Derek leask

I sympathize with the first poster on this thread. However contrary to what we might think it is quite challenging to look after large dogs properly in Shetland. This is because of the amount of sheep here. Trying to be responsible as a larger dog owner means one of the few places you can run your dog properly is a beach or the knab. We have a german shepherd and a ten minute walk is of no use to him. To stimulate him and exercise him properly he needs to run. Therefore the only place we can take him off the leash without sheep being nervous is the beach. We have put a lot of work into training him and socialising him with other dogs but by nature he is still a dog and will occasionally bark when first meeting a stranger. However he is never going to bite anyone, it is just the breeds instinct to sound an alarm. We could make extra effort to to try and train this out of him and I have thought about it but whats the point in making a dog not a dog! If we are at one end of the beach and someone comes on at the other side with a dog then off course he will be off to introduce himself and have a sniff. This is just the baggage that goes with having dogs. It doesn't necessarily mean you are negligent. Dogs are pack animals and like to see other dogs. I think it is a bit unrealistic to deny them the opportunity to socialise properly. The key is to train your dog how to mix politely with other dogs and we have done this by asking permission from any dog owners we meet on walks to allow the dogs a few minutes of controlled engagement. Our dog is always fine but if another dog shows any aggression I take him away immediately. Off course humans are not all perfect dog owners and we see many people that have no idea about their dogs. I remember the days of the dog licence and now that I own one think its strange that this was withdrawn. I think you should have to prove that you can look after dogs properly before you have the right to own one - especially the more challenging breeds. When I am out with our gs I meet so many people who approach him entirely inappropriately. If you want to pet a big dog show the back of your hand to his nose. This is a passive gesture which the dog recognises. He will then likely have a sniff and be friendly. When you put your palm on a dogs head it is a dog fighting movement. If your dog is not well trained he may be threatened. Thankfully our dog is passive so never responds angrily to all these strangers who meeting him on the road first time want to pat him in attack mode. I wouldn't like to see how they would get on with some of those untrained staffies!

As a family with a dog we go up to Unst 2 or 3 times a year. Always have to visit the chocolate factory. Never any complaints and always a good way to spend an hour or two. The raf saxaford museum room is brilliant and is very nostalgic for those of us whose pre season football preparation consisted of the mandatory friendly against the raf team and a Saturday night at Springfield! It's brilliant someone is making a business of making chocolate in unst and can't understand the negative comments aboot the cafe. A cake, coffee and microwaved macaroni for the bairns is just fine thanks. Canna understand what else is expected. They have an amazing collage of dog photos which amused wir bairns fur 20 mins so guess it's soon pretty obvious this place is dog friendly. Wis dog owners ken by noo that wir bairns are pretty immune tae contracting anything fae dem so my suggestion wid be that if u are no a dug person then dunna eat there. After reading dis thread I can see wir sammy will be welcome next time we go there so will b taking him in. The Baltasound hotel dus really good grub and we had a lovely meal there in the evening with really friendly service. Unst is great to go wi dog and bairns. Canna understand the negativity. Foords chocolate factory is an enjoyable part of the experience. Just chill oot folk.