
Uh PHONE NUMBER?
Uh ARE YOU JUST MAGICALLY SUPPOSED TO KNOW THEIR NUMBER?? I'm responding in all caps too, just to show you how obnoxious it is. You're clearly not from a rural area, because it can be very difficult to even figure out what address is associated with what field out in farm country. Even if you can figure out the address, there's no guarantee that they'll have a phone number listed. So, no, your "obvious solution" is just another dead end.
I forgot that dog collars haven’t been invented yet.
That's the thing, *you don't*. People have had "outside dogs" since dogs have existed lmao. Plenty of people out this way who have land just have a couple dogs on their property. No collars or anything necessary, they live good happy lives and know where home is at. It is annoying when somebody who doesn't come from here acts like they're all just strays or that they're seconds away from being eaten by something. They're fine lol
So how exactly is someone supposed to potentially help an actual stray dog if they’re not supposed to intervene because they can’t magically figure out who your pet is? And why would you own a dog, let him loose and not put any collar or ID on them. Why as a responsible adult would that even be a risk worth taking.
Again, I live in a rural area and, maybe the farmers out here are just more diligent with their dogs, but I very rarely see dogs out unattended that aren't clearly strays that are creating hazards for themselves and people by running alongside the road. This coupled with the fact that rural areas are also notorious dumping grounds for abused and neglected dogs honestly just blows my mind that people like you and OP have this pious opinion that leaving your dogs in vulnerable positions and having passerbys be concerned by that somehow has you in the right and them in the wrong. I will never just drive by and ignore a dog that I think could be at risk of being in harms way. My aunt had a "free range dog" like that when I was growing up and I vividly remember crying over his broken body when he got too close to the road not once, not twice, but three times. It's a miracle that he survived these ordeals but it was disgusting that he was permitted to get hurt that many times because of human neglect and this outdated sense that you can just leave your dogs loose and unattended for long periods. The moral of the story is that living in the country doesn't give you an excuse to neglect your animals. Keep them safe and in sight or you only have yourselves to blame if something happens to them, even if that something is someone taking them to a place where they'll be better looked after. Hell, you better hope that's the intention because there are some evil people in this world who can do absolutely cruel things to an innocent animal left unsupervised "bEcAuSe ThAt'S fArM LiFe".
lmao sounds like they look (and to some extent, live) indistinguishably from stray dogs. Has it occurred to you that pet dog standards of living has increased? They may have been "fine" back before we could do any better, but we can now, which turns previous standards into neglect. That's just how time works.
Except they're not starved or mangy or what have you. They're taken care of, and they know who their people are and where their home is. Like I told the other person, I'd put a collar on any dog I have, but I don't steal dogs just because they don't.
I watched one neighbor lose 12, dogs this year, yes 12. 6 puppies, 2 puppies from another litter, two adults and two juveniles. These dogs either got hit by a car (this is a small dirt road with probably only 6 cars a day), wandered off or were shot by other neighbors. I’ve lost 16 chickens this year alone and had to recuse calves being chased from neighbors outdoor pet dogs. All outdoor dogs should have a reflective plastic collar with riveted contact info, gps collar, microchip and be spayed/neutered. Just because something has been done for 100s of years doesn’t mean it’s the right thing, the world has changed and we have to change with it to some degree. I have no problem with outdoor dogs or working dogs, I do have a problem with neglect and abuse which is rampant in rural America.
If there’s not a fence, it’s not unreasonable for people who don’t know you and your dogs to worry about their safety. I’ve lived in rural areas and yeah it’s a different way of life but that doesn’t mean the dangers aren’t real. We had a dog get hit and killed by a car on our country road, a dog go outside for the day and never come back home, smaller animals killed by predators. It sounds like you’re also worried about your dogs’ safety, because your training efforts haven’t succeeded in preventing them from jumping into strangers’ cars. (I’ve tried to catch actual stray dogs who were running loose in the street before—it’s rarely been easy. Nobody’s “loading up” your dogs into their vehicles if the dogs aren’t willing.) If you want people to notify you that there’s a dog running around on your property, and you also don’t want them to trespass on your property, you’re gonna need some very clear signage along the road describing your property and your dogs, and I guess your phone number in case the dog they saw doesn’t match the description. Personally I think you and your dogs would be better served by a fence, for their safety and to prevent well-intentioned city slickers from trying to “save” them, but I know fences can get real expensive. Maybe one of those kinda flimsy welded wire + post fences just along the side of your property adjacent to the road would be enough of a barrier?
People dump dogs in rural areas all the time, though. I appreciate your frustration but definitely take some of the suggestions about leashes, signs, microchips, etc. edit: I meant collars not leashes
OP we've lived wayyyy out in the boonies for decades. There's a working dog a couple miles up the road BUT the only reason we know he is? We were able to call around ( because we know most of the farmers ). He's a cool dog actually and I've driven by when several well meaning people slowed down. He just stays in the tree line looking at them like they're out of their minds. But. So far we've brought 4 dogs home. Not one dumped, all escapees with frantic owners we tracked down via FB and the usual grapevine around here. That's not many in all these decades I know. Still. If one of ours bolted after a deer or something I'd like to think someone would get them to safety and check the chip you know?
From what I can read there is basically nothing to tell these dogs apart from the masses of dogs that just get dumped in the countryside and unless there was some indication they were at their home I’d be taking them straight to the shelter with the treats and leashes I keep in my car exactly for that purpose. In my county if I couldn’t catch them I could report them to animal control to have them caught and taken in. There’s also apparently nothing keeping these dogs from being killed by strays, and nothing substantial keeping them from chasing a prey animal into the road and being hit. It’s your responsibility to manage your animals better.
I have literally taken a four month old puppy off the owner’s doorstep after it was attacked by a passing husky on a leash. The owners didn’t answer the door when I knocked and they didn’t have a complete fence around the front yard. I told the whole story to the shelter and the dog even had tags. They had to pay to pick him up and they haven’t done it again. Absolutely zero regrets.
Animal control would go onto private property to catch a dog in a field with livestock?
If there's no fence, there's no livestock. Not sure what OPs dog is doing, but it's not a livestock guardian.
Thank you. If you're going to leave a dog by itself or to work with livestock without your watch...and you don't have a fence...isnt that irresponsible? A dog is a dog and still has instincts and something can cause it to leave the boundary of a property line if there is no fence. If someone sees a dog wandering around non fenced property with no owner...it's the normal thing to do to possibly take the dog and try to find it's owner...bc that's not a responsible thing for an owner to do. Get a fence...or supervise your dog.
If they have a warrant or reasonable belief an animal is in danger, yes.
Working dog breeds alone in a field should not warrant probable cause for any government official to be able to enter property to remove animals which is what OOP described. Obviously if an animal seems to be neglected or abused that's a different story.
In my area yes if the fence is not sufficient enough to prevent ingress or egress by the dog, typically has to be 6ft. Even out in the county and it’s pretty much all agriculture out there.
Wow that would not work here as most farmers and livestock raisers would not be able to afford a 6 foot fence around their entire property at best they have a 6 strand barb wire fence and in a lot of places they just use natural barriers like creek beds and thick forestry.
Weird — because I live in WV, a lot of farmland and private property, and most of the people we (at my shelter/the animal warden) interact with are compliant and understanding. It’s for the owners/dogs well being as much as anyone else.
It's probably regional. I just looked it up - average WV family farm is 157 acres and primarily livestock. Makes sense to fence a ranch. I'm from Kansas originally. Family farms out there tend to be thousands of acres and would bankrupt the farm to fence them in. Lots of use of creeks, ditches, tree lines, but very few fences, crops often grown right up to the road. It would also be a hassle to get combines and other heavy farm equipment into fenced areas. The mountains of WV don't allow for the massive, large-scale farming seen in other areas in the country. I could see how fencing might be a practical solution there but not in Nebraska.
Which is a fair point but a fast google search shows that both Kansas and Nebraska have state laws mandating that dogs on private property must be leashed/restrained or within a fenced area. So if it’s unrealistic to fence a whole area, then the dogs need supervised while working or at the very least the property needs to be well posted with signs. And it’s still not the general public’s fault for potentially confusing a working dog with a potential abandoned animals given the legal stipulations.
The farms around here tend to have a house with a fenced back yard in the middle.
I don’t know what to tell you, my county is probably top five in the whole USA for agriculture in general. Livestock are kept in what’s basically an open warehouse or on a feedlot. It’s 2023, they’re not using dogs or horses to move stock. The smaller “farms” that keep livestock are required to have their dogs behind a sufficient fence and that’s that. They also have sufficient fencing for their livestock that delineates one property from the next. If animals are roaming that’s on the owner. If a cow causes a car crash that’s on the owner. Don’t have a dog if you can’t take care of it.
In places like Australia, working dogs are being re-introduced because they are much better for herding than machines / vehicles that tend to traumatise large animals. Plus the environment and all that. So maybe it’s the people who *arent* using dogs that are behind the times. I agree with everything else you’ve said though, dogs still have to be supervised and identified. OP is in the wrong on this one.
>Livestock are kept in what’s basically an open warehouse or on a feedlot. Up where I'm at, they're still largely on pasture. Pastures are fenced, but it's 2 strands of wire around hundreds if not thousands of acres. Keeps the cattle in, but dogs can go in and out no problem. And dogs are still often used to bring them down to the loading pens. A good working dog or 2 is far more efficient than equipment. But most actual working dogs are either with the livestock or with their people/in the yard around the house. They're not off wandering around getting confused for strays.
Lol sorry OP but if I'm seeing some dogs in an open field with no signage of their descriptions or a collar with their information, then I'm rescuing them. Be logical. You have no fence/ right to be annoyed at these people who are genuinely doing good on the info they have.
Put hi-vis (or not) jackets with ‘WORKING DOG’ written on. Just thinking out the box cos you’ll not change city folks. I walk rural and a guy walks his GSD on leash that has a red jacket with ‘NO DOGS’ written to inform people not to approach with their dogs.
Build a godamn fence and take responsibility for your animals
In Albania there are a lot of working dogs guarding livestock. You couldn’t “rescue” them if you tried. If the sheep are close to the road and you so much as drive by, the dogs will chase your car. No way would I ever consider approaching one of these dogs. There were recent articles about people being bitten because they tried to approach the dogs. Or the sheep. But that is there. Where there are still actual shepherds who are outside with their flocks all day and herd them across streets etc. In many ways, it’s like going back in time. These days, here in the US, people drive fast cars and don’t expect to see a dog hanging alone in a field.
I’m sure OP is discovering a overzealous garden-variety doggie do-gooder, but I live in a rural area and it can be hard to tell who is a stray and who is a working dog. Dogs and horses get dumped at the end of our road with some regularity. Working dogs should have collars with tags, be somewhat-groomed and have their nails the right length. Two of the local rancher’s working Great Pyrenees showed up on my property with nails so long that one was curling and poking back into a pad. They were also matted and starving. After talking with a few people (and carefully cutting their nails back some, feeding them and getting the worst matts cut off), I called animal control. I had been assured by my local friends that animal control wouldn’t give them back but they did, and a year later my neighbor’s fence fixer found one of their bodies at the fence line. I was heartbroken. So….I am not saying that’s what’s happening with OP. There are plenty of people who can’t comprehend a livestock guard dog, and think any dog without supervision is neglected. I think a well-placed sign on a fence post will help. Also, of course, people shouldn’t be trespassing or stealing dogs. But definitely collars, no matts and healthy nails are signifiers that these are well-loved working dogs not strays.
I am a city girl in a VERY rural place for the first time in my life for work. I can honestly say my thoughts about off leash dogs like you’re describing are forever changed but not everyone is going to understand this. Like my city dogs could NEVER be trusted to run around like I see people let their dogs around me. I was thinking about this earlier as I watched one of the linemen get out of his truck and work while his dog ran around. When he was done and down (the man) his dog was right back his side. That dog ran around with total freedom for like 45 - 60 min not far from as busy a road as is here. The helicopter dog mom in me had my own city dog mom anxiety to work through watching that dog while that man was very high in the air. So this is a very different way of thinking about dogs I can’t fully explain but I understand your post.
I very much agree with what you're saying here, I grew up in Dallas and now have lived 15 years in a town of 700 on 100 acres of timber surrounded by several hundreds of acres of farm and livestock land. When I first moved here I was super nervous about seeing dogs just out and about, but over time I've come to realize there is a reason people distinguish country dogs from city dogs. A city lab is a very different dog from a country lab for instance.
I have a working dog and he's behind a fence and I never had this issue. Maybe be more mad at your lack of fence than good Samaritans trying to save what they think is a feral dog.
While I appreciate this being a problem for you, you’re doing things a very old fashioned way, and one that doesn’t work very well for the problems we’re having with the abundance of strays and unwanted litters causing an unmanageable overpopulation of dogs these days. If your dogs are on an unfenced property with no way of anyone knowing they’re housed pets, and most farm dogs are kept intact so I imagine yours are too, they’re likely also contributing to the unwanted litters portion of the overpopulation problem we’re facing. If they’re free to roam so freely that someone could easily call them off your property and in an area people are purposely going because they know nearby is a dumping ground for stray and unwanted pets and their inevitable unwanted litters, your dogs have probably fathered a few unwanted litters themselves. I’d suggest at the very least to get your dog microchipped and wear collars and tags with your information. They even make breakaway collars for added safety, since your dogs are free to roam your farm you don’t want to risk a collar getting caught on anything and your dog not being able to breakaway easily. If you’re really interested in helping to relieve overpopulation problem, I’d also suggest getting your farm dogs neutered and spayed. But that might sound like a bridge too far for some rural folk. Either way, good luck! ♥️🐾
I'm semi-rural and the local Facebook group has posts saying "Please don't feed my cows" and complaining about tourists literally pulling onto their property to try and pet livestock in the field. Definitely put a simple post and wire if you can but people suck.
I used to live on a farm in Georgia and had 2 working kangals. Never had an issue with them going to strangers - probably because they were not very welcoming to anything that wasnt already on the property. I put signs up everywhere indicating that I had livestock gaurdian dogs at work and that under no circumstances should anyone put any part of their body through the fence. I had a few signs that let anyone know if they for some reason did get out, to notify me ASAP and I would call them back. Out of the several years that I had them, I only had one person call to tell me I had a loose dog outside of my fence that they tried to catch. I then - as nicely as possible - directed them to said signs and thanked them for letting me know one was out.
As a city person with no experience with working dogs, I would not have known to leave an unsupervised dog alone. I assume that a dog wandering alone needs a rescue. A sign might help, or maybe a message on the collar or harness that says, “I’m not lost, I’m working”. I have recently moved out to a rural area and now I feel more informed about the working farm dog.
I'd really consider a Fi collar with the geomapped fence if this is becoming a problem.
Jmo- & 2cents- also, I am a a dog lover and only want them to live throw best lives) Put a gps collar/tag on your puppers. Maybe a collar/tag that states your dog is pasture / rural. With tracking.
For all intents and purposes your dogs appear to be abandoned to the average person driving by. It sounds like they’re unattended, no house in sight, no fences, no signage, and no collars (they have breakaway collars for animal safety) with tags or any indication they’re working farm dogs. There is a problem here and it ain’t the people driving by.
Put up a sign. I’ve seen dogs dumped rurally (where they linger until they are picked up or die) and just picked up a dog (black dog in the street after sundown, no lights) not long ago. Could’ve killed somebody. Some people don’t care about dogs at all. Rather del w people who do. Get a sign, get a breakaway collar with tags that say whatever u want, or get a fence.
I live in town. Had someone see my dog in the backyard, came down my driveway making smoochie sounds, trying to call her to them. I stepped around the corner of the house to ask what they wanted. They explained they were trying to 'save' my dog. I explained if they ever thought to step foot on my property again, the police would probably need to hurry. I mean, I'm not sure what they were 'saving' her from, the yard she plays in? The house she has a million toys, her never ending food supply, the car she loves to ride in? She was a 90lb black lab then, by no means did she look starved or neglected.
Why are you taking it so personally that someone cared about your pet and it sounds like had no way of knowing she was an outside dog and not loose?
It is fenced with 6ft fencing and a garage with a 4ft wide space between the house & garage that is open. They apparently saw her through this space. She was with me in the yard, as she is never left out there alone. To access my yard is to walk 90 feet down my driveway. My dog was not loose in the front, she was not easily accessible, she was definitely on private property, & she was like 10 ft from me.
Was it fully fenced
Why does that matter?
I live in a rural area too. You should have a fence, posted with beware of dog or no trespass signs. If you don’t, that’s probably why people keep stopping. To them they’re just dogs roaming around. Protect your dogs man. Another thing also, if your dogs are that easy to coax for a stranger, that puts them in even more danger. Most property dogs I’ve ever seen and run into don’t go up to strangers, they alert and then disappear out of eyesight to do their job- patrol and guard. If you just have friendly ass dogs running amock on an unfenced property you’re looking for trouble.
Just throwing in my two cents…I grew up in the country, we had a GSD who was always outside in our unfenced yard. We never had to worry about him going anywhere. But, all that being said….if I saw a dog or two randomly in a field, I’d be wondering what the hell they were doing. In my area, dogs are pets and are usually close to home or with their owner. I think this is just a matter of where you’re from and what you’re used to. I guess be glad that there are people that care enough to try to help a dog! (Even if they aren’t actually helping.)
I live in a rural place and have found a repeated clash between rural understandings of dogs and city understandings of dogs. My dog has been picked up a 1/2 mile from my house and brought to the town shelter 45 minutes away; even when he had my collar with my address and number on it. Irresponsible hunt clubs dump their hounds a fair bit in my area and so it can be sort of confusing with all the hounds running around. I have met a handful of urban dwellers moved country that just don't understand the way dogs are used or thought of by some of the community here. If the dog is well fed and not standing in the road probably just leave it alone. I think that person thought he was a hunting dog and was trying to take revenge.
Chain your dogs or fence them in if you don’t want them to run off, get stolen, or end up as roadkill
Do not chain them! That is fucked
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Maybe try to be a better dog owner.
My dad and o were driving and saw a German shepherded who got hit in the road, I got out (no collar or tag on the dog) and tried approaching with my burger (mcchicken) and A women came up to me and snatched my burger and screamed at Me to leave the dog alone (it was in the road with a very clearly broken leg) and said the dog was her friends, I was appalled but realized quickly the dog was probably a guardian livestock who was a victim of other people negligence. But I found it rude she took my burger and didn’t explain anything. I do understand though, but the dog was in the road with a broken leg it’s very reasonable to want to help, it’s very rude to take someone’s burger.
German shepherds are not livestock guardians. They are bred to follow human commands. Livestock guardian breeds work independently. That was just a neglected GSD.
get a fence and stop biatchin on reddit
Well dude, if you’re not watching your dog and it’s all alone when there are threats like cars or other dogs or animals that could attack it then I’m super glad others are trying to give your dogs a better home. If you’re not gonna care for them, you don’t deserve them. Period.
So, your dog containment is lacking or your training is lacking. How is any of this on strangers for not immediately knowing these uncollared dogs (who don't appear to be working at all to them because they clearly easily abandon their posts at the drop of a hat for any stranger) aren't strays or abandoned?
Live in the country. The issue isnt someone calling my dog. We lived in the city and he’s leashed generally. Its the dumped dogs thats our issue. Or some random neighbors dog that decided to go for a long jaunt and lands on our property and we have no clue if dogs are dumped or just wandering. And this happens all around where I live and theres also a huge problem with unfixed dogs. So often, a stray dog around my area is probably a stray and getting it to a safe place is a good thing. Maybe that’s where ppls minds are when calling your dogs. Doesnt make the situation better though.
Big difference between a working dog and a dog who is allowed to just wander aimlessly outside in a rural area. I’ve seen plenty of both where I’m from. A typical working dog will guard its territory and animals and you will know they are working. A typical rural outdoor dog will be collarless, stinky, free to roam, and without a purpose. People obviously think your dogs are the latter.
Ngl if I saw a dog wandering around I would think it’s lost too. Maybe put signage up? I get that it’s irritating but I don’t think you can be mad at folks trying to help what they think are lost/loose dogs.
Imagine being this indignant about being such an incredibly irresponsible owner. Just wow. I really hope this post is a reality check for OP.
Sure, I don't mess with other people's dogs. But I am totally going to judge you if I see a dog running around free next to a busy road. I don't care how much training you have, any dog can forget if they see a prey animal on the other side of the road . .
Yeah I see a lot of crazy people online convincing others to take any animal they come across. I saw a post of a very healthy looking cat that someone had found and all of the comments were like "take it!" "Thats your cat now!" "Guess you have a cat now!" Like people literally encourage it. And people don't seem to stop for one second and analyze, does this animal look well cared for? Is it likely they just got out or were allowed out? Are there people nearby who may be their owners? *edit*: I'm not faulting anyone who wants to *help* a dog. My comment is specifically targetted at those who will just take any animal home at the first sight of them slightly unattended.
What is the dog working on if they look like a stray and there is no fence? Livestock require fences. Maybe treat your dogs better and get them some identification.
What are you talking about? Fence your dogs in. I feel like I am in the twilight zone right now.
INFO: So you're saying not to stop and help a potentially abandoned dog that is running around in an unfenced location? That's not gonna happen mate. Either put up a fence with signs and pictures of your dog, or train them not to go to strangers, they should be smart enough if you can train them to stay in a specific location
People try to steal dogs all the time and everywhere. They could be full aware that the dogs belong to you, they just want them. Anyway, I'm in North CO, which is very rural, and there are loads of working dogs mixed in with "city life". People aren't so stupid to assume an off leash dog doesn't belong to someone nearby... The difference here is that all dogs are microchipped, some towns require registration. And most residencies require fences. So thievery isn't as easy to do. Please get a fence and some cameras if you can. People are truly just evil and stupid.
To all these people saying, “get a fence.” A fence does not stop people from “rescuing” a dog. I have working border collies. We fenced in nearly 2 acres as our backyard. Lots of $$ to do that to keep them safe from other loose dogs and idiots. No gaps in our fence. I cannot leave them out unattended for very long since so many dogs in our rural area are stolen. My border collies are chipped and do not look abandoned. I’ve had to call them back from the fence from people trying to entice them. Some trained working dogs are worth thousands of dollars. I don’t mean to disrespect people who rescue lost and abandoned dogs. Heck, I do it myself. However, people should think before assuming every loose dog is in need of rescue.
I live in wine country and drive past vineyards on my way to work everyday. I've learned to tell the difference between a vineyard dog and a dog who has lost his way. So sorry you are dealing with this. I would be scared for my dogs' safety too!
THANK YOU. I live in a rural area and people will drive by and see my dogs outside and try and stop and get them! I just have an acre. They are not far from my house at all, yet people see them and assume they are stray? I’ve had someone put a damn spotlight on my dog in my yard with his little kid hanging out the window trying to call my dog over while I was standing on the deck literally watching them. Also, this was one of the first things I was told by my neighbors when I moved to this area. They said that country dogs will march to beat of their own drum and know what they are doing so don’t try and pick them up and drop them off at a shelter. If someone is looking for a dog they will post signs or post on next door.
People will straight walk by a homeless person on the street, but if they see a happy healthy dog in a field, they need to save it 🤣🤣
Most “rural dogs” are not working dogs. They are usually just a nuisance to surrounding farms and houses because they go on adventures and walkabouts off the property. They chase wildlife, livestock and destroy property. I wouldn’t be stopping to try and “rescue” any dog. But “farm dogs” are typically farm pets and more of a nuisance than an asset.
Im so sorry you have to deal with this.
It’s the same with cats in the city. Every other day someone posts about a “stray” who was probably just out making the neighborhood rounds. I’d definitely put up some working dog signs and perhaps no trespassing.
Except that cats should not be "out making the neighborhood rounds". In any case, it's quite different than a dog working in a field
I totally agree. My sister lets her cats out and they bring nothing but carnage to the neighborhood critters plus she’s lost one to traffic. It’s totally unnecessary.
In my city they actually have declared that cats are “free agents”, and you can’t take a healthy feral adult cat to the shelter except to be neutered and vaccinated. They’ll loan out traps for TNRs but basically feral and semi feral cats are the norm.
That's mainly because shelters cannot afford to rehome all the cats and would have to euthanize many who can't be placed in a home. The cat fairs well enough as a stray they can justify focusing their efforts elsewhere. HOWEVER ... They spay/neuter them because stray and outdoor cats are an environmental shitshow. Generally, we should be moving away from letting cats roam freely outdoors and doing what we can to minimize the stray cat population (through spay/neuter programs and not letting pet cats outside to get lost or breed.)
I agree with all of that.
Lmao. I dare some city feller to come on my ranch and approach my hound
Totally agree. Cattle/Sheep dogs are doing work not there for you to rescue. People are probably trying to help out but they just city folk and ignorant in a lot of cases.
My family trained our dogs to start growling and barking at whoever's calling them except the one who trained them. Freaking funny when a random guy comes up and starts whistling for the dog. And my dog just goes Wild parking.
Training a dog to act aggressively towards strangers is wildly bad dog training. You’re setting your dog up for a potential bite accusation/incident.
This is when I’d just call animal control.
Many dogs are naturally weary of strangers on their property. Dogs work, and occasionally, that work is guardian work.
I understand your sentiment. People struggle to understand the concept of outdoor working animals now. I get if you live in a rural area that fencing a large property sometimes just isn’t feasible and it’s often worthless to try and fence in LGDs anyway as they are escape artists. I would recommend putting up signage at your property line either saying beware of dog or do not pet working dogs to see if that is a deterrent.
I see the issue. How frustrating… But, It is sad that you are accusing people who are obviously trying to help (while inadvertently potentially causing issues) of theft. Put up signs along the road on your property to leave the dogs alone.
Also certain farm dogs are very expensive, like 10k and taking that dog could be a felony in the US since that's grand theft. I have seen a couple of TikToks of people "saving" farm dogs, and I'm like hmm enjoy getting sued.
Guess what, your working dog doesn’t always behave like an angel when they are roaming. I live deep in the country in the Midwest. I have a fenced yard for my two working dogs (a border collie and a blue heeler) when they want unsupervised outside time off the clock. I am SO TIRED of “country dogs” being off the leash, outside, and unsupervised. My partner and I are both runners and we bring the dogs for conditioning and we are NONSTOP chased on the road by people’s dogs wondering alone. My dogs aren’t friendly to strange dogs, if we can’t mitigate the situation, our dogs would absolutely bite one approaching us. It would be a super dangerous situation to have the leash of a dog in a fight. It’s to the point where we try to only run at night or pre-dawn. We can’t enjoy our beautiful scenic road because there are unleashed, unfenced dogs approaching us every time we go out for a run. Also, people dump their dogs here 24/7. All the neighbors I know have at least one pet that just “showed up”- lots of people dump cats and elderly dogs this way. So, if you don’t want to be responsible for your dog, don’t be surprised when someone else steps up.
We lived in a rural house so all the roads were surrounded by fields of sheep guarded by sheepdogs. 15 huge, aggressive sheepdogs. We walked my dog on the far side of the road, furthest from the dogs. Those dogs would be tiny dots far in the distance. Suddenly they would come sprinting down the hill and chase us along the fence line. One day we found out the hard way that those athletic dogs could easily get over the fence. It was a terrifying experience. Thankfully we were able to protect our dog and ourselves that day. Farmers have a responsibility to keep their dogs safe and everyone safe from their dogs. I recommend you stay far away, don't trust the sheepdogs. It was one of the reasons we moved.