Sheep chasing

[dobie]

I have recently rehomed a 18 month old (ish) doberman who was in the local pound. He's a lovely dog in all respects but today when we were walking he went off chasing sheep in the field adjacent to where we were (i.e. there were no sheep in the field we were walking through). His recall is normally excellent, but I just couldn't get through to him at all and he just ran and ran after these sheep & lambs. He didn't bite them, I think he just wanted to play and I eventually caught him, no damage was done to any of the sheep, fortunately. I take full responsibility for this and realise that it was my error and he should have been on lead etc. I feel really guilty.
My big question is: should he be put down? I live in very sheepy countryside, and dobermans need off-lead exercise, so would it be kinder to have him put down?
Any advice welcome. Thanks

 

[mon]

You say no damage done but stress possibly mastitis and as you say can't be tolerated, if you can't control him then needs rehoming as not a breed to be taken lightly try to find somewhere else, but farm fields are not for free running of dogs whether stock in there or not.

 

[Potato!]

You say no damage done but stress possibly mastitis and as you say can't be tolerated, if you can't control him then needs rehoming as not a breed to be taken lightly try to find somewhere else, but farm fields are not for free running of dogs whether stock in there or not.

I have to say i agree with this. We do get annoyed when people take it upon themselves to walk their dogs in our fields despite leaving notices. How would they like it if we decided to let our dogs loose in their back yard.

 

[NeverSayNever]

I wouldnt go and pts based on your mistake with him, dont beat yourself up you know it was silly to have him off the lead so just keep him on from now on and get a good trainer involved to give him a chance before you make a decision.

 

[Bionic Boy]

I agree with NeverSayNever. Get some help and give him a chance.

 

[dobie]

I should also point out we were on a public footpath, not walking across farmland without permission.
I just feel terrible about it. Lesson obviously learnt!

 

[CorvusCorax]

Take it as a warning, get a good trainer in who specialises in stock chasing and give him another chance. In the mean time lead only when around stock, it is perfectly do-able and still the dog gets enough exercise, jog or bike with him if you are short on time.

 

[Clodagh]

I'm sure you do feel awful, it must have been really bad, but just to gently say your dog is meant to be on the footpath too, not running around while you walk on the path - sheep or no sheep.

 

[Dobiegirl]

A few years ago one of my Dobes did this, just chased them down to the gate and then came straight back. We have our own fields and this was in a neighbours fields adjacent to ours and the sheep were only there for three weeks so was able to avoid the area and it was never repeated.

I agree a good trainer is a must but if you feel he is too much dog for you contact a breed rescue such as Dobermanrehoming or Dobermann rescue. If you want to carry on with him has he been neutered? they are a breed that needs a lot of dog socialising as can be dog aggressive.

In the mean time get a long line and dont let him off the lead, I know he didnt bite the sheep but they could well have been in lamb and coud have aborted. The farmer would be well within his rights to shoot your dog and who could blame him.

 

[Rosehip]

As you say, it was a mistake on your part, but this is what mistakes make :-

Not only have we lost ewes in this way 3 times now, we have also had heavily pregnant ewes abort, and young lambs trampled underfoot when the whole flock is fleeing.

Please if you cant trust this dog, keep him on a lead at all times. A lunge line is fine, as long as you can drag him back.
Im a dog owner too, I dont want to restrict my dog just like non-farming dog owners dont want to restrict them, but remember - footpath or no footpath, fields are NOT for exercising dogs, they are for grazing stock. Please also remember that farmers are legally allowed to shoot any dog 'worrying' stock, whether there are teeth involved or not.

 

[Honey08]

I live in a sheep farming area, and almost every dog I have ever had, in their early stages of training, has shown an interest in chasing the sheep at some point. All of them, without fail, have been trainable.

Obviously OP it shouldn't have happened, but the dog didn't actually bite, so in my opinion doesn't need putting down - it does absolutely need training, and quick. The dog is new to you and also young, so the only way is up. Had the farmer shot the dog at the time they would have had reason, so you need to get it sorted fast.

The dog has to be on a lead for walks if it is anywhere near sheep - and by that I mean two or three fields away, not just in the same field. With our most difficult dogs we have had to take a rolled up newspaper and rap them on the nose if they so much as looked at a sheep. It has taken months - up to a year with some of them. Keep working on the training. You should get there.

 

[AmyMay]

My big question is: should he be put down

Of course not. Just keep him under control.

 

[lachlanandmarcus]

It shouldnt be necessary to have him put down BUT you will need to operate strict discipline with him. ie Try a trainer to see if the issue can be resolved. If not, he must be on a lead or long line any and every time he is on agricultural land footpaths (and I echo the previous comment that even if he were perfect with stock, on a public footpath he should be with you on the path and not roaming the land).

If lead-only walks arent an option you can cope with, he must be rehomed to an urban environment but if so please do it via Doberman Rehoming Assoc or similar as it is all too easy for Dobies to end up as shivering guard dogs living outside which their thin coat makes them entirely unsuited for. Make sure they are aware that he must not go to anywhere near stock and may have to be exercised on long line.

I write all this as the owner of a rescue Doberman who was found to be bad with livestock (none hurt but he clearly finds them irresistably exciting to chase and play with cows and horses and I am sure sheep would be the same). After that he was given 3 weeks solid residential training but they could not resolve the problem. As we were moving to a massively livestock area but to a place with our own land we went to the extreme - we fenced 4 acres with 7 foot high fencing !!! (Villagers thought we were getting emus!) so that he could have safe off-lead exercise. It cost us thousands but we still have goofy Monty and no animal is at risk. Ironically in spring we use it for lambing as it also is fox proof.

Even more ironically we have lost a young ewe to a dog attack from someone who was walking on the moor and happily let their dog go out of sight for a few minutes - it was devastating and another sheep owner has lost another sheep since possibly to the same dog. Yet we manage to keep our own potentially lethal dog from inflicting any injury - just wish all dog walkers did!

 

[meesha]

My collie from rspca rounded up the farmers cows once at 10 mnths old - never did it again ! I think they can be re-trained or at worst re-homed.

I would ask a good dog trainer for advice - you had no reason to think there would be a problem and you were on the footpath so dont beat yourself up too much. I dont know anything about shock collars and I am not saying I agree with them but in these circumstances after discussing it with dog trainer maybe something like that would be good to use in emergency (again dont know how good/cruel they are but better than pts)

 

[CorvusCorax]

ONLY use a shock collar under the guidance of a trainer who uses them properly, bad dog - ZAP is not how they should be used and you could make the situation a lot worse.
Using them properly takes careful timing and understanding and the dog needs to be of a suitable temperament to take it. Others can break down/freak out.
Also, with the rolled up newspaper, it really depends on the type of dog...some dogs would come back at you for much less. Get a trainer in who can see and assess the dog and decide which methods to use (brutalising the dog, which some might suggest, will hide the issue but not solve it and could make the dog more evasive) and go from there.

 

[jrp204]

Sorry but if your dog had been in our field with our pedigree Texels behaving like that I would have shot it.
For your dogs sake keep it on a lead anywhere near livestock, it may not be biting them but it is not under control and and any farmer would be within their rights to shoot it.

 

[ladyt25]

It was an error but i certainly don't think it warrants the dog being PTS. We got a lab rescue several years back and one time in the field behind out house she set off after a herd of bullocks. It was terrifying!! She actually never did it again as she got a rather severe telling off.

I think the majority of dogs will have the urge to chase sheep to be honest so you have to train them not to. We have had dogs ever since I was a kid and we used to have the farner's sheep in our field during the summer months. A couple of our dogs have chased them before with me during the "Fenton" style screaming and running after them. My did they know it was NOT acceptable behaviour (and no I did not beat them or anything!).

I am facing having to desensitise my rescue dog to sheep soon. I have already seen how she can be when she goes after blackbirds in hedges - she'll run well into the distance and is oblivious to my calls. This concerns me. So, my plan is once lambing is over i am going to ask our neighbouring farmmer if i can take her in the field on a long line with his tups. I need to know how she's going to react and I need to ensure I immediately reprimand behaviour i don't want. I think this is one of the only ways round it really.

Personall I am pretty sure that if my dog ever chased sheep she wouldn't do anything as she's actually a wuss and much smaller than a sheep but the problem is, sheep run so she's going to chase. IF a sheep just stood it's ground and faced up to her i think she's run a mile!! However, for a farmer seeing a dog that resembles a small dobie as mine does, streaking after his sheep i imagine he is going to think "shoot it!".

You definitely can train them, we have and i am no dog training expert by any means!

 

[MrsElle]

We have had our rescue Rottie for two months and it is evident she hasn't been socialised with any sort of livestock.

The first time she saw sheep she was separated from them by river but was running up and down the bank panting and very very excited. Since then we put her on the lead when we know we are entering sheep country (and there is an awful lot of that round here!), as I would never forgive myself if she chased the ewes and caused them to
abort.

We hope to eventually desensitise her to sheep, but we know it will take time. She doesn't show as much interest in the horses as she used to, but I am not sure how she would behave if they were moving at speed in field. We can walk her round the garden with the hens loose and she no longer lunges at them, and we can let her off lead if the hens aren't too close and a ball is in the equation

You need to get help with training, or recognise that you can't let your dog off lead in places where livestock are present. Definately no reason to pts.