Dogs

[awk]

I'm sure some of the people here won't be happy until the only orienteers are aged 18-35, short race fanatics with no dogs or kids or 4x4s - and you wonder why the sport is in decline.

But it's in the 18-35 age group where there is fairly vicious decline, whilst the over-45s are (temporarily?) booming, which is maybe why so many here express concern about it. When you are in a minority, you tend to get put on the defensive when the majority don't show sufficient regard, and we over-45s on the whole don't have a particularly good track record on that front.

Personally, I have considerable sympathy with owners who have trained their dogs well being blighted by the tiny minority. Being a cyclist, I know what it feels like....!

[Knee Deep Mud!]

So is a police dog that has been let off the lead to subdue a criminal under control, or not?

How about a sheepdog rounding up sheep?

Or a gundog retrieving a pheasant?

Or a sniffer dog looking for a bomb?

Or fox hounds... ( oops bad example Smile )


Do you see my point though?

I agree that dogs that have had extensive special training and are controlled by people who have also had extensive training may be considered to be under control when off the lead. However this is not the case for your typical pet dog owned by Joe Public despite what Joe Public may think.

As an example - a friend is a ranger at a local country park. He asked a woman to put her dog on a lead because it was not in control. Whilst she was giving him an earful of verbal abuse about how her dog was always under perfect control when not on the lead, it ran out onto the main road in front of a passing car.....

On the weekend I went for my run around Llyn-y-Fan Fach & Llyn-y-Fan Fawr, a good 5 mile/2000ft jog. My dog went with me and although there were sheep around she never left my side. She is trained not to. I did carry her lead but it was not needed. She has been trained not to chase animals (or people for that matter).

I've also been there when someone doing much the same as you was having to apologise to the landowner for the fact that their dog had just ripped one of the farmers lambs to shreds. Dogs are hunters. It is in their nature to attack and kill things.

Personally I have no real problem with dogs and feel that they should be welcome at all events where appropriate, so long as they are on leads and their owners clean up after them.