Teach my dog not to herd?

kcscott85 · 05-07-2009, 09:34 PM

I know he's a ShepHERD and it's instinct to herd, but what's the best way to break it? He's 6 months old and chases our 4 year old lab around while she's trying to fetch her frisbees and nips at her heels and she HATES it!!

onyx'girl · 05-07-2009, 09:52 PM

Give him a ball or something he values to carry in his mouth...I have to do this with Onyx. She still will herd, but won't nip because of her ball or frisbee in her mouth. She knows she needs to have something in her mouth, and I remind her often!

middleofnowhere · 05-07-2009, 10:13 PM

Only one dog gets to fetch at a time in my household.

kcscott85 · 05-08-2009, 10:28 AM

Well he doesn't want to fetch. Our lab (Sadie) is obsessive over frisbees...as soon as she's outside she grabs her frisbee and won't let go unless you're going to throw it for her. Sometimes Kaiser will grab a different frisbee or ball and walk around with it in his mouth but if you throw it for him, he just stands there and looks at it, then he goes back to chasing Sadie!

Northof60 · 05-09-2009, 01:03 PM

I would like to know more about this too. Our Shepherd nips the heels of other dogs constantly. I talked a behaviourist and she said that Kiah has extremely strong herding instincts and one way to deal with it might be to get help from somebody that actually trains dogs to herd cattle. She felt that they teach the dog not to actually nip the legs. So if anybody here has a working Shepherd that has been trained not to nip, HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She also watched a video of Kiah playing with another Shepherd and said that they were doing really well together. It was normal Shepherd behaviour and they were not over the top at all. HOWEVER, other dogs might not react to this type of play in the same way another Shepherd would. And I have seen this first hand as we have a lab X over to play sometimes and Kiah often seems to scare him.

So again, if anybody here teaches Shepherds correct herding, I think there are at least two of us that could do with some help.

middleofnowhere · 05-10-2009, 10:47 AM

OK further tips and suggestions --

Take dogs out on a leash. Do obedience with each dog first (after toilet break). Then leash your GSD & play fetch with Sadie, then tether Sadie with her lead & play fetch with the GSD. If he doesn't fetch then go ahead and put it & him up if you want to play more with Sadie.

In my experience, a GSD is less likely to develop a fondness for a frisbee that is always there. Put up the frisbees when they are not "in use." You also want to have soft frisbees because the hard ones shatter.

Like most "dog thought" it sounds real simple once you get it figured out. It's the easy stuff that seems to elude me for a while.

kcscott85 · 05-10-2009, 11:16 AM

Alright, I'm going to try the whole fetch at one time thing...Kaiser's just not really motivated by food or toys. But maybe with Sadie out of the picture, he'll give it a try. Sadie on the other hand, will do anything for a frisbee- she's the most obedient dog I've seen, on AND off leash. She can hold a down stay for more than 5 minutes (I'm sure longer, but I haven't tortured her with that yet), for the $0.99 toy! With the herding thing though, he doesn't just do it when she's trying to fetch- that's just when she gets most annoyed by it because fetching is a serious business for her. He does it all the time to her. She's getting really annoyed with him...

middleofnowhere · 05-10-2009, 06:32 PM

Sadie WILL, you understand, explain that at some point. She will explain it very effectively. He will then back off.

kcscott85 · 05-10-2009, 08:00 PM

Haha! I'm waiting for that to happen...so far it's been a few growls- she's gonna blow her lid!

TxRider · 05-18-2009, 05:22 PM

Quote:

Quote:I would like to know more about this too. Our Shepherd nips the heels of other dogs constantly. I talked a behaviourist and she said that Kiah has extremely strong herding instincts and one way to deal with it might be to get help from somebody that actually trains dogs to herd cattle. She felt that they teach the dog not to actually nip the legs. So if anybody here has a working Shepherd that has been trained not to nip, HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She also watched a video of Kiah playing with another Shepherd and said that they were doing really well together. It was normal Shepherd behaviour and they were not over the top at all. HOWEVER, other dogs might not react to this type of play in the same way another Shepherd would. And I have seen this first hand as we have a lab X over to play sometimes and Kiah often seems to scare him.

So again, if anybody here teaches Shepherds correct herding, I think there are at least two of us that could do with some help.
_________________________

I've got the same issue.

I'm seriously thinking about taking her out to one of the local farms that do herding training and just learning to train her to herd right, and respond to me while doing so.

I'm hoping it'll also help provide a release for prey drive and help with control when she sees a cat or squirrel or such as well.

05-07-2009, 09:34 PM	#1 (permalink)
kcscott85 Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 121	Teach my dog not to herd? I know he's a ShepHERD and it's instinct to herd, but what's the best way to break it? He's 6 months old and chases our 4 year old lab around while she's trying to fetch her frisbees and nips at her heels and she HATES it!! __________________ KC, proud owner of... Kaiser, "The Tornado" Baron, "The Pacifier"

05-07-2009, 09:52 PM	#2 (permalink)
onyx'girl Crowned Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: SW, MI Posts: 17,608	Re: Teach my dog not to herd? Give him a ball or something he values to carry in his mouth...I have to do this with Onyx. She still will herd, but won't nip because of her ball or frisbee in her mouth. She knows she needs to have something in her mouth, and I remind her often! __________________ Jane~ Kept by Onyx, Kacie and Gideon v Wildhaus aka Karlo

05-07-2009, 10:13 PM	#3 (permalink)
middleofnowhere Crowned Member Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Arkansas Posts: 12,472	Re: Teach my dog not to herd? Only one dog gets to fetch at a time in my household.

05-08-2009, 10:28 AM	#4 (permalink)
kcscott85 Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 121	Re: Teach my dog not to herd? Well he doesn't want to fetch. Our lab (Sadie) is obsessive over frisbees...as soon as she's outside she grabs her frisbee and won't let go unless you're going to throw it for her. Sometimes Kaiser will grab a different frisbee or ball and walk around with it in his mouth but if you throw it for him, he just stands there and looks at it, then he goes back to chasing Sadie! __________________ KC, proud owner of... Kaiser, "The Tornado" Baron, "The Pacifier"

05-09-2009, 01:03 PM	#5 (permalink)
Northof60 Master Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: NWT, Canada Posts: 505	Re: Teach my dog not to herd? I would like to know more about this too. Our Shepherd nips the heels of other dogs constantly. I talked a behaviourist and she said that Kiah has extremely strong herding instincts and one way to deal with it might be to get help from somebody that actually trains dogs to herd cattle. She felt that they teach the dog not to actually nip the legs. So if anybody here has a working Shepherd that has been trained not to nip, HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She also watched a video of Kiah playing with another Shepherd and said that they were doing really well together. It was normal Shepherd behaviour and they were not over the top at all. HOWEVER, other dogs might not react to this type of play in the same way another Shepherd would. And I have seen this first hand as we have a lab X over to play sometimes and Kiah often seems to scare him. So again, if anybody here teaches Shepherds correct herding, I think there are at least two of us that could do with some help. __________________ Jackie Northwest Territories, CANADA

05-10-2009, 10:47 AM	#6 (permalink)
middleofnowhere Crowned Member Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Arkansas Posts: 12,472	Re: Teach my dog not to herd? OK further tips and suggestions -- Take dogs out on a leash. Do obedience with each dog first (after toilet break). Then leash your GSD & play fetch with Sadie, then tether Sadie with her lead & play fetch with the GSD. If he doesn't fetch then go ahead and put it & him up if you want to play more with Sadie. In my experience, a GSD is less likely to develop a fondness for a frisbee that is always there. Put up the frisbees when they are not "in use." You also want to have soft frisbees because the hard ones shatter. Like most "dog thought" it sounds real simple once you get it figured out. It's the easy stuff that seems to elude me for a while.

05-10-2009, 11:16 AM	#7 (permalink)
kcscott85 Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 121	Re: Teach my dog not to herd? Alright, I'm going to try the whole fetch at one time thing...Kaiser's just not really motivated by food or toys. But maybe with Sadie out of the picture, he'll give it a try. Sadie on the other hand, will do anything for a frisbee- she's the most obedient dog I've seen, on AND off leash. She can hold a down stay for more than 5 minutes (I'm sure longer, but I haven't tortured her with that yet), for the $0.99 toy! With the herding thing though, he doesn't just do it when she's trying to fetch- that's just when she gets most annoyed by it because fetching is a serious business for her. He does it all the time to her. She's getting really annoyed with him... __________________ KC, proud owner of... Kaiser, "The Tornado" Baron, "The Pacifier"

05-10-2009, 06:32 PM	#8 (permalink)
middleofnowhere Crowned Member Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Arkansas Posts: 12,472	Re: Teach my dog not to herd? Sadie WILL, you understand, explain that at some point. She will explain it very effectively. He will then back off.

05-10-2009, 08:00 PM	#9 (permalink)
kcscott85 Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 121	Re: Teach my dog not to herd? Haha! I'm waiting for that to happen...so far it's been a few growls- she's gonna blow her lid! __________________ KC, proud owner of... Kaiser, "The Tornado" Baron, "The Pacifier"

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