Stock chasing - help needed

[Mooch]

Hi all
I'm having trouble with Hex chasing my horses and today he chased the neighbours cattle which is a HUGE no no.
He herds them, but I can't have him potentially hurt one of them.
I own an e collar but haven't used it yet.
Has anyone else had the same problem and how did you handle it!
Today I was ready to stick the e collar on him and just hit him full stim if he went to take off after them again
Haven't done it but he's gonna have to be taught not to chase

Any ideas?


Sent from Petguide.com Free App

[Raintheshepherd]

I live on a property and we have dressage horses. Rain use to chase the horses when she was younger. I put the E collar on her and only had to use it a handful of times and she hasn't even looked at them twice again. Highly recommend using one. You don't have to shock them either, I have mine on a high vibration and sound, I have never used the shock button.
I also would take her for walks in their paddocks on-leash and correct any wrongful looks, barking etc.


Sent from Petguide.com Free App

[middleofnowhere]

How about training your dog and not having him anywhere near livestock unless you are out there with him?

[Mooch]

I was out there with him
And I am here asking for advise on how to best train him,
not to be told that I have to train him - that part is fairly obvious I recon.



Sent from Petguide.com Free App

[jocoyn]

Lou Castle crittering technique
I have used this. It works. Google it.
Do NOT hit the dog full stim.

[Mooch]

Hmm that looks interesting, how long did it take you to see results?

[zivagirl]

Originally Posted by middleofnowhere

How about training your dog and not having him anywhere near livestock unless you are out there with him?

Very helpful.

[MaggieRoseLee]

Originally Posted by middleofnowhere

How about training your dog and not having him anywhere near livestock unless you are out there with him?

There's a good idea. TRAINING your dog so they know what's right and wrong.

Rather than just suddenly deciding to punish him for something you have currently TRAINED him to do (chase stock) because you've allowed him to do it.

All you need is a reliable 'come' by being out there as a responsible owner with your dog. Or using a leash/fenced yard if you aren't going to be able to have him safely off leash unattended for awhile.

Teaching a Reliable Recall - Whole Dog Journal Article

The First Steps to Teaching a Reliable Recall: Kathy Sdao - Bright Spot Dog Training

Articles: Really Reliable Recall by Pamela Dennison at Positive Motivation Dog Training!

I love e-collars but they aren't a quick fix, cause just like a leash YOU HAVE TO BE THERE!

And if you aren't there, the dogs learn that even with an e-collar. So if you are irresponsible and continue to let your dog out to chase stock without managing the training, the dog will continue to chase stock when he's loose and out of sight.

Best use of the e-collar is WITH training. And ALL training with your dog with strengthen your bond with him. Make him learn right and wrong WITH you. And then he won't be so bored and full of energy he'll know that the best thing to do is run off and chase something. Our smart dogs learn to make their own fun if we don't train/teach/hike/run/socialize/walk/canoe/camp/train/tricks/chuckit..... with them.

Since almost everyone I know that pretends to read up and use the e-collar on their own, screws it up and just uses it the way you mentioned as a BLAST THE CONFUSED DOG rather than train their dog...... I wouldn't recommend you start with the collar at all unless you could find a trainer to help teach.

But since I also know that people don't listen to the above recommendation and say 'I will read up and do it right all on my own' a good site to use to start up and use it to TRAIN is to click this ---> How To...

Good luck and prove me wrong

[RocketDog]

Originally Posted by middleofnowhere

How about training your dog and not having him anywhere near livestock unless you are out there with him?

The OP was very frustrated today. They chose NOT to use a tool they had, instead coming here to ask for (and I quote directly) "Ideas", obviously to train and manage the situation. They asked for others with personal experience in this situation to offer suggestions also.
Posts like yours, which are condescending at best, offer the OP nothing in the way of help, but serve to immediately set a defensive and/or negative tone for the thread.

In the limited information the OP gave, you really have no idea whether the dog is trained or not. A dog can be training successfully, even proofing successfully and suddenly meet a "new" challenge that has not been considered or the dog has never seen before. I don't see anything in the OP's post that said the dog was unattended (as you insinuated) or necessarily untrained.

My dog's recall is very very good--we're continually proofing and proofing. However, I can tell you that considering what I do with him, it's high odds that someday he will meet a bear or possibly even a cougar, and very high odds that he will meet a moose. While I can practice and practice and practice, I actually can't tell you what he will really do if he meets one of those animals, because they're a little hard to "proof" with. If he ran after the cougar and ignored my recall, even after months, years of perfect recall off deer, and I were to post about it, would you then suggest to me "training" my dog?

Things aren't a problem for people until they are.

OP, MRL's post has some very good information. You can also keep your dog on a long line and practice training around your horses, starting far enough away that the dog is not distracted, and then moving closer and closer, as the dog's success allows. If he's focusing on them instead of you, you're too close. If you can practice in the cow pasture, too, at some point, that may help as well. Otherwise, with the cows, recall training will be your best bet, as well as just acclimating him to them, so they become not as interesting and rather boring to him.

[Jax08]

Originally Posted by jocoyn

Lou Castle crittering technique
I have used this. It works. Google it.
Do NOT hit the dog full stim.

^^^^ This. Chasing livestock is dangerous for the livestock, the dogs and the people. And use it properly! Do not hit the dog with the full stim.