Advice with charging livestock please!

[woods witch]

We adopted Nashe 2 1/2 weeks ago. He is a great guy, we love him and he is acclimating well. One issue we are having with him, though, is the insane desire to chase livestock. Okay, not completely "insane" because he learned very quickly that he could not persue the cows out back as soon as we trained him on the underground electric fence. We don't trust him completely, of course, but it certainly has helped divert him away from focusing on the cows. The issue re-surfaces when we are walking him on leash. My husband had to actually lift him off the ground and turn him away from and on-coming horse and buggy! I am tempted to use the remote training collar on him when we are walking but I'm not sure if it's too soon. We are experienced with the collar and would not be heavy handed or abusive with it. My thought was to nip him with a correction when he charges horses and cows, but not to use a verbal correction. The idea being that it's the animal to avoid....period. I spend ALOT of time with Nashe, he goes practically everywhere with me and we are all bonding quite well. However, it is not easy to turn his focus to me or my husband when he is off the property. I take him somewhere almost every day, into the woods for a walk or into stores, etc. But I have tried correction on leash and it doesn't work. I mean, my arms being yanked almost out of their sockets! I am afraid that if we don't deal with this now by making it completely unacceptable, it is sending the message that it's no big deal. He perks up when a horse and buggy comes down our road, but has never crossed the electric fence to chase. (yet ) What are your thoughts please!!!

[leih merigian]

To my way of thinking, this isn't all that much different from a dog who wants to chase wildlife or cars.

I would teach a strong leave it cue first, which I would define for the dog (and yourself) to include turning to you, giving eye contact, and coming to you (if the dog isn't near you when you give the cue, which he'd do anyway to get his reward).

Then, once this cue is solid, if he doesn't obey, he gets a reminder that he really needs to do so from the Ecollar. Of course, when he does obey, he gets great treats.

Yes, this will take time, and I sense you'd like this to stop immediately . Tuff rocks .

Personally, I wouldn't use an Ecollar on a dog I'd only had for 2.5 weeks. You need to build your relationship a lot more, IMO.

Perhaps a head collar in the meantime would make your life a bunch easier. You can easily turn his head away from the simulus, and it's not much of an aversive.

(I know this is a very frustrating situation. I feel for you. Ask yourself this: how would you treat a puppy in the same situation? Resort immediately to the big guns without any training? Of course not. At least, I'd guess of course not )

[woods witch]

I will look into the head collar....it is not something I have used before, so it's worth a try. My immediate concern is truly a time factor since his behaviour involves the horse and buggy teams that come down our dirt road ( as well as what we encounter on leash walks).
If he spooks a horse someone inside the buggy can be seriously hurt. I've seen some awful horse & buggy accidents where they flip the buggy and people are ejected. The Amish do not secure their children, so that is my worst nightmare! Thank you for the advice!!

[leih merigian]

Well, you have some very valid concerns there, and I laud your care for your neighbors' safety. Usually, people just want to go for the quick fix because they're on the lazy side.

Definitely look into head collars. My favorite brand is the Comfort Trainer. I used to use Gentle Leaders, and have never liked the Halti. The trick with a head collar, besides getting the size right (not difficult at all), is taking the time to get your dog used to it and using it properly.

It's not a correction collar such as a prong, so you don't jerk on it. You gently pull up on it. Think horses and head halters there; if you control the head, you control the body. It gives you the leverage you need to be able to manage your dog, so your husband won't have to pick him up and carry him away to keep others safe.

Good luck!