Dogs and Horses

ibot

ibot

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I am looking after a 3 year old bitch who is a rescue dog. Now she is very timid the problem is when she is near a horse she chases and barks. If she was mine it would be a problem but i think she is going to cause an accident on the beach where lots of people hack.
any ideas?
I did bring her to the yard today but she was a nightmare
 
My no2 dog is a rescue who is also bad. And we have horses of our own!. Doggie is still taken to yard, at first a nightmare but now (after much boring barking but being ignored) OK if horses standing still or walking, still bad if going faster - its a fear/excitement thing.

You are right, in a beach situation with horses going fast and loose dog it could be very dangerous. I dont have any answers other than to say that because of this mine is not off the lead in areas where horses are being ridden, full stop, hes on a 30m long line instead. Theres no other choice, a dog that chases horses will definitely do it and you wouldnt be able to recall him. I couldnt live with the potential death of a horse or rider let alone the liability aspect.

It may be worth contacting a local stables to see if you can do some desensitisation training with him? or taking him to a beach where no horses are allowed?

I wish you luck cos in theory horses/dogs are a natural combination, v frustrating when they dont work together!!
 
We have 3 Doberman's and one of them is a rescue dog..We have tried so many times to get him used to the horses and its just a nightmare.. I have given up now.. He was shut in a house for months before i got him and he just cant cope with the excitment. He freaks out and goes mental. My other two are fine however. I tried taking him down to the yard and ignoring the barking and constant running in circles (all this was on a lead or he would have chased and prob eaten the horse!) my horses werent bothered and just kept grazing at the other side of the fence, my dog even acts like that when my horses are in their stables. He does the same if he see sheep or cattle! He just gets so stressed its really not fair to insist he goes to the stables.. However if i take him to a big agricultural show he does freak a bit but he doesnt bark but he whines a lot.. work that one out...
 
TBH I would try and desensitise him gradually over time. Maybe have him in the car where he can see horses but not do anything silly - and ignore the fuss he will make. Then slowly start to walk him on a lead near them, pass fields where they're grazing and so on. Then eventually build up to bringing him to the yard and being closer to them. Don't pay any attention to negative behaviour as this just "rewards" him for making a fuss, and don;t move on to the next step until he is relaxed and calm at all times. I can't imagine there is any other way to do it, other than time, patience and an awful lot of work getting him used to them bit by bit. It will probably take weeks but desensitising DOES work if you are patient and persistent.

Failing that, get professional help.
smile.gif
 
thank you all.
the owners of the dog in question came back thank goodness. MY dog is ten and only just getting really good around the horses but it took a little bit of him getting use to it.
 
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