How do I walk a dog in the countryside without causing problems?

Most conflict between dog walkers and the countryside comes from a small number of situations, and almost all of it is avoidable with a lead and a bit of foresight. The rules also change between England and Wales and Scotland, and the seasonal restrictions catch people out.

Safety

What you'll need

• A lead you can actually control the dog with
• Poo bags
• Water and a bowl
• A tick remover
• A towel and a rug for the car

Step by step

1. Put the dog on a lead near any livestock.Sheep, lambs, cattle, horses, poultry and alpacas alike. A dog does not have to bite to cause harm: chasing pregnant ewes causes them to abort, and panicked sheep injure themselves on fences and walls. Even a reliable dog can behave differently near a flock.
2. Reverse the rule if cattle come towards you.Cattle, especially cows with calves, react to dogs and will follow, charge and trample. If a herd starts moving towards you, let the dog off the lead at once, drop the lead, and walk calmly and directly to the nearest boundary. The dog will outrun the cattle and find you. People are killed each year by holding onto the lead.
3. Follow the access rules for the nation you are in.In England and Wales, on CROW open access land, dogs must be on a lead no more than two metres long from 1 March to 31 July to protect ground-nesting birds, and at all times near livestock. Some access land and nature reserves exclude dogs entirely. In Scotland, the statutory right of responsible access includes dogs under proper control, and the Scottish Outdoor Access Code sets out what that means — including keeping away from fields with young animals and avoiding ground-nesting bird areas in spring and summer.
4. Keep away from ground-nesting birds in spring and summer.Curlew, lapwing, skylark, nightjar and many others nest on the ground on moorland, heath and dunes. A dog running through a nesting area destroys nests it never sees, and the disturbance alone causes birds to abandon. This is why the spring lead requirement exists.
5. Use the gates and stiles properly.Leave gates as you found them, and lift the dog over stiles or use the dog gate where one exists. Never let a dog scramble under a fence into a field you are not entering.
6. Bag it and take it with you.Everywhere, including on farmland and moorland. Dog faeces carry parasites that cause abortion and disease in cattle and sheep — neosporosis and sarcocystosis — which is why farmers care about it far beyond tidiness. Never bag it and hang it on a tree.
7. Keep the dog on a lead near cliffs and fast water.Dogs have no sense of a cliff edge and will chase a bird straight over one. On the coast and near weirs, sluices and flood water, keep the lead on.
8. Watch the dog's own hazards.Ticks in bracken and long grass, adders on heath and moorland on warm days, blue-green algae in still water in summer, salt water causing severe illness if drunk, and heat exhaustion — dogs overheat far faster than people and black dogs and flat-faced breeds fastest of all.
9. Take water for the dog.Streams are not always available and not always safe. A collapsible bowl weighs nothing.
10. Check the dog over afterwards.Ticks behind the ears, in the armpits and between the toes; grass seeds in the ears and paws; cuts on pads from rock and flint. A quick check at the car takes two minutes and saves vet visits.
11. Know how far the dog can actually go.Fitness varies enormously by breed, age and build. Puppies should not do long distances while their joints are developing, and older dogs, short-legged breeds and flat-faced breeds tire and overheat quickly. Build up as you would for yourself.

Tips

• A short, fixed lead gives you control near livestock. Extending leads are useless in that situation and dangerous around cattle.
• Farmers are usually delighted to see a dog on a lead and often say so. The whole relationship between dog walkers and farmers is decided in that one moment.
• If there is a bull in a field with cows and calves, look for an alternative route. Bulls of dairy breeds in particular are unpredictable and it is not worth testing.
• Adder bites on dogs are painful and occasionally serious. If a dog is bitten, carry it if you can, keep it calm and get to a vet quickly.
• In summer, walk early or late. Tarmac and rock hot enough to be uncomfortable on your hand will burn a dog's pads.

Common mistakes

• Holding onto the lead when cattle charge — The cattle are pursuing the dog, and holding the lead puts you in the middle of it. This is how people are killed. Let go.
• Letting a dog off the lead on moorland in spring — Ground-nesting birds are destroyed by dogs running through nesting areas, and on open access land in England and Wales it also breaks the lead requirement that runs from March to July.
• Leaving bagged waste on a path or hanging in a hedge — It is worse than leaving nothing — it will not degrade, someone else has to pick it up, and it is the single thing that most annoys people who live and work in the countryside.

If it doesn't work

Questions people ask