How to stop my dog attacking my horse when we move...

Bowen4Horses

Bowen4Horses

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www.poppywebber.co.uk
Hey all

I have a 7yr old (gorgeous) boxer dog. male. he is PERFECTLY behaved in the house. and in our garden... the kids can do whatever they like with him. he's the lovliest natured dog in the world. he's firmly at the bottom of the pack in our family, and is happy with that...

however, he is a liability when out and about. on the lead he jumps constantly and barks constantly. so, we ended up walking him without the lead (we live very rurally, no roads etc) which was fine... until the day last year, when he saw 'the cows' in a distant field and ran off.

he gets into a kind of trance when he's over excited and just doesn't listen (to voice/pain etc) so when he got trampled by the herd of cows, he carried on jumping on them. they stampeded, and trampled him some more. they threw him up in the air, and generally gave him an ass whooping. he carried on trying to 'play' with them. there was NO malice in what he was doing (although i appreciate that wouldn't mean much if the farmer had seen this happening!).
i eventually caught up and had to go into a herd of mental cows to drag out an unconscious dog.

long story short... he was ok, vet checked him, he lost a pad on his foot, and was very cut and bruised, but was alive and ok eventually.

however, we are hoping to move house next week to get the horses at home... and i'm worried he's going to have the same reaction when he sees the horses... and will want to 'play' with them... does anyone else have a dog that gets into this blind frenzy? the vet said it can happen with certain breeds of (wide mouthed?) dogs.

i can't point out enough that he is NOT trying to hurt the animal. he's most defo trying to play. but is so overexcited he can't understand the ass kicking he gets... and doesn't seem to feel the pain...

x
 
I am sorry but your dog should not be off the lead in the countryside unless you can control him and you clearly cannot do that. You are lucky that the cows didn't hurt themselves. To keep saying he wanted to play is very naive.

Dogs seem to react differently to their "own" animals. My dogs love their own cat, but would chase after another cat if they saw it on a walk. You will need to keep him on the lead when you get your horses home, until he realises they are not for chasing. Otherwise you will end up with horse vet bills and possibly a dead dog.
 
Tracey, sssh. She said it wasnt her fault, it happens to the best of us and it wasnt like he sunk his teeth in!!!

Chloe is great with our horses (well, until she got trodden on the other day), but we introduced them really slowly and when she was under control on the lead, and then slowly let her off in their fields and she does run around them but they mostly ignore her. If any of your horses are highly strung and would likely kick out I wouldnt let him be near them when not on his lead.

Also, have you tried stronger leads? like a choke chain or slip lead or whatever?

xxxxx
 
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I am sorry but your dog should not be off the lead in the countryside unless you can control him and you clearly cannot do that. You are lucky that the cows didn't hurt themselves. To keep saying he wanted to play is very naive.



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i know this. i live in the countryside and have done for my whole life. i haven't let him off since as a result, and i found the farmer and explained to him.

and it's not naivity, it's the truth. he did just want to play with them. yes, it was awful and they could all have been injured... but his reason for bolting to them was to play.

it was completely out of character at the time. he'd been walked off the lead in perfect control for 6 years. but the incident seems to have triggered a strange meltdown in him when he sees big animals. and my concern is that this will continue when we have the horses at home.
 
clippy - please be careful with him - my friends boxer is exactly the same and ended getting 'targetted' by one of their horses who stomped on him and smashed his front leg - £2k vet bill later he is a bit more reluctant to get close to them.
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If any of your horses are highly strung and would likely kick out I wouldnt let him be near them when not on his lead.

Also, have you tried stronger leads? like a choke chain or slip lead or whatever?



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horses are VERY laid back... and don't mind dogs barking at them/running round them... but not sure they'd cope with him leaping at them...

choke chains... he literally chokes himself until his eyes bleed
and those halti ones do the same...

i cannot emphasise how laid back/chilled out he usually is. everyone comments that he's the most laid back boxer they've met.

it's all very confuzzling!
 
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clippy - please be careful with him - my friends boxer is exactly the same and ended getting 'targetted' by one of their horses who stomped on him and smashed his front leg - £2k vet bill later he is a bit more reluctant to get close to them.
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i did wonder if it's a boxer thing. i'm going to have to spend a lot of time intergrating them. we've ordered extra fencing to make the post and rail dog proof. and there is already a big dogproof 'run' area near where we're putting the yard. perhaps a few weeks in there, followed by some introductions on the lead...?

or send him off to doggy boot camp for a couple of weeks?!?! would they be able to help?
 
Maybe get someone professional to come out with you and show you techniques, and then be there the first time you let him off when they're around? They might be able to focus you on what to do and say rather than panic, which is what i would do! xxxxx
 
There is no point in sending him away, he will be away, he needs to be corrected on home turf and YOU need to be the one who administers the correction.
There is a member on here who's dog was killed by cows and you have already said you realise how dangerous the situation could have been.

I agree with Tania and I agree with Slinky and I agree with Flamehead on their points!

Yes, you will have to spend a lot of time keeping on top of him, the run is also a good idea.

Some points about using a choke -
When he is on the lead, if he is on a choke, it needs to be the right way up, ie, that it falls slack when not being pulled and it needs to be right up behind his ears.
Keep him on your left-hand side.
He needs to be checked on the first 'look', not when he is already straining at the leash and trying to get at them - it is too late by that stage.

You pretty much have to give as much slack as possible so that he knows what a loose lead feels like, throw the lead out at him if you have to and then very quick, pull back with a very firm 'NO'. The choke, if fitted correctly, will fall slack immediately. It has to be swift, it has to be a 'check' and then release, not a tug of war.
Reward him when his focus returns to you, with a treat, ball or praise.

Often the problem with using a choke or a slip is that it is way too long, way too short, it is being used with the wrong type of lead or it is sat near the dog's shoulder and it doesn't have any effect.

I REALISE LOTS OF PEOPLE DON'T LIKE CHOKES SO IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO OFFER AN ALTERNATIVE METHOD USING POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT, PLEASE DO SO!
My dog now walks past sheep on a loose lead rather than straining and pulling to get towards them, he is a 40kg GSD and it worked for me.

You also need to train him to focus on you, do this in a different area of your property first and then introduce it more along livestock - when he looks up at you, reward him and try to hold his gaze for as long as possible, rewarding him the longer and longer he does this - use the command 'watch'. You can't train a dog to do much if he isn't looking at or paying attention to you.

Hope some of this helps
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My GSD / rottie used to chase the horses at the yard... I believe she also wanted to play / herd but obviously it wasn't good, particularly among a couple of the hunters...

In the end I got an electric collar, which worked marvellously. I know lots of people don't like these either, so I am ready to be shot down in flames for it. But for me it was worth it to get to a point where she stopped chasing and paid attention to me, and is now allowed to be at the yard where she has a lovely time (otherwise she would have been banned - I was lucky that the tolerant YO gave me long enough to sort her out). I never have to use it now, I occasionally put it on if I think she is beginning to ignore my commands, as it does a 'beep' first before zapping - a quick beep is enough to remind her. I haven't actually zapped her for over a year, and she never chases the horses any more.

They have to be used properly though. Read the instructions, use the deterrant beep first, and praise when he comes back to you. I started using it in a small way when she ignored me in the garden, as to begin with once she saw the horses she was off running, and no amount of electricity would have stopped her. Once she began to associate the beep and the zap, she started to listen better, and I took her back to the yard to learn it in a real situation.

I will now sit back and see how many people hate me!!
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I for one don't hate you, better a few zaps or pops of a choke on the neck than a shot dog.

It is very easy for people to pass comment without seeing the situation first hand.

Personally with a zap or pinch collar I would enlist the help of someone who is experienced in their use to assess the dog's potential to cope with it and the owner's ability to use it properly.
 
I think that these can be a good tool BUT that you have to have a dog that is not too sensitive AND you have to have spot-on timing, or the zap might be associated with something totally different.

For these reasons it is not a method I personally would choose for Henry but that is not to say that it can't work for other dogs if you get it right.
 
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In the end I got an electric collar, which worked marvellously.

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whilst in theory, i'd love to say i disagreed with these... i was secretly hoping someone would say they'd used one sucessfully!

as he is not in the slightest bit food orientated, choke collars are practically suicide, and halti collar make blood come out of his eyes...

i like the idea of getting a professional in. and the 'watch' command, cos i can start that now...
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thank you all!

p.s. without meaning to come across as defensive... i am not an irresponsible dog owner. it has happened ONCE, and, at the time it happened it was out of character, and i have not let him get into the situation where it could happen again.
 
1st you need to work on your recall as it clearly ain't good enough!

2nd I would consider getting a spray collar, but you need to be spot on with your timing and 100% consistent for it to be effective.
 
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