I’ve been making the most of the sun shining this week with plenty of walks and gardening.
However, this particular walk gave me a bit more than I bargained for. I walked through a woodland, up a lovely stream and then the public footpath took me into a field of cows (young bullocks).
I hadn’t got far before the curious cows made their way towards me and the dog. My usual tactic is to clap and make a noise, which usually gets them to back off, but this time they just kept coming. Not charging or anything, but they surrounded us pretty quickly and made Blossom yelp with fright.
I’ve read a lot of stories about cattle trampling dog walkers to death, so I then had to make the decision to go forwards or back. I was about one third of the way up the field, so went forward.
The advice I’ve read is to let the dog off the lead, so if the cattle cause a problem, the dog will run, the cows will chase the dog (which will outrun them), and the person is okay. In my case, the dog decided to hide behind me. Thanks Blossom.
We made our way slowly and calmly up the field. I had my back to the hedge, my arms out, and was talking reassuringly to the cattle about how I was just going through the field. I’m not sure whether I was trying to reassure the cattle, the dog or myself to be honest. My heart was going like an express train, but I honestly believe that staying calm and slow kept the cattle calm.
It was only when I got through the gate and looked back that I realised just how many cows there had been. Once my heart stopped pounding and my legs stopped the jellies I made a mental note to take the longer route that avoids these boys next time.