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Comment
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Lol
Jun 20, 07 - 11:38 PM |
Collie Training / Stop him chasing sheep !
I have collie that had been partly trained as a pup but then he came to live with me in the city . Long story but it was for the greater good at the time !!!
He is a wonderful dog apart from his behaviour with sheep !!! He hates them , wants to chase them , does not trust them and can not be trusted of the lead around them .
As I am moving to an area with sheep , does anyone know how to stop this behaviour ???
Please help as I do not want him being tied up all the time !
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Pat
Jun 22nd, 2007 - 8:25 PM |
Re: Collie Training / Stop him chasing sheep !
Hi Lol,
Are you in the UK?
If so you really shouldn't have him off lead near sheep anyway.
Its a real toughie. My shelties are both test C obedience but I wouldn't risk having them off lead near sheep. They don't have to be actually chasing sheep for a farmer to take action, if he thinks they are causing stress.
Even though they have instant 'down's' I wouldn't like to put it to the test with sheep around.
Unless you can find a friendly farmer with sheep to train against I just wouldn't push my luck!
Not mush help was I?
BFN
Pat
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Joan
Jun 22nd, 2007 - 10:17 PM |
Re: Collie Training / Stop him chasing sheep !
Hi,Lol, can I just back up what Pat says? We lived in sheep country for 18 years and though Flicka knew that sheep were a big NO,NO and would walk on lead past sheep in a field with her head turned away from them and her eyes shut, I had the odd nightmare scenario in the forestry commission area where ewes who were living wild would suddenly lift from behind a bush and take off- that woolly bum bobbing up and down gave me one second to get my command in before Flicka took off! Twice I wasn't fast enough to stop her though the bellow did slow her down enough for the ewe to get the advantage of her own very rough territory and no harm was done but the point I'm making is that this was a trained dog and she still wasn't reliable when the unexpected happened. It just isn't worth taking chances!
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Lol
Jun 25th, 2007 - 6:48 PM |
Re: Collie Training / Stop him chasing sheep !
No I am in Ireland ! I am glad to hear it is not just me . I thought maybe I was missing something . I am moving to a sheep farm , so maybe my fiancee will allow me to train him slowly with a few ewes who would not be shaken by the dogs behaviour . He thinks I am mad as it is that I have the dog in such high regard !!! There is a beach about ten miles away I can walk him off the lead , not sure it will be every day though !
thanks
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Rachel
Nov 3rd, 2007 - 2:01 AM |
Re: Collie Training / Stop him chasing sheep !
May I post a similar enquiry, with a twist? My sprightly-but-85-year-old grandmother owns a collie, relatively young (2-ish years, if I remember right). He's becoming steadily trained - she's an experienced collie owner and has trained all her own dogs over the years. They live in the country and he's becoming quite well socialised with other dogs, doing the obedience tests etc.
However, he's quite strong and she's had the odd problem with him and wildlife (swans, horses, the odd sheep when she goes into a field where she doesn't realise there are loose flocks). He's just messing about, not vicious, but is strong enough to tug himself free, and she isn't keen on risking falling over while out alone. Other animals seem to break through his training inhibitions and normal obedience, and he runs off.
Basically she wants to find someone who will train him for her to behave around livestock, so that she can extend her repertoire of walks, and also so that she can send him to stay at a particular kennel when she is occasionally away. This kennel is great, but they take the dogs walking with their horses, and last time he played up.
Does anyone know this kind of service/company? Dog training clubs aren't much help: she needs someone to do this for her, or at least to get him to the stage where he isn't inclined to chase other animals and will listen to her as he normally does. Preferably south Cotswolds area or nearby would be good.
Advice is appreciated.
R.
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Pat
Nov 3rd, 2007 - 4:15 PM |
Re: Collie Training / Stop him chasing sheep !
My goodness Rachael. That's a very tall order! As I've said before my dogs are very well trained but I wouldn't trust them around livestock off lead. I just wouldn't take the risk.
As for leaving them at a kennels where they take them out with horses! That's madness in my view and totally irresponsible if the dog is not used to being around horses. Apart from the dog 'playing up' which would be perfectly understandable if he was not used to horses, just think what damage a horse could do to him, even just by stepping on him inadvertantly. Surely you would only want leave your dog in kennels where you know he was going to be perfectly safe?
If your mother is unable to hold the dog on a lead around livestock, perhaps she could try using a headcollar or harness on him?
With regard to sending him to someone to be trained around livestock, I fear that although someone with the right facilities to do this, may well be able to train the dog not to chase, but at the end of the day, the dog has to obey your mother!
Interestingly, my dogs will not do what my husband tells them to, even though they love him to bits.
You could try South Cotswold Dog Training Club to see if they know anyone who would undertake this type of work. They might know someone that would help the pair together? The secretay's email is :- AMORTON104@aol.com
Good luck! Remember better safe than sorry though!
BFN
Pat
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Rachel
Nov 5th, 2007 - 12:39 AM |
Re: Collie Training / Stop him chasing sheep !
I'm not going to have an argument about whether the kennels are the right place for my grandmother's (not my mother's) dog: it's her choice and whether she's right or wrong I'm not going to spend time trying to justify it.
The point is not that the dog is disobedient - he usually behaves pretty well. He's highly intelligent and is doing his Kennel Club awards surprisingly fast, with her. But _because_ he doesn't have experience of big animals, other than accidentally during walks on just a few occasions, my grandmother is fearful that he will pull her over (if on the lead) or zoom off (if not).
She feels it would be good for someone with professional experience of training dogs to help him get accustomed to livestock. She can't do it herself because he is a strong dog, in case it goes wrong. She's 85, for heaven's sake. (As I said). It's reassuring in a way that you suggest "someone with the facilities" could get this going. I _know_ he has to obey her in the end - I'm not expecting that to be a problem. He just has to get experience in a controlled environment. And in my grandmother's experience, once trained her previous collies have all be fine around the type of livestock found in country fields which farmers expect walkers in. She will no doubt put him on the lead if necessary - she isn't stupid. But she wants him to know what is going on, not least so that he obediently returns to her when they enter a field of (eg) cows.
I was looking for specific suggestions, so if anyone knows a centre where they would do this, I would appreciate it. I have already tracked down a lot of possible leads via the net but had thought the collie experts on this forum might be more specifically helpful.
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Jean
Jan 10th, 2008 - 6:04 PM |
Re: Re: Collie Training / Stop him chasing sheep !
Rachel - is this a Rough or a Smooth Collie we are talking about here? It sounds like neither to me.
Please remember that this is a small group of Rough & Smooth Collie enthusiats - we aren't professionals and few of us would regard ourselves as 'experts' - we are just learning.
If this is a border collie we are talking about, I'm sure there is plenty of useful advice out there...
Jean
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RQ
Jan 10th, 2008 - 6:10 PM |
Re: Re: Re: Collie Training / Stop him chasing sheep !
You're right, he's a border collie. I hadn't fully understood the difference.
Anyway it's all immaterial now. Before Christmas, her nerves increasing, my grandmother found him a new home with a Scottish crofter. While the dog is ecstatic at now working, taking to his new training very easily indeed (and no longer chases livestock), my grandmother is devastated and misses him terribly.
I do think that if we could have found her some professional help to get him trained at home, she could have kept him. I find it bewildering that this seemed impossible in Gloucestershire. The eventual solution may have been best for the dog, but it has been a wrench for her.
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Jean
Jan 10th, 2008 - 7:19 PM |
Re: Re: Re: Re: Collie Training / Stop him chasing sheep !
Perhaps your grandmother should look to a more gentle, smaller breed. Maybe a breed rescue, so that she could give a home to an older dog who would be less energetic.
Jean
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Dianne
Jan 8th, 2008 - 9:58 AM |
Re: Collie Training / Stop him chasing sheep !
If I had asked for advice about my grandmother and her strong dog and someone had taken the time and trouble to write a considered reply and I had then reacted somewhat rudely, I would not then expect anyone else to take the time to reply. I have seen forums in France degenerate into slanging matches and it is a great pity and does no justice to our beautiful race.The public who read such forums are not drawn to a race where breeders or owners are not polite and helpful. I would thank the person who had been so kind as to reply and then ask for further advice from other participants not react with withering scorn. As a newcomer to this forum, I am worried at the reaction of the questioner and would advise her to calm it.
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