Dealt with dogs on a RANCH or have experience with different training collars, help??
I just moved to the country and have a highly active 10-month old cattle dog/german shepherd mix. She's a great dog in every way except of course naturally she thinks cows and horses are for chasing. I would like for her to be able to run around the property and get some exercise with the other dogs but I need to be able to trust her around the livestock first and I've tried using a long line to train her but she knows when she is and isn't attatched to a leash (good on leash, does what she wants off-leash). When she goes into prey drive of course she does not listen to commands and treats and toys are nowhere near as interesting as a moving horse or cow. SO, I recently heard of collars that are not shock collars, but similar. Instead of a shock they use sound or vibration...anyone try these? I need something powerful enough to snap her out of prey drive but would like to avoid a shock collar if possible.
ANY suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
My dog is fine with cats, people and other dogs, and fine with livestock unless they start running around. I know she is not going to kill a horse or cow, but if they're spooked bad enough, they can be injured and what i'm most owrried about is her getting trampled or kicked. I know people who have lost dogs this way. She's already been kicked in the head once, and i'm not willing to bet she learned a lesson from it. I will continue working with the long lead and look into these other options that have worked for people. Thanks everyone!
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Tagged with: attatched • cats • cattle dog • cow • cows and horses • dogs • exercise • german shepherd • great dog • livestock • prey drive • shock collar • shock collars • toys
Filed under: Exercise Vibration Machines
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forget the shock-collar –
shock itself has multiple side-FX or fallout-possibilities, ALL of them
bad – the most common is aggro, translated as Biting.
as U own an ACD-mix, and ‘biting Corgi’ or ‘biting Cattle Dog’ are widely
+ hilariously viewed to be redundant – all ACDs or Corgis bite – Adding
More Aggro would be a bad thing! so i would def Not sugg shock.
personally, i would go with an umbilical-cord as a beginning – that means
that the dog is attached to U, any time that U are not on horseback –
and when U ARE on horseback, the dog is in the house, in a crate, or otherwise OUT of line of sight – we do not want the dog rehearsing chasing by running up and down a fenceline!!
we want the dog to be AWAY from visual stim of running horses or any flying, hopping, walking ANYthing that might trigger the chase response, UNLESS they are on an umbilical, attached to an alert human-adult who is willing to redirect and interrupt any + every try at chasing AS SOON AS THE DOG even thinks about it – long before they lunge!
to umbilical the dog:
put a six-foot leash across Ur back at the waist – slip the clip end thru the wrist loop, and then clip the free-end to the dog’s collar – PREFERABLY a high + snug martingale, aka ‘limited-slip’ collar – it has a fabric loop at the back, where the ring is to clip the leash – the loop can close half its width to snug up the collar if either the DOG or U tighten on the leash.
when properly adjusted, the martingale is as close to the ears as possible, the loop is FLAT – fully extended! – and Only the TIP of a pinky will fit between the dog and the martingale. we are talking SNUG here – it must not slip down the neck toward the chest, it is to stay up near the ears/jaw.
a Y-strap harness, at least ONE INCH wide, with adjustments on both the chest strap + the girth, is another good option – a Double-Ended Snap gets clipped to the RING in the center-chest, where the Y straps meet – 2 come off the shoulders, one up between forelegs to the chest-ring.
a free-spinning Double-ended SWIVEL goes between the large-clip and the
leash-clip, to ensure that the harness does not Twist painfully on the dog -
instead the leash can be kept tangle-free by spinning on the swivel.
AFTER the dog has spent time being DS/CC – Desensitized + Counter Conditioned – to be Relaxed instead of ramped-up + rowdy around the stock – THEN… we start lengthening the leash.
first step:
slip 6 ft leash wrist-loop over the end of a wide sturdy BELT – and then buckle the belt around Ur waist. the dog now has 6 ft of free leash, and U can take it up as needed to refocus or interrupt any attempt to chase, jump, lunge, tease, snap, etc.
we are rewarding the dog with High Value treats for any + all calm behavior around the stock, for being able to comply with any cue to sit, drop, stand, wait, etc., look at me, watch, roll over, shake – it DOES NOT matter, any behavior that can be cued + that the dog knows well is fine, as long as it does not involve chasing.
we are meantime Letting the dog chase + ‘kill’ fetch toys, like a canvas bumper on a rope, but under control of a handler – the fetch or chase toy is only an interactive object – the dog NEVER gets to trophy it – which means to carry it off.
the more EXERCISE the dog gets, the better!
(another alt:
COUPLE the dog to a dog at least their wt, at the front of the chest to the well-trained dog’s chest, using 2 Y-strap harnesses. when Rowdy tries to chase? CALL the well-trained dog, and let THEM drag Rowdy back to U!)
by the time the dog is well-proofed on a full 6 ft leash, U have had time to find or make a 30 ft drag-cord – a one-inch wide COTTON drag-line or long-line is a worthwhile investment, as it minimizes the odds that the dog will rip the skin clean off Ur palms by burning thru Ur hands, as they race off after a horse, bird, bunny, whatever.
leather riding or work gloves are recommended – better to wear’em + not need’em, vs need em + be skinned, literally, by a speeding dog ripping skin off Ur hands!
the 30 ft long-line is COILED at first, and only an 8 to 10 ft length is avail to the dog. over time, more + more line is doled out, but the dog is CHECKED every time that they attempt to chase, bounce at a horse, bug a cow, jump at a fly-whisking tail, etc. – EVERY time.
finally, the dog has over 15 ft of free line to use, is Not trying to start the chase, Not snapping, barking, lunging, etc.
NOW… drop the 30 ft drag-line on the ground with ONE well-broke horse in the round pen. Every time they try to intercept or harass the horse, STEP on the drag, walk up it, take the dog out of the pen for at least 45 secs. they calm down? bring em back.
over, and over, and over.
repetition is the key – U chase?
U lose the opp to be with me or the horse.
U are calm? U get to hang out.
soap, rinse, repeat! <grin>