Advice from Teagasc: Best friend can be safety hazard
Dogs are used on many farms for herding and moving stock, as guard dogs, and to frighten rodents and vermin such as crows, rats, and pigeons away from farm houses and farmyards.
Numerous people have dogs as walking companions and as domestic pets.
However, a dog can be a man’s worst enemy if the dog approaches some farm animals, such as suckler cows with young calves.
Suckler cows may become agitated and are liable to attack both the dog and dog handler, if a dog goes near their calf.
So, let sleeping dogs lie, if you intend to go herding cattle.
Or leave the dog in the cab of your vehicle when herding stock, and approaching any suckler cows with their offspring in the fields.
Researchers in the UK carried out a review to identify risk factors in incidents involving cattle and members of the public.
Out of 54 attacks on people reported in Britain between 1992 and 2013, two-thirds involved dogs, and one in four proved fatal.
There is a stronger tradition of people walking in the countryside with dogs in the UK, where there are public access rights to certain lands and bridle-ways.
“We found that walking with dogs among cows, particularly with calves present, was a common factor for an attack,” said Dr Carri Westgarth, a dog behaviour expert at the University of Liverpool.
“One theory for this is that cows may feel particularly threatened by dogs, especially if they have young to protect. People then try to protect their dogs, which can lead to a tragic incident occurring.”
Teagasc health and safety officer John McNamara said there are cultural differences between Ireland and the UK, where walking across land in the countryside is more common, but farmers and people in the countryside must keep their dogs under control.
“People should not be walking through fields with dogs or otherwise,” he said.
”Cattle, especially suckler cows, will protect their calf, at any time of the year.
“You might just accidentally get between the cow and calf.”
Mr McNamara urged farmers to take extra care during the busy spring time on farms, and highlighted safety measures such as calving pens with easy access gates.
“Aggressiveness is an inheritable condition, and we are encouraging people to breed for docility and get a calm herd,” he said.
He said farmers should be calm at all times when they handle animals.
