advice needed -shelter dog &Minis&sheep

[bevann]

My shelter dog Duke,German Shepherd male about 2 yrs old is not doing well with the horses and sheep.Wants to chase and bark at them all the time.In the barn today 2 were curious and came over to wire fence.As long as I held his collar and told him BE Nice and they didn't move too fast it was OK.When I let go of the collar he rushed the wire fence and barked and lunged.He wants to chase everything that moves.I am real close to using a shock collar, but will do so as a last resort.Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.I just can't trust him to be loose on the farm.He also wants to chase the sheep.I think he could really hurt the sheep and Minis.

 

[Riverrose28]

Bev, how are you? Haven't seen you in a while since we haven't been able to attend any shows. Sorry to hear your new dog is giving you so much trouble. We adopted a large dog many years ago that once acclimated to us went out with me to the barn for the first time, and the first thing he did was grab a chicken and kill it instantly. Then he ran after the horses, I was petrified! I started keeping him in the front of the house in a fenced in area that had electric as well as stock fence so he couldn't climb. I tried very hard to acclimate him to the sheep and horses by taking him out on a leash. Well he was fine on the leash and would listen, but off leash he was a terror as far as stock was concerned. He also killed a cat that got in with him, and several more chickens that got in his yard. Sorry to say he never acclimated to farm life. He spent all his time in the house, in his yard or on a leash until the day he died at 14 years of age. I now am older and feel I just can't handle any more large dogs, just my bullies, jack, and one corgie. When they are gone, (Hopefully before me) then they are gone, and there won't be any more.

 

[Lizzie]

Hi Bevann.

Have you had this dog very long? How old was he when you got him? Do you know anything of his past home/s?

Since he was in a shelter, I doubt he was very well educated (obedience trained) in his past. He obviously has a very high-prey instinct. The majority of dogs on the planet today, have a prey instinct. It is how they survived before man domesticated them. While we might no see it in some of our dogs, in others it is very obvious - as in your Duke.

If he is not neutered, do that first. Next, a good course of obedience training is important. It is a must, for this boy. After he is thoroughly under your control and finished his ob course, you can then enlist the help of a good trainer, to desensitise your boy to sheep and other animal worrying.

Just know though, he might never be reliable around sheep or other animals. It doesn't always work, unfortunately.

Lizzie

 

[bevann]

He was an owner surrender.Talked to previous owner.He was found as a stray when he was about 6 months old.she had him for about 18 months.He was neutered 2 days before I got him.Got him May 10.We are making slow progress in obedience.He brought home canine influenza to my 2 Corgis.Major vet bills and lots of time nursing very sick dogs.He knows sit(sloppy sits) and a few other basic commands.He just pulls really bad on the leash, but not as bad as when I got him.I bred and showed German Shepherds for 42 years and NEVER had 1 that was ill behaved.I think he is my lesson in patience.My knees are very bad(replacement scheduled for Sept 17)so training is somewhat limited.He has learned to ride on the seat of the golf cart so I take him down to a small fenced in pasture for some exercise.Had planned to send him off to a trainer after getting comfortable here, but his illness has slowed that up.On meds until June 22 for lyme disease-recheck after that.He is very sweet and is like a kid who tries to be good-he just forgets lots of times.He is very protective of his new home.He acts like a big 6 month old puppy who never had much training.

 

[Lizzie]

OK. I understand your problem. I think then, I'd suggest training him to be absolutely solid on the 'stay'. This can easily be done in the house to begin with and then work on it outside, on a long line preferably, when outside doing chores.

If he pulls on the lead, walk with him at heel. When he urges forward in the slightest, do a very quick turn and walk in the other direction with no voice command and at the same pace as you were in the other direction. He'll soon learn that he hates being caught off-guard and will learn to keep his eye on you when walking at heel.

I prefer to always train my dogs myself but with your knee problems, I can understand why you might have to enlist the help of a trainer.

When I was very young in England, I also had some German Shepherds. We called them Alsatians in those days. Mine were from the Brittas line. When I owned Canine Security, we had usually, about 80 GSs at the facility at any given time. Most of our dogs were trained for the military and went to Viet Nam.

Like you, I have health problems now, so only have one little Brussels Griffon at home.

Good luck with your boy. I have a feeling you can do a lot with this fellow.

Lizzie

 

[Marty]

Hey Bevann, Same thing here too....twice. Both my German Shepherds did the same thing. One was not as bad as the other but both were very guilty of it. Its the prey drive and instinct to chase and to herd. You won't change that but you can manage it. Tracey stopped after one crabby mare turned around and chased her and that cured her in a hurry. .

Amy charges them at the fence line to make them run, so she'll have something to chase. That's her goal in life. Left to her own devices without supervision, she'd do it all day, so she can't be out there without me period. When I am out there she will go up in the fields and lay down with the herd while they graze; but the minute they start to run, there she goes too; but not always chasing after them, a lot of the time she is running with them to play. We do know the basic commands very well so I can stop her in an instant, but someone has to be there to enforce it because she's not going to ignore her instincts. I did however find a way to channel part of it though by using her to help me out. There are many times when I am calling the horses over the hill to come to the barn when a storm is heading in or dangerous weather and they choose to ignore me of course; so that is when I can send Amy up there after them for me and she will round them right up and bring them in for me safe and sound.

My advice to you would be not to give up. He needs serious time and consistancy. Work on your basic commands and get those down to a science. You must be able to call him off at all times. He's smart as can be and he'll get that but you also have to enforce your rules. This boy is going to end up your protector and can save your life one day so work with him and have patience and it will pay off. No shock collar.

 

[HGFarm]

Some dogs just never get used to the livestock and are always going to be a danger to them. I would keep working with him but dont know that I would ever trust him over a dog that was raised around livestock and had manners. (Of course we were given a dog years ago that was and he STILL would not stop killing chickens or chasing things,so I guess that is not true either, lol)

 

[Minimor]

I have rehomed dogs for chasing horses or cats. Not just for running after the cats or horses, but going after them with intent to harm. It can be a farm raised dog that has been taught its manners from puppyhood or it can be a city dog transplanted to the farm, and if that dog has the instinct to chase and bring down "prey" then it will never be trustworthy no matter how much training it gets. At some point or other most dogs have to be reprimanded for chasing, but there are some that listen and learn and can then be trusted and there are those that just can never be trusted. Some won't give chase as long as they know someone is keeping an eye on them, some will give chase no matter what.

Years ago when we had only big horses we had two Shepherds. Both were good with the big horses; if the horses got running around the pasture both dogs would go out & run too, but they would simply follow along, enjoying the fact that they had something to run with. There was never any aggression from them--they would never go after the horses and if the horses were not running neither dog would ever try to make them run. They did not bother our cats. They did not bother our Morgan foals. I would not have trusted the male around Minis; I know my dogs, and I know that Sabre would have been a risk to Minis, especially the foals, but he was long gone before we got our first Mini. A big dog here has to be trustworthy--if I cannot trust that dog to not bother the horses or cats when we aren't around then that dog is not the dog for us. We can keep the dog confined when we are not out to supervise, but I won't keep such a dog simply because i won't take the chance that someday the dog will somehow get free and do harm to a horse or cat. If it's a dog that harasses the other animals even when I am right there, that dog doesn't stay here. We put a certain amount of training into the dog & if that dog still isn't trustworthy then it will be better suited somewhere else.