WWOOF forum post relating to dogs visiting a farm

 

Craig,

 I think it's wonderful that you have such a huge heart for animals, particularly ones that have been abused and rejected by humans. Owning a pet is a huge responsibility--one that a lot of people don't take seriously, hence the need for animal rescue--so our society in general absolutely needs more responsible pet owners like yourself!

  However, a farmer's first responsibility is to his/her animals, not to someone's pets. Many farmers have experienced horrific losses not only from wild predators like coyotes, foxes, raccoons, hawks, bobcats, skunks, weasels, and owls, but also from domesticated dogs that have been allowed to roam free. It's not just about tearing through the vegetable garden and killing a few chickens--it's about the potential loss of livelihood and many hundreds of dollars. To give you a gruesome example, we once lost 16 does and kids (goats) to three roaming dogs in one night. Recent storms had washed out a section of our perimeter fence, and in the shuffle of trying to move cattle, sheep, and goats around and away from the break, we foolishly left one paddock full of goats without a livestock guardian donkey for the night--we thought they would be safe because there were several sections of cross-fencing between them and the break. But true to Murphy's Law, the dogs found the washout, then the goats, and proceeded to slaughter them wholesale. The worst part was that after they ripped out the does' throats, they ripped out their udders--that's not the action of a wild predator, hunting for sustenance. That's the action of a domesticated animal killing for sport and taking only the choicest part of the prey. As much as I hate losing a chicken to a hawk or a fox, at least I know that they're doing it to survive and feed their young. That's what is often so terrible about dog predation--it's not out of need, it's out of simple bloodlust.    And that's why even well-trained pets cannot truly be trusted around farm animals. Every dog has that same set of instincts hard-wired into their DNA, and it doesn't matter how many obedience classes they've attended or how calm and docile they seem 99% of the time. All it takes is that 1%--that one chicken flaps out of the henhouse, squawking after laying an egg, and triggers the instinct. Or a lamb manages to slip through to the wrong side of the fence and starts baa-ing and pronging. Those rapid movements scream "PREY!!" to dogs, and all it takes is one lapse of control and the next thing you know, you have a dead animal on your hands. The dead chicken was worth $10, the dead lamb was worth at least $100 (or more if it's a ewe lamb). And god forbid it be multiple dead. Would you be willing and able to offer restitution if your dog was the one responsible?   Even livestock guardian dogs, which have been bred to protect animals, have been known to succumb to the predator instinct and kill chickens, guineas, goats, sheep, and calves. LGDs are an acceptable risk for many farmers, though, because they are brought up right alongside the livestock they are meant to protect and become desensitized to the sudden movements and prey behavior of their charges. But that desensitization comes over the course of days, weeks, years, and some LGDs will still lapse. So even with an ideal combination of training and environment, dogs can still pose a threat.   And that's just the danger dogs pose to livestock--some livestock can pose serious dangers to the dogs themselves. We keep donkeys with our sheep because they're good defense against roaming dogs, and do you know how donkeys deal with them? They literally trample them to death, and a crushed skull is a horrible way for any animal to die. An adult cow can also trample a dog and if hard-pressed, an adult ram could defend his flock with his horns and momentum. He might die in the attempt, but he could do some damage before he goes down.    These are the realities of pets on farms that hosts have to take into consideration. It's not easy--lots of farmers adore animals themselves, otherwise they wouldn't keep them. Farm dogs and barn cats are indeed fixtures on many, if not most, farms. But at the end of the day, the farmer retains complete authority over those animals. And if it becomes necessary to defend livestock against predatory dogs, there's usually a 20-gauge shotgun in the corner of the closet. It's not fun to talk about, and it's even worse to have to deal with a predator in that fashion, but again, that's reality. That's what a farmer has to do to protect the animals and livestock he/she loves and relies on for income.   I'm not entirely sure it's kind to pets to put them in these kinds of dangerous situations in the first place. They don't know any better--they haven't been acclimated to farms and to livestock, and they won't be able to help it if their instincts are triggered and they kill. But if that happens, they--and their owners, and the farmer--have to deal with a potentially ugly set of consequences. Pet owners have the same responsibility to their pets that farmers do to their livestock. Farmers rarely get to go on vacation because they have to care for their animals every single day (and cow-sitters are hard to find). Perhaps long-term or cross-country WWOOFing isn't right for pet owners for some of the same reasons.   Sorry for the very long-winded response, but I hope that gives you an idea of what the host farmer goes through and has to consider regarding pets. There are absolutely host farms out there that would be happy to host your dogs, but you are going to have a harder time finding them. Even if a host hasn't ticked the "I'm willing to consider pets" box, I'm sure some farms that don't raise livestock would be willing to discuss it with you. But that's definitely what you should look for--farms that don't have animals. Or you could look for host farms close to your current location that would be willing to have you out for the day periodically instead, thus negating the pet issue entirely. I wish you the best of luck in your search, and think you should be proud of the wonderful difference you've made in your dogs' lives!