# Leads and poo bags for hounds?



## Tiddlypom (12 October 2018)

The following letter is doing the rounds on FB. Assuming that it is genuine, it does raise some valid issues. Why should hounds be exempt from the normal niceties that other dog owners observe? The Whitegate Way, a multiuser traffic free path, is a real local amenity, so all users should respect it.

https://www.merseyforest.org.uk/thi...rides-and-more/horse-rides/the-whitegate-way/

Poo picking is fair enough, one would hope that it is normal practice to clear up after hound exercise. But leads? Is it time to get hounds used to a collar and lead?


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## Red-1 (12 October 2018)

Seems fair to me. They are not saying that hounds need to actually be on a lead, just that the people have means to be able to catch them up - I would have thought that would be common sense anyway when out in public and near roads. 

As for the poo - well they have a good point. All it takes is someone following on behind with poo bags. Don't see why they should be an exemption. TBH I don't like picking my dogs' poo up, nor is it particularly convenient, but I do so because it is the decent thing to do.


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## Littlefloof (13 October 2018)

I'd hope that the hounds aren't going through the cemetery where leads are compulsory anyway, tbh.


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## spacefaer (13 October 2018)

I would point out that most huntsmen have more control over 30 couple of hounds loose around him in a pack than most pet dog owners with one dog.


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## Rowreach (13 October 2018)

Hound poo is particularly revolting, and if they are exercising hounds on well used public footpaths then I can understand why there would be complaints tbh.  Dog fouling drives me nuts anyway.

Hounds on exercise are usually well controlled, but again I can see that if you are exercising in public areas, rather than way out in the countryside, then rules should be obeyed just the same as if you are walking your household pooch.


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## Mule (13 October 2018)

Seems completely over the top. If people take offence to sh*t, they should live in the city.


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## ester (13 October 2018)

I totally understand the poo problem if they are using PROW, our only off road access is also frequented by several dog walking services and private owners. They all seem to get out the car and poo on the very first bit of the track, it's practically impossible to avoid on horseback and I then get the joy of getting it out of Frank's boots once home. And yes there is a bin at the gate, max 20M away from this bit of track (after that the track opens up so less of an issue). 

However for the most part I totally agree wtih Spacefaers statement about control levels!


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## Tiddlypom (13 October 2018)

Dog poo in general is pretty revolting, so it should be picked up unless on private land. The limit of 6 dogs per person is IMHO too high, 4 would be better thinking more of the 'professional' dog walkers who don't pick after/can't control their charges.

This is a section of the Whitegate Way, it's a well used former railway line near an urban area. It could be quite intimidating for a non dog lover to be confronted by a large number of loose hounds on this, especially if they have their own dog/a pushchair/a toddler in tow.





It's no secret where the hunt kennels are, they are named on the OS map . Just north of points 8 & 9, so the Whitegate Way would be a convenient place to exercise hounds.


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## Smogul (23 October 2018)

spacefaer said:



			I would point out that most huntsmen have more control over 30 couple of hounds loose around him in a pack than most pet dog owners with one dog.
		
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Yeah, right. I can still remember being at Burleigh many years ago when various packs of hounds were brought into one of the arenas to show how well controlled they were. When we left late on, there were several still loose with hunt staff frantically trying to round them up. The demonstration was never repeated.


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## ester (23 October 2018)

Multiple packs together always results in a little confusion as to who should be going with who, plenty of shows still have multiple local hound packs parade simultaneously. Obviously that isn't normal day in day out. 

Did you mean Burghley?


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## Red-1 (23 October 2018)

spacefaer said:



			I would point out that most huntsmen have more control over 30 couple of hounds loose around him in a pack than most pet dog owners with one dog.
		
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Ha Ha, maybe your local pack is different to ours. For a while last year it was a sort of local Facebook joke, spot the loose/lost hounds at the end of the hunt day. Once one was lost and turned up sore-pawed in the local town. The message went round to lock up your cats! It is not unusual to see a hunt person out on the quad trying to round up stragglers.


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## baran (6 November 2018)

mule said:



			Seems completely over the top. If people take offence to sh*t, they should live in the city.
		
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Try telling that to a farmer who lost a field of standing hay due to dog sh*t liberally spread throughout


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## Mule (6 November 2018)

baran said:



			Try telling that to a farmer who lost a field of standing hay due to dog sh*t liberally spread throughout
		
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The thread was about sh*t on public land not in hay fields.


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## baran (7 November 2018)

mule said:



			The thread was about sh*t on public land not in hay fields.
		
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I was responding to the poster who said you shouldn't live in the country if you couldn't cope with sh*t so I don't see the relevance of your response.

Also, under Scots law, people have the right to reasonable access to the countryside, which means that a hay field effectively becomes public land in many ways.


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## Mule (7 November 2018)

baran said:



			I was responding to the poster who said you shouldn't live in the country if you couldn't cope with sh*t so I don't see the relevance of your response.

Also, under Scots law, people have the right to reasonable access to the countryside, which means that a hay field effectively becomes public land in many ways.
		
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I was the poster who talked about coping with sh*t.  I also didn't know we were talking hay fields in Scotland. The op didn't seem to be anyway.


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## Quigleyandme (8 November 2018)

I have gone on hound exercise through a village and marvelled at home owners tolerance of hound waste, which is uniformly revolting, on their doorstep and in their flower pots.


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## Red-1 (8 November 2018)

Quigleyandme said:



			I have gone on hound exercise through a village and marvelled at home owners tolerance of hound waste, which is uniformly revolting, on their doorstep and in their flower pots.
		
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Our village has become considerably less tolerant. It was already an issue, but came to a head with the hunt going on land they did not have permission to be on and a Shetland dying as a result. Dog poo is an issue in our village, even with the generational residents with regular grumps on FaceTwit. It is not just an "incomer" thing. 

The hunt actually meet outside the village now and don't pass through (well, they did that last year anyway).


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## Pearlsasinger (8 November 2018)

I met hounds out on exercise on the road near home one day, the huntsman had a hound on the lead, he explained that she was a new addition to the pack and he was getting her used to the route/pack.  I don't know what they do about picking up waste but tbh, that road is used to exercise so many dogs whose owners don't seem to think that all the signs mean them, that nobody would know whether hounds had been there or not.


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## Hack4fun (12 November 2018)

My local council . The point about control of dogs is well made. For example, when I was riding along a forest trail an owner lack of awareness of what a kick from my horse would do to her much loved dog was only matched by her ability to control her dog. I, for one, am glad that the council are acting although I have no knowledge of whether the actions of the hunt merits this letter.


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