PROTECTING SHEEP FROM DOGS AND WOLVES 373 



Should any runways pass under the fence, these will need 

 special attention. The gates must also be carefully made 

 and put in place. These may be of wire similar to that 

 used in building the fence, but which, of course, should 

 be carefully stayed between the headpiece and the end- 

 piece of the gate. A fence thus built will be quite suit- 

 able for inclosing a corral. 



Protection by means of firearms may not in all in- 

 stances be in strict accord with the letter of the law, and 

 disobedience to law very seldom finds justification. But 

 when a dog visits the property of another unattended by 

 an owner he is a trespasser. The law relating to trespass 

 usually forbids such visitation of any member of the 

 human family without the concurrence of the owner of 

 the land. Should domestic animals, as, for instance, the 

 horse and the cow, invade property, the law usually makes 

 provision for impounding them. Why, then, should a 

 dog be given license to go where other domestic animals 

 and even man himself cannot go without permission? The 

 dog cannot be impounded. The only protection against 

 his undesirable presence is that which sends him to the 

 shades of non-existence. It would be difficult, indeed, 

 to find a court that would punish a man who would thus 

 protect himself against trespass. 



Protection by means of poison is justified on the 

 same ground as protection by means of firearms. The 

 reasons which sustain the one method of dealing with 

 dogs will also sustain the other. Dogs are much more 

 easily poisoned than wolves (see page 382), as they are 

 much less wary and suspicious. A piece of meat charged 

 with strychnine trailed across a field and left in a suit- 

 able place will usually lure dogs to their death who in- 

 vade that field. In the absence of legislation to protect 

 sheep from dogs measures thus heroic will furnish a con- 

 siderable degree of protection. 



The corral and its place — A corral, as is generally 

 known, is a roofless inclosure into which sheep are 



