Yard rules for dogs - very annoyed post

I take my dogs to the yard a few times a week. They do however stay on their leads! Hubby has put a tie ring next to the feed room and they get clipped to it using a climbing carabina. They enjoy watching people and horses go by but they stay fairly quiet and are happy. One dog would probably be fine around the horses although he is a bit thick so not sure he would get out the way the other boy I wouldn't completely trust so best to keep both on the lead. Its nice for them to get out and see the world but always controlled. xx
 
Luci07 said:
We can have 6 dogs on a very small yard of which 4 are mine. There are also a number at different parts of the farm. They are not a problem, they respect the horses, they don't get a free pass to disappear and when I am riding, they go back into car or stable.

And you can get a spooky horse used to dogs, but it's persistence, not just the occasional meeting. I had a very spooky horse and he did eventually get used it my dog and it made him safer as he got used to things crashing in the woods...such as the odd lost DoE student. He was incredibly sharp and it wasn't the most pleasant experience to get him through his desensitisation though!
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It is one thing a spooky horse seeing a dog on the yard full time as mine is tied up on a chain, it is another when one rushes out the bushes or through the undergrowth.

Mine will never stop spooking when one rushes through the woodland, and how do I know this??? Because he still does it at the age of 14 and is no different now than when he was first backed and hacked out. You cannot teach an old dog new tricks IMO and like mooming we obviously have horses that will never change despite some saying they can.

He will hack out with a dog though not liking when it gets close but one charges through or runs at him from the front and he will tolerate 30 secs on yapping then the dog flies into orbit.

I will never correct him for trying to protect himself out hacking, once some stupid couple were walking towards us on a ride, we went single file and they come up the track and went into double file thus pushing the pram with the screaming human in it along side the girlfriend so aiming it towards my boy hoping to pass him within 2 feet - urh oh not a good idea, buck bronc lash out he almost kicked the pram stupid *****.
 
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HGA-12 said:
It is one thing a spooky horse seeing a dog on the yard full time as mine is tied up on a chain, it is another when one rushes out the bushes or through the undergrowth.

Mine will never stop spooking when one rushes through the woodland, and how do I know this??? Because he still does it at the age of 14 and is no different now tan when he was first backed and hacked out. You cannot teach an old dog new tricks IMO and like mooming we obviously have horses that will never change despite some saying they can.

He will hack out with a dog though not liking when it gets close but one charges through or runs at him from the front and he will tolerate 30 secs on yapping then the dog flies into orbit.
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Absolutely agree. My horse is actually 100% fine with dogs weaving in and out of her legs, running about the yard etc, and even tolerated one nipping playfully at her heals in the field at her last yard. However ANYTHING that jumps out of a hedge etc suddenly petrifies her. She has never and will never get used to it or change. Even if human appears out of the blue she will spook.

ETA - I'm still awaiting this wonder cure from GS. ;)
 
i love having dogs running around our place although i wouldnt let my dog because i just dont trust him not to snap at my filly who loves to chase dogs around the field, he probobly wouldnt but better safe than sorry, i love having kids around too. Before i rented my own place all the livery yards i was on were relaxed with kids and dogs and there was never any issues.


However in OPs case i would be absolutely furious! what a bloody irresponsible dog owner, that dog definatly should not be off the lead around horses and i would question weather the girl should even own a dog atall with an attitude like that!
 
Moomin1 said:
Absolutely agree. My horse is actually 100% fine with dogs weaving in and out of her legs, running about the yard etc, and even tolerated one nipping playfully at her heals in the field at her last yard. However ANYTHING that jumps out of a hedge etc suddenly petrifies her. She has never and will never get used to it or change. Even if human appears out of the blue she will spook.


ETA - I'm still awaiting this wonder cure from GS. ;)
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I honestly had the same and hacking out with the dog regularly meant he stopped being a **** when anyone appeared suddenly in the woods. It wasn't a wonder cure, it was pure repetition. My hacking meant at some point going through woods and having a horse endlessly react to deer/walkers/dogs was downright dangerous and boring. He had to get used to 3 dogs running in and out of the woods on short hacks which I then built up. The one thing he would never accept was said dog wearing Hi Viz! This was a horse who could still spook at a banner in a school having gone past it without caring for the previous 40 minutes so I really do know about spooky horses. It did take me a long time to train dog and horse and I did have help and I will also say, we started off with very short walks, in the open, with me following with my dog on a lead to start with.

Interesting comment about the dogs weaving around legs and field..again, all my dogs (and those of friends) were taught to stay away from horses legs...
 
Again my boy has lived through both 2 dogs lives independently who came out hacking over the past , every time I went out hacking Friday sat and sun the dogs came with us.
That said he would still spook at strange dogs come running out, and since my livery also hacks with her dog, he still has a dog on the walks and still spooks at things rushing out.

So it does not matter how many times my boy is hacked out with dogs 2 - 4 times a week he will still spook at the undergrowth when something runs out. He does not bother with the livery dog who wears hi viz as the last dog we had had hi viz on.

He wont change ...... period!
 
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