Dogs and Horses!

Foxford

Foxford

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My generally well-behaved collie pup (4 months) is becoming a bit of a horse chaser! He is not going to bite, more like runs up to the horse when I'm riding in the menage, barks and runs off again. I don't want to have to put him away, as I ride for almost an hour at a time, and he only does this for less than 3 mins. Down at the yard is his fun time! He amuses himself in the field and plays with the other dogs the rest of the time.

Any ideas please? It is so hard to do anything as I'm riding and there isn't really anyone else to help. Shouting NO isn't really working. Hehe!
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This is him..
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You need to distract him in the act..... maybe you could squirt him whilst you are riding with a pistol filled with water and lemon juice or get a citris collar for around his neck and activate it when he is in the act..... This must be done at the exact time he is in the act, and he will get a nasty taste in his mouth, which he will assosiate with the act he is carrying out.
When i get rescue dogs in and they have just been castrated I use the collar when ever they try to hump the other dogs whilst the castration kicks in IT WORKS A TREAT
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it seems to be a real collie thing, and as a livery on a yard with a collie that did this whenever I schooled i found the only way to stop him driving me mad was to shout at him loudly - FRANK DOWN...... he would then drop wherever he was and just wait to be released. He also used to hang off horses tails as they came off trailers/lorries and bit everyhorses nose on the yard. If I shouted down before I got my horses out - and just before he tried to bite he was fine with mine an never caused a problem. But I know loads of horses he bit, scared. spooked and so many liveries would not ride in the school with him. it all comes down to his training, he needs to have sit and down totally fixed so you can stop him in his track and leave him there until you are ready to release him. If you can stop it now when it is in its infancy you may stop it developing further
 
I would suggest putting him away, not worth endangering anyone, one kick could kill him, or a bite could injure the horse.
An hour is not long. Either that orhave someone with you, how can you be in full control off the horse anyway?
 
I like the water pistol idea! I will give that a try. He is really only just starting to do it, so hopefully I can nip it in the bud now. I thing it will work, as he HATES being splashed by water when I'm filling buckets up!! Thanks.
 
Thanks, he is just learning down, so I'll give it a go. He is not showing any signs of biting or herding them yet, he is just mucking about really! My German Shepherd loves to round them up in field though!
 
Oh he is cute, looks like butter wouldn't melt

Does he play in the school??

My boy does this, runs into the school and chases us around the school and thinks he is being helpful is bad i know and he only does it to me but Ben ignores him and no one gets hurt.

I did try tying him up when i rode but he howled and barked the whole time. He is a rescue dog so i didn't get to train him from a puppy which if you can do would be better for you.

Sorry not much help
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I think the only thing you can do is give a lot of training away from the horses to give you more control. You could practice putting him in a down, which takes time and eventually on giving the command he will go down away from you.

I think its just a case of time and patience with his training. He is following his natural instincts by chasing horses, which can lead to chasing cars so his activities need to be stopped, however much fun he thinks it is.

I personally would keep him away from the horses until you have got him behaving as you wish and then gradually try again. I would have him near the horses, but with a person on the other end of a long line, who can then re-enforce your previous training.

One of my dogs has just started to do it, only when I am riding, she leaves the horses well alone in the field. I think she feels safe to do it when I am on board and so I am just spending lots of time with her retraining (she is five).

It made me laugh because I went to watch a three day event a couple of years ago and someone's little jack russel dog followed horse and mum all the way round the course. It was so clever taking short cuts to catch up and avoiding anyone that tried to catch it.

Hope you all remain in one piece and good luck. My advice is just from personal experience, I am by no means a dog trainer, just my personal thoughts on the matter. I am sure you will get some good tips from users on the forum.
 
Hehe! Thanks, he is a really sweet-natured little dog. He is a rescue pup, but we got him at 8 1/2 weeks. The horse ignores him, because he is used to crazy collies! Just don't want him to get into bad habits, as I'm planning on getting a youngster to bring on later in the year.
 
I think you are right, training is the key! I'm taking him to puppy training but I'm not the best attender as it is an hour round trip to get to the nearest one, so 2 1/4 hours on a monday evening isn't the most appealing. But I will be strong and go! Once the nights get lighter I can ride first and the dog training is up the road, so a more fruitful trip. I will rope in the OH to help with him on the ground for a couple of weekends.

Thanks for all the helpful posts everyone!
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I suggest you pop him in a stable when you ride - I saw a dog have his leg broken by a horse (total accident, she moved, he didn't) and it was awful - had the poor thing on my lap as we drove him to the vets. It was ok in the end, but a lot of pain suffering and vets bills later convinced me that lose dogs and horses don't go. If you don't want him in a stable, you could tie him to a jump wing in the arena with you?
 
Hi,
Cute dog!

I find the best way to deter a dog from going at a horse is to charged (in trot) straight at them! It's kinda amusing to see them turn tail and leg it! They'll think twice about doing it again!
 
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