Dogs in France - I wish they didn't!

Do they require 3.14159265359 kilos of food each day? :laughing:

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Interesting (and the spelling variations !) – I know Indian people love and speak (among other languages) a variety of English which often sounds like in comes from mid-20th century England — so I wonder if « pie » was originally a reference to a sort of marking (the word you see in « piebald », « magpie » etc).

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You’re being irrational now!

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Only for the bigger ones ,for smaller ones 22/7 works well :grinning:

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I read the different topics and on ocassion it makes me smile how the main topic can get lost as the conversation changes. Anyway
We are new to rural France (Manche ) and have herd all sorts about hunting. No one seems to know the full regs though i doubt they are followed . I’m popoing to marie office to check on what to expect when they hunt and what days / times. I have a dog and we sometimes walk through woods so I like to know what I can. I also need to be aware of hunters dogs incase we meet up.with them. I feel in regards to dogs I’ve seen different types but not sure if I will get used to those hunting dogs in cages or dogs left out in gardens all the time just makes me sad to see.

I’m in Manche and our local postlady hunts! I’m mainly aware of hunting going on on Sundays and some weekday evenings (after work, presumably). There isn’t a lot of it but the recommendations are to wear a hi-vis jacket if walking in woods. I think there is more in the area west of Avranches. It has never caused me a problem but then I don’t walk a dog!

I can’t really complain. My dog barks a lot. We live in suburbia with a large garden fronting the pavement. My shepherd threatens any passersby. She does a great job of it too but I think we are the most disturbed. Nonetheless I guess some interested parties in white vans looks elsewhere after passing. My only relevant experience is when out walking the dog near the river, where of course some ‘rural’ houses have a pen with a dog in it. An old problem of arguably dieing out traditions mixing with 21st century life.

Hunting dogs tend to be focused on chasing, so more likely your dog will run after them than that they’ll interfere with you. Good hunts will put up warning signs in the areas they are hunting in so you can avoid them. Usually weekends and one day during the week, but varies by location.

We are in a goup of 6 houses. 5 have dogs all alarm. We have 2 medium dogs. Specificaly bred for alarm purpose and they do a cracking job. We do get the hunting dogs in season as we live in the forrest.

One thing to note in our community is that there is a local Edict by the Marie. That dogs are nota allowed to be nusance specifically on a night. SO its dead quiet here. You may want to check the local rules perhaps there is somthing there.

No excuse for owners training the dogs to obey comands to be quiet. its fairly simple to do. Gives dog owners a bad image.

I wish! As the ten dogs at the top of our chemin set each other off and then the owners shout at them it is pandemonium. You have to train the owners first. Not always easy that one. :roll_eyes:

good luck with that one then. Worth checking the Maries local rules though. I have to say we have issues with chainsaws buzzing away all day in the Foret. But TBF for us its better than the 17000.00 vehicles that went passed our house every day in Blighty, 10m from the front door.

I do feel for you though, its a pain when its everyday.

Interestingly, we’ve sort of got used to it. Fortunately they are not right on our doorstep, but we do go past every time we leave our house - it’s the only way. It helped to realise that it is NOT our problem if they make a noise, so we now come and go exactly as we please, including OH walking our two (very quiet) dogs past them at 7am in the morning on a Saturday and Sunday. :slight_smile:

Sue, do you still have an Airedale?
We have had 4 and all with very different characters. You are very lucky to have a quiet Airedale as that is far from our experience.
They were all loveable loyal dogs but completely bonkers.
Meg was a plane spotter and barked at them constantly, we loved cloudy days. Rose had the longest legs we have ever seen on an Airedale and she could dig a hole a foot deep in seconds, she was also an escape artist as no matter how well our garden fencing was she found a way through it. She once cleared a 5 bar gate while carrying 8 puppies which she gave birth to the following day. Liz was greedy, she would eat anything and it was a constant battle to keep her thin. Finally there was Daisy, all our Airdales had long lives, 10, 11 and 13 but sadly not Daisy. She lived 6 years and was the most loving and obedient of them all.
Our last Airedale Meg came to France with us 13 years ago and died 6 months later. We loved our Airedales as we have all our dogs but they are what they are and barking is what they do.
I feel sure that if the human/canine relationship was reversed then there would be plenty of canine complaints of anti social human behaviour.

Hello John, lovely to hear about your Airedales. We are completely smitten with ours. Yes we still have Vita, she’s 12 now and sadly although she is full of joie de vivre her back legs are very frail and give way, and she’s now completely deaf. I’m taking her to a lovely vet acupuncturist in Bordeaux on Monday for some TLC.
Interestingly she doesn’t bark much except for “where is everybody?” single woofs or “where’s my food, it’s supper time?” reminders.
We came to France 14 years ago with two elderly Airedales and when they passed on discovered that there was a breeder near Villeneuve (a mere stone’s throw away) and so Vita, who has the sweetest temperament, came into our lives. Bertie, on the other hand, who came to us as a rescue and is part terrier / part PBGV certainly knows how to bark - blackbirds, sparrows, someone walking across neighbouring fields, buzzards above our garden, imagined cats, deer in the far distance, delivery vans, “why are you leaving me and not taking me with you, I’m a working dog?” Vita, in comparison is a model of tranquillity. :slight_smile:

This hairstyle attracts a lot of dirt!

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