Hello, Anybody know of any good pointers to help me before I start with stock familiarisation training. Many thanks.
Hello and welcome to the forum. Could you give more context of your environment? I assume it's a Labrador you're talking about? How old? What sort of livestock? Will s/he be working around them? Do you live in the countryside, or city - how much time will be spent in the presence of livestock? Thanks!
Hello. Thanks for having us!! We live in the countryside (UK) so sheep, cattle, poultry, game and foxes etc will be a constant. She will be coming to the mountains on a regular basis. Yes shes a black lab, her prey drive doesnt seem to big at the moment but expecting that to change once she looses interest in my wellies. Thanks
I think it really depends on the dog. My black lab, Willow, has never been interested in chasing livestock. My yellow, Shadow, has a high prey drive, but I've worked hard on training him and I can stop and recall him from chasing rabbits, which is a huge thing, so I would definitely encourage you to invest a lot of time and energy into training the stop whistle and the recall whistle in the face of high distractions. These are two potentially life-saving skills. Shadow is very good around sheep and goats, but I would never trust him 100% and so he's always on lead. My chocolate puppy, Luna, has a very low prey drive (will watch rabbits all day without flickering an eyelid) but is hugely friendly and seems to see sheep as something she wants to say hi to, so I wouldn't trust her to be off lead, either. And cows scare me because of the damage they can do to dogs, so we keep as great a distance as possible, and always on lead. Some dogs are fine with poultry and other simply cannot be trusted, ever, even if they have grown up with them. So, there are some things you can do, for sure; I would always use LAT (Look At That) techniques in controlled environments around potential triggers. You can read about this in the book Control Unleashed, or you can search online for explanations and videos, but the idea is that you're teaching the dog to remain calm around these triggers and not react to them (whether that reaction is through fear or excitement). Start this as early as possible, rather than waiting to see if you have a problem. Making the livestock part of your daily routine from a young age - carrying her to see them if she's too young to go on the floor - will help them become part of the furniture, rather than something of interest. But, still, even with the best laid plans, you may have a dog that is simply more - or less - interested than normal. If she has a high prey drive, then you can use this to your advantage; Shadow adores chasing tennis balls, and they are his number one reward. So, he only gets them as a reward for behaviours that I ask for. This makes them even more powerful, and a hugely useful tool for teaching the stop whistle and recall. When it came to his bunny-chasing habit, it meant that I could use the chase of a ball as a reward for not chasing a rabbit. Not long ago, I threw the ball when he looked to me instead of chasing a rabbit; as he chased the ball, the stupid rabbit ran back between the dog and the ball, within about a metre of his nose. He still kept on after the ball. Are you planning on doing any activities with her? Gundog training, agility, flyball, scent work, obedience, rally etc? These sports are all brilliant for working on engagement between dog and handler in the face of distractions. I also recommend the book Total Recall, which has a structured programme for training - and maintaining - a solid recall, which is invaluable wherever you live.
