So, we went away for the weekend and Arnie loved it. Swim in the river and chased the balls and played with a little French bulldog we met there. Now, when we met some cows and horses on our walks or travels I had to restrain him. I had to put him on lead and hold on to him because he would lose his mind. Bark and growl and get all worked up. It kinda annoyed me because he's such a chilled dog every other time. I am worried that if we are walking and come across some large livestock he will run up to them and get trampled. Is it just a matter of training a recall under that kind of distraction?
For me with my late, great Brogan, it was a matter of socialisation and treating it like any other kind of reactivity. As a younger dog, he saw horses rarely and would, without exception, go completely nutballs - barking, lunging. Brogan had a lot of weird things that set him off throughout puppyhood and adolescence, but horses were a tough one as we didn't see them that often. I treated the horse issue just like every other of his phobias - once it appeared I then made an effort to go see as many horses as possible. I would keep him far enough away (out of the "nutballs zone") treat copiously for calm behaviour and slowly decrease the distance between him and the horse. At first we did this at horse ranches, not at places were the horses were free and moving, but it eventually proofed him for those surprise on the trail or on the beach times when a group of horses and riders would just appear. His recall was always really good (I was lucky) but still I didn't let him off leash around free horses until he could be within a few feet of one in a corral without losing his mind. It wasn't worth the danger to him. Even when he was 100% solid, I would call him to me if we saw a free-running horse. Not because I didn't trust him, but because I don't really know horses and didn't want to endanger Brogan or the horses if they got spooked having a dog too close to them. I was particularly proud of him after we moved to Europe and lived in several cities where horse-drawn carriages were the norm in our neighbourhood. He wouldn't even bat an eye passing right next to a horse in the street - what a good boy. So they can indeed go from very reactive to something to "meh" about the same thing. Brogan met cows later in life and up close and personal in both Ireland and Spain. No negative reaction at all, nothing like horses. It was almost like he knew - "Hey Rottweilers were bred as cow herders, these are cows...they must be my buddies!"
Near live stock = on lead. Always. That way he cannot run up to them and get trampled, or chase them and get shot.
Good point. I've been on a lot of trails shared with horses in both California and Spain where the bigger issue is not knowing when you'll come up suddenly on a horse (or rather vice versa). Or at the beach in Spain where you're sitting there minding your own business and a cow will amble up. I always felt better just quickly snapping on Brogan's leash and keeping close to him in those circumstances. Better safe than sorry.
I remember coming across cows on the beach up in the Scottish islands. We we so not expecting that! Belle quickly went on lead, even though they were quite far off.
It depends where you live if you are able to expose your dog to live stock. I suppose living in Sydney you don't see that much! I live in a rural area so horses, sheep, cows, pigs, alpacas are everywhere so we have trained our dogs to ignore them with good success Hattie can be off lead around my friends horse and dog and she walks very nicely beside the horse but if I see riders out that I don't know she is put on lead immediately to avoid accidents both ways. Always on lead round sheep, cows, pigs etc. It's a necessity to have dogs on lead round live stock here and a matter of common sense not to let your dog potentially worry any animal. x
Yup..agree always on lead where you may encounter livestock. @Emily_BabbelHund suggests, socialise your dog carefully, at a distance first. LAT is useful. When a dog first sees a horse, it is exciting and scary all at once. One of our fosters Blake, we fostered as a 18month old from Cyprus. He had a potential home on the isle of Wight...BUT they had horses! So off we go to work on Blake with horses. At first we used LAT at such a distance the horses were just specks on the horizon! it worked, it took time and patience. He wasn't completely ready, but almost when he left. Now we get photos of a very chilled Blake on walks or the horses paddock
We always have Ella on lead around livestock. To be honest, she's never shown too much interest (she does show interest in chasing rabbits and kangaroos though ) but I'm more fearful of her being shot if she came close to a farmer's livestock.
We sometimes go to a lovely trail that is frequented by tons of dogs and their people. And usually there's two or three horse-riders. Thankfully Snowie does not bark and couldn't care less. But on one occasion he tried to smell the horse's bum! It all happened so quickly -- he was racing around and suddenly came upon the horse and tried to jump up to get his nose close enough (it was a long way up for him!). Thankfully the horse was clearly well-socialised around dogs and did nothing. Heart-stopping moment for me. We were away in December and stayed in a cottage next to a field with three cows. Every time we went out for a walk, Snowie would go say hallo to the cows. They were on the other side of a wire fence, but one of the cows in particular would stick her head through the fence and she and Snowie would meet noses. It was too adorable for words! I think he genuinely gives off a "don't be afraid of me, I'm your friend" quality.
SNAP! We had a field of cows at the bottom of the road last year. They were curious and would all stand near the gate when we passed. Coco stopped to stare at them & the boldest cow came forward to sniff noses with Coco. They would come every day. So cute.
Our house is surrounded by fields with horses and sheep in them. Fred and Annie can see them through the hedge or passing by on the dirt track. They are not interested in them, but I still put them on their leads if we come across them while we are out and about. Better safe than sorry.
I agree with the above. It is for sure socialization. Mocha used to freak out when she saw horses. They're so big. I purposefully walk in areas where there are horses, and take her to me when I see one approaching and feed and soothe her. My biggest help and breakthrough was having friends with a dog and horse. They take her with them sometimes when they go riding. Mocha follows the other dog's lead and this has been a great blessing. About the recall, yes, get it up and working to pull him back when an unexpected horse turns the corner.
Just to be clear, my friends put one family member on the ground with the dogs to step in. They are very experienced and I trust them completely. Once Mocha lost her fear, they took her on long rides with the horse and let her play around the stalls as well. She once brought the horse her big stick she carried for a while and dropped it in front of his nose. If you could only have seen her the first few times she saw horses, you would be really impressed.
I think it's mostly just being around animals frequently, but may be a little inherent nature of the individual dog too. When I had my last dog (Lab) I also owned a horse, kept at DIY livery, so as soon as he could be out and about Rolo went to the stables twice a day with me, where he was off lead, and was absolutely wonderful - never once barked, jumped at or chased any of the horses. But he was also calm and uninterested in the free-range chickens, pheasants and rabbits too. He never showed any interest in chasing sheep either, but I still put him on lead if we walked through fields with sheep to be on the safe side. Dear old Rolo... By the time Molly came along, Tom, my horse, had died, and I didn't make the early effort to socialise her with horses. After a few hair-raising experiences of her chasing, I put in some time and now she is calm, though I don't trust her 100 % so usually put her on the lead if people ride past. She definitely has a stronger chase instinct than Rolo did, though I've managed to deter her from chasing rabbits (by saying in a silly voice, 'Don't chase the bunny-wunnies ' !) She's a shocker for chasing birds though - but then they can fly away.
