Socialising ex working lurcher with livestock

L

Leah3horses

Well-Known Member
Joined
15 November 2006
Messages
356
Location
Hunts Sabs Association
Visit site
Has anybody successfully trained an ex working large (bull mastif x greyhound)lurcher to accept or at least not attack their livestock? I have had dogs all my life and have got cat- hating guarding breeds to live nicely with cats before. Am taking it very slowly with my new rescue lurcher boy and he is muzzled and on a lead around the horses.He would definitely attack at the moment.Would like to hear from any working/hunting dog people who have got an adult dog to be safer around livestock.I'm very prepared for it to take a long time and never to trust him loose around livestock,am hoping he will learn to walk calmly past on the lead in time though.Any advice from those who have hunting dog experience please?
 
Good luck with your task. It is going to be a toughie.
Working sighthounds react to fast movement, and even if you have their full attention, if they catch something out of the corner of their eye, instinct just kicks in! I had an ex coursing greyhound who I tried to rehabilitate, with no success, and I had to take her back in the end.
However I got my elderly lurcher when she was 6, she had obviously worked, and works well to lamp and even gun. She has rehabilitated VERY well, and knows the difference between working and walking
grin.gif
She will even accept the pet rabbits are not to chase. Which amazes me, because she was an excellent rabbiter/ hare dog and even mouser
wink.gif


skyefoals.jpg
 
I am very surprised that you think this dog would attack your horses. I have never known any Lurcher type dog to attack things like horses or cows. My whippets will chase and kill anything small, the biggest thing they will go for, is deer and they have killed many deer. I only managed to stop them by being ultra careful when I let them off the lead. However they wouldn't look twice at a horse or cow. At times they have given small sheep a "look", but a stern word from me, makes them snap out of it.

A dog that is that aggressive is a huge liability, you need to be very careful with it.
 

Hi, I didnt know you were here too!

My ex worker lurcher is always very good with the horse's, they are too big for them to be excited. Let him sit near a
calm horse and he'll soon get bored with no reaction.
 
I'll prove you wrong there, just after I got Skye, she chased a whole herd of cows on the common! Biting at their tails.
And my Whippet chases horses!!! He is so bad that he has to be on a lead around the stud, and I can't take him down the yard either. It is just too dangerous. I'm sure he thinks it's just a game. He is not bothered with them unless they are running, but he has also learnt that running at them barking, makes them run! What a fabulous game!!!
 
Tracey I must point out that this is a Bull Mastiff x Greyhound lurcher, he has all the fantastic lurcher qualities but also the Bull Mastiff aggression when it comes to large livestock, he is not a typical lurcher.He was bred to bring down large game,unfortunately.


Update..yes my ex working lurcher was definitely a 'silent predator' around the horses,his instinct was to attack their hind legs, go for the tendons,presume he had been worked on deer (he did come from Scoland) as he knew exactly what he was doing.The Bull Mastiff in him took over I think.After many sleepless nights worrying about this,and after taking advice from many experienced lurcher people who have managed to make their dog safer around horses,we have taken their advice.It was a bit extreme for me but this was the only option, or a shock collar, which I would have hated to use.I had to securely muzzle him and let him in with a fiesty pony,not a horse as they could do a lot of damage obviously.It worked, was terrible to do as I was so worried for the pony and that my dog would get seriously hurt. No need....the pony took no nonsense,it only took 1 well aimed kick and my dog learnt his lesson the not-so -hard way.My friends' pony was more than happy to teach him the lesson, he is a chunky welsh section A who isn't scared of a thing, and is the herd leader of several tbs!My friend knows her pony very well and was happy to let him do his thing, apparantly he has taught a few dogs this lesson in the past.My dog is now on a lunge line on the yard with me, has refused to go near the horses and actually wants to retreat from them.Clever dog.We have walked past cows and sheep since,and he just has a quick look and walks on, obviously my dogs are on leads near them at all times.Ive had lurchers for many years and love them dearly, but this was the first one I'd come across who could have been a real liability around livestock,something had to be done.If he had gone to a pet home away from livestock it could have been a death warrant for him as he wouldn't have been able to learn this valuable lesson, whereas now he is rehabbed as much as possible at this stage.


Thanks for the advice, and Nicki, your oldie is fantastic for knowing the difference between pet rabbits and non-pet rabbits, what a brilliant dog!
 
I hesitate to do this. But Lea3horses appears to have forgot to update this post.
In view of recent events, it might be worth wading through some of her recent posts on the matter on the website of the rescue she obtained the dog from (as a foster), and the replies by others on the site.
We have been threatened with various things, and now she wants to close a rescue that has rehomed thousands of dogs that would otherwise be put down.
I am sorry that the thread is so long, but the first two pages are mainly expressing sympathy for the pony, It only kicked off when her "training" methods came to light.
I am also posting a link to a second thread where she continues her diatribe (last two pages), and leave you all to make your own judgements one way or the other.

http://www.lurcherlink.org/llink/forum/viewtopic.php?t=35788

http://www.lurcherlink.org/llink/forum/viewtopic.php?t=35874&start=30

Once again I appologise for having to bring this to peoples attention, but feel it may save both horses, and dogs from danger.

deerhound
LL site admin
 
Totally agree, i has thought about posting the same myself. Both my dogs came from LL and i have nothing but respect for the way the rescue is run. xxx
 
Deerhound, I have not come across your forum before but thank you for posting those two threads, they have made a lot of things clearer to me.

Leah has demonstrated her eligibility for Ignore User I believe.....

And I wont even begin to comment on people who take on rescue dogs then use the most incredible/inappropriate techniques with them
crazy.gif
crazy.gif
 
I also wish to express my support to Lurcher Link and the amazing job Kaye does with all these lurchers.
My own lurcher came from Kaye and she is the one person
involved in rescue that I would trust to find me a dog that suited my lifestyle and get me the right dog. She knows these dogs and cares for them on her own along with looking after a family.
It's very unfortunate that Leah chose to get advice from elsewhere and not from the rescue as things could have been very different.
This has resulted in a pony hurt and a dog it's reputation.
Luckily for Bracken, he is back with Kaye. She will rehabilitate him and hopefully find him the home he deserves.
 
I have read the links Deerhound.

I would think that the RSPCA would be more interested in the fact that a dog had been 'trained' by tethering it in a confined space with a pony with the sole intention of the dog getting kicked. It wasn't kicked by accident, it was set up to be kicked.

People do have different ideas on the use of punishment in training, but in order for the punishment to be effective and not degenerate into abuse it has to be delivered with impeccable timing to link the action with the consequences, and has to be done at the minimum effective intensity. None of this applies here because the 'punishment' was delivered to a tethered dog by another animal, so I'd consider the dog suffered abuse.

Furthermore the dog was then tethered in the owner's paddock with a second dog and loose horses. Presumably this is how they spent their day? I'd question whether this is in line with the Animal Welfare Act. Maybe the RSPCA could discuss this with the owner when they are investigating the abuse? It is all admitted and documented online so the thread certainly ought to be kept active on LL if only to highlight the one error which I feel LL did make - i.e. to foster a dog with someone who has a screw loose.
 
Yes, maybe Lurcher Link did get it wrong this time, you can only go on gut instinct when you don't know someone. There are many lurcher's rehomed each year by Lurcher Link and it's very rare that it all goes wrong.
 
[ QUOTE ]
There are many lurcher's rehomed each year by Lurcher Link and it's very rare that it all goes wrong.

[/ QUOTE ]
that's good.

As far as I can see from the links the 'training experts' who suggested the Kick the Dog method haven't come forward to explain the rationale behind their method and why they suggested it for a dog who had not actually caused any problems at that stage with the horses, but who the owner felt might do because (rolls eyes) he was a bull cross.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top