Dogs and Horses

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horzes

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I like to take my puppy with me when I go on hacks, and we have a great time. She's only 4 months old so can learn things quickly and is really impressionable. I worry that she'll follow me when I ride on to the polo field to play, so I tie her up. I feel bad tying her up because loads of other dogs run around during the game (only during low-key club chukkas). Is there a way to let her understand the difference between going on a hack when she's allowed to follow and when I'm playing?

Thanks for any advice!
 
What breed is she? Be careful not to overcook her with exercise at such a young age - at four months she should only be doing short bursts, especially if she is a large breed or you'll meet joint problems down the road. I'm only now training my dog to walk/trot alongside a bike, going round at a steady pace in our own yard, at eight months.

You need to teach her the difference between the follow, stop/stay/wait commands and the 'free' command.
Follow is pretty easy to understand :p and handy for hacking/biking/jogging etc.

With wait, it's just a downstay really, practise on the ground, use marker spray or objects on the ground, ask her to lie down in one spot. The longer she stays, the bigger the reward (food, ball, whatever) you can throw food on the ground to her while she is down there. If she moves, calmly put her back using the paint or the markers on the ground to guide you. Repeat ad nauseum.

Free is just 'off you go and do as you please' and can be used as a reward for good behaviour too.
 
Thanks!

She's a flat coated retriever. I have been careful about the amount of exercise she gets, she usually only comes with me with the horses when we ride to the field. I'd like to take her with me for longer hacks eventually!

With the different commands I'm worried that she won't listen to me when I'm on a horse - I don't want to get on and off to put her back in the same place because then she'll think that she can make me get off or something. Would you recommend having another person on the ground help me? I could get my boyfriend to help.
 
I think it is way too much exercise for a pup of that age regardless of the breed. I think i would continue to tie her up whilst you are playing, she is too young to be trusted to stay and far too dangerous to risk her getting under the polo ponies feet. A pup won't have the same savvy as the older dogs to get out of the way, nor will she have to co-ordination. Can't belive this is allowed anyway, sounds like an accident waiting to happen. Just my opinion of course, but you did ask. :-)
 
That's alright, thanks for your honesty! At the club here the dogs are all ones that everyone knows and that know each other, and there is a fence between the lorry park and the field so the dogs usually hang around on the other side of the fence then when play is finished they come onto the field with the humans who tread in. It's a pretty small club, and we've never had a dog go onto the field yet. It won't really matter now, because the arena season is starting and then obviously the doors to the arena are shut so there's no risk of a dog getting stepped on.

I just think it would be good from a training point of view to teach her when she can follow and when she can't at a young age. When she's older and I take her for longer hacks I might need to go with my horse somewhere she's not allowed to go, or I might need her to stop because I can see a car etc. I want to do the basic training when she's young, even if we only move a few yards - one of my horses is extremely patient!
 
You teach the commands on the ground and only issue them from the horse when they are cemented :) and yes, a second person will be a great help. You could also try using a whistle for commands. The first thing you need to ingrain is a rock solid stop or wait command, so she drops the minute you tell her to - again, teach it on the ground and don't even think about introducing the horse until she does it right and regularly. The faster she drops, the higher the reward in training. You could look up clicker training too.

As she is a retriever I would still be super careful with the exercise, they can have hip and elbow problems so keep it simple for now.
 
Thanks for your advice!

I'll look into clicker training, I've heard it works really well.

I maybe gave off the impression that I'm exercising her more than I am, I've had retrievers before and I'm very aware of their potential joint problems, a friend of mine had a dog with hip displacia and I will do whatever I can to avoid that for my pup. When I said I took her with me when I rode, it is really just from the stables to where I turn out the horses or a similar distance and all at a walk. I even restrict the amount she's allowed to play with the older dogs because of her joints (they can obviously go for a lot longer than she can).

From a training point of view I'll try leaving out the horses and only bringing them into it when I've got the commands down. Then maybe I'll introduce them while I'm on a horse but with someone on the ground helping.

Thanks again!
 
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