cows
recently a friend of mine was walking her dog through a public footpath through a field which happened to be occupied by a herd of cows.she happened to look round and noticed one of the cows had broken into a trot and was heading straight for her.she made good her escape and was shaken by the experience.has anyone out there experienced this kind of problem before.
I understood that the most dangerous were milking cows, as they have been separated from their calves by farmers with dogs and aim to retaliate. There are 2-3 reported deaths from these cow attacks each year.
|Beef cows are apparently more likely to be docile as are herds where a bull is allowed to run with the herd.
I've had this a few times. The first time I was walking across a field of young cows, about just past my waist in height and about 40 of them. I had our golden retriever with us, and the cows cantered over. This was the first time I'd ever been in a field with cows and they came toward me, so despite their small size it was a bit unnerving. (Daisy, our dog, was completely unperturbed). I did that thing where you jump on the floor and slow them down and we eventually got across the field with no problems.
The second time, and a lot more serious, was with Daisy again. Me and my girlfriend were taking a 'short cut' (no public footpath so a little naughty) through a field of Friesian cattle (again about 40, but fully grown) and they seemed fine until we were about half way across; way, way past the point of no return. They started trotting in a 'whirlwind' formation (who said cows couldn't organise themselves into ranks) and then broke out in a run (not a charge) toward us.
Thank god there was an open 'gate' into an adjacent field next to us. I did the stamp and shout tactic again just as the front few cows started bucking as they approached - this was by far the scariest moment. Having never seen a bucking cow before, the sight of a couple of angry cows doing so was quite scary. This slowed the semi-charge to a slow advance, but an advance none the less, and the jump and shout tactic was becoming less and less effective. I got my better half to take Daisy into the other field quickly and make their way to the barbed wire fence near the road. I kept backing out and when I was past the threshold of the new field I had to drag the decrepit gate across the gap (there was no post on which to hang the hinges).
This stopped the cows and that's when I spotted the bull at the back of the herd. We scarpered, all the while Daisy was still completely un-phased by the event.
I did some research into it at the time and it turns out that cows really, really don't like dogs. Especially when there is a bull and/or calves they get very defensive. Even a dog on a lead get's them riled up and potentially dangerous.
The advice is to keep out of cow fields with dogs, especially when they are with young'uns. Cow's are the most docile creatures normally and your friend need not be spooked (although I admit myself I'm still hyper-wary when dealing with them)