How would you handle this

[reinermom]

I have a small farm and I live in a farming community. I have two recently aquired GSD's. I usually got puppies and raised them with the livestock and all was always fine. Jake is 5yo. Misha is 1. Misha is fine. Jake has a high prey drive. He is great with people, babies, not an aggressive bone in his body. We have a lot of people in and out of here daily and he always greets them with a wag and is is perfect in that aspect. They are both perfectly housebroken and are wonderful family pets. My problem is Jake. The house is surrounded by underground fence, which he was trained to before coming here. Then there is woven wire fence around the livestock area where the dogs are not allowed. Jake is the only dog I've ever had to run through the shock then to squish himself under the other fence. He attacked my turkey twice but did not kill her. The other day he attacked my daughters pot belly pig she bottle raised in the house. He did not kill her. She was hurt bad enough to have to be put to sleep. When I saw him and called him he came back to a heel immediately. He knows his commands and responds immediately. Is there a way to train him out of wanting to "play too rough" with the small livestock? My thought was only controlled exercise from now on. No running the yard. I am planning on 3 3 mile walk/jogs a day. We have great trails here. Do you think that would be enough? He can be loose in the yard if supervised. They love to be out. I'm just wondering if you have any other ideas for me, what you think about my idea, and any experiences you've had. All ideals will be greatly appreciated. Thank you Melissa

[ShenzisMom]

Would it be possible to physically tie him to a confined area? What about an outdoor kennel complete with roof?

[lhczth]

I agree, no unsupervised free time outside. The only other option is either putting in a large fully enclosed kennel or yard with real 5-6' fencing that he can not go over or under. This may get better over time, it may not. I would never trust my young dogs with my free range hens. The puppy thinks they are squeaky toys. My older dogs leave them be.

[Liesje]

I agree with supervised out/exercise time unless there can be a guaranteed physical barrier between him and the livestock. I live in the city with a small 6' fenced yard but have one dog that goes on a tie-out anyway. He's a digger and we have tons of rabbits and squirrels. He will go outside trying to find a squirrel he saw across the street two weeks ago. He's not a GSD and actually a very lazy low drive dog but he has a thing for those rabbits and squirrels! I have a tie-out that is long enough to stretch to the back door and inside the house a few feet, so when I unclip him I shut the door with the snap inside, that way I can easily hook him up and let all the dogs out without having to go outside to hook him up or kennel him. If I'm outside, I let him off the tie-out and just make sure he's not trying to dig out and chase something. I don't condone tying dogs out all day, like people who just chain their dog to a tree, but for dogs who need that extra reinforcement it's a cheap and foolproof solution. My dog knows exactly how long his cable is so he doesn't ever hit the end of the line at full speed and hurt himself. If he's playing with the other dogs he stops in time and barks for them to get back inside his range.

[onyx'girl]

Originally Posted by lhczth

I agree, no unsupervised free time outside. The only other option is either putting in a large fully enclosed kennel or yard with real 5-6' fencing that he can not go over or under. This may get better over time, it may not. I would never trust my young dogs with my free range hens. The puppy thinks they are squeaky toys. My older dogs leave them be.

My dogs are the same way. My older female would lie in the sun with the chickens, but my other dogs would rather kill for the thrill.

[msvette2u]

Originally Posted by lhczth

I agree, no unsupervised free time outside. The only other option is either putting in a large fully enclosed kennel or yard with real 5-6' fencing that he can not go over or under. This may get better over time, it may not. I would never trust my young dogs with my free range hens. The puppy thinks they are squeaky toys. My older dogs leave them be.

I'd erect a 6' fence and line it with hot wire top and bottom so he can't jump or will get shocked trying.
He's discovered how much "fun" and satisfying "playing" with the livestock is. It'll be next to impossible to break him now.

And I think tying would just make him frustrated, as would being in a pen every day.

[doggiedad]

build him a big kennel.

[ShatteringGlass]

i would put up an electrified livestock fence on the outside of the enclosure (so the livestock cant reach it). Upgrade your wire fence to something stronger like chain link and put the electrified fence outside this, with one wire on the ground level, one in the middle, and one on the top of the fence Kenneling and tie outs are one solution, but if he still broke free of those somehow, or slipped out the door, there still isnt anything protecting the livestock.

I've touched them before (I went to an agricultural High School), they wont kill you or anything, but they hurt enough for me to not want to touch it again!