Dear Forum,
Our female 2 year old Dutch Shepherd (Kiki) is generally doing well and becoming an all-round good dog. It took a lot of work and patience, but we all know what DS puppies are like.....
We recently got 2 goats for fire clearing our yard. Kiki is not handling the interactions with the goats in a productive way. Her drive continues to build and she's too rough with them and doesn't even respond to a leave it or come command. Completely unacceptable behavior. She hasn't hurt the goats yet apart from a very small tear in one of the goats ears, but left alone with them it would not end well. She certainly is showing "herding behavior" and I'm sure that she's genetically able to handle anything we throw at her. The questions I have are:
1. can dutch shepherds be effective in herding goats, or are goats really hard to herd for any dog?
2. how can I train Kiki to be more gentile with the goats (nudging, maybe a little nip, but never a bite)?
3. where and how to start training, other than simple introduction to the goats?
4. any exercises Kki and I should be doing before even starting this journey?
Kiki has her basic training down (most of the time) and she does not need to learn how to herd the goats. I need her to stop chasing them though when in the same fenced area. The simple solution is to keep her on a leash, but that is managing the situation, not training Kiki to stop behaving badly.
Thanks,
Gijs
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Dutch Shepherd and Goats
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gijs
- Just Whelped
- Posts: 8
- Joined: Thu Jul 16, 2020 10:47 pm
- Tell us about yourself: Hi,
Our family consists of my wife, two children (girl almost 7, boy 4.5), two cats, 4 chickens and me. My wife had dogs most of her life, but for me this is my first dog. Kiki is a female Dutchie that we got from a breeder that breeds DS for families. As in, slightly lower drive and slightly more tolerant around kids. We requested the puppy from the litter that was available with the lowest drive and the friendliest demeanor.
We only let Kiki near the children under strict supervision and have the help of a dog trainer who is specialized in working dogs and has had DS dogs himself for many years and is currently the owner of a DS that he competes with in several disciplines.
I'm sure we'll have many challenges and joining this forum is surely a wealth of helpful information and guidance.