On the way onto the hill I was greeted by a herd, right behind the gates of the field I needed to cross. Lots of cows and calves and one mahoosive bull….
After observing them and especially big boy Elvert for a minute, I decided to go for it. 
Elvert only had eyes for Bertha it seemed. So I did what I always do when crossing a field of cattle, I let the dogs off the lead. Both my dogs are very unkeen when it comes to bovines so they, giving the beasts the widest berth possible, legged it to the other side of the field. 
On the way back, as I entered the field again, I saw a few hikers where I had previously stood, on the other side of the gates. The herd was resting in pretty much the same place – awkwardly in the way…. As I got closer, the people hadn’t moved but as I was now ‘in the cows’ I let the dogs off and they made a bee-line for the gates. I shouted ‘You can let her through if you like’. Although I was still some way off, I could now see there were quite a lot of people, and one had opened one of the gates. I think I saw my dog now on the other side.
With only about 10 yards to go, I could finally see that they were in fact a group of about 30 primary school children with their teachers/helpers, now entering the field. They had obviously decided to make a break for it.
As we passed, we had a brief exchange about the bull, my dogs now almost out of sight -on the other side of the gates. As I closed the gate behind me and looked back at the group, I heard a man say to the person next to him ‘ ….but MY dog is friendly and she is ALWAYS on the lead….’ The other person replied ‘…but she HAD the dog on a lead…’ ‘…the cows…’
Now, knowing the full facts of the situation, I think I made an error of judgement. I thought about MY safety (and that of my dogs), not how the people on the other side of the gate might react to a loose dog. I guess it would have been better not to have let the dogs off. Normally when approaching people, particularly children (or people with a dog – especially if it’s on a lead) I would make sure my dogs are on their leads.
However, the school party staff of course need not have opened the gates and could have waited behind them until I got there. Perhaps I should have waited at the other side of the field until they had decided to cross the field towards me, away from the cows. Thing is, with my eyesight I had no idea what was going on at the other side of the field…..
But…. the good news is, no-one got hurt, no-one even screamed and my dogs largely ignored the group. In fact I did ask the man who I overheard if there was a problem but he said there was not. I would have apologised but he did not appear to want to discuss it. I put my dogs back on their leads and carried on.
As I walked past two minibuses from the local primary school, and knowing how these trips work, I thought ‘I wonder what their risk assessment for that trip looks like’ ‘I wonder if they did a recci walk…?’
walkingbuddies 