horses

[col g 0]

i was out yesterday on my permission with john-b and the dogs.we managed to bag a couple of easy ran rabbits with the pup which i was happy about.in one of the fields there are two horses.the pup was looking at them dubiousley and started to back pedal at one point.after a while the dog didnt take much notice of them so i let him off his leader and he just stopped in close proximity.my old lurcher and john's retreiver pushed a half grown rabbit out of a patch of nettles which was an easy run for the young dog.he gave it legs and the rabbit ran straight towards the horses.before the pup knew what was happening he was beside the horses,took one look and bolted in the opposite direction.he is totally petrified for some reason.he has seen horses a couple of times and wasnt any bother.this only really started yesterday.is there any way i can get the dog used to them without panacking him more than he already is.im thinking of having a word with the local farmer as he has horses and just keep walking the dog past them a couple of times a day to see if this will give him confidence,then maybe try getting him a bit closer to them after ive done this for a couple of weeks just to see how he reacts....any thoughts or suggestions welcome.

cheers,col

[nobjerk 161]

i had a similar problem with traffic and found that just repeating the lesson without reaction from myself solved the problem , usually any contact or conformation from owner when the dog behaves in an undesirable manor will result in promotion of the behaviour. so by just walking by the problem and carring on regardless of the dogs reaction will show the dog that there is nothing to be afraid of. in a pack situation when none of the other dogs react , the sapling should realise this is no threat and carry on without fear. hope this helps atb

[MikeTheDog 153]

Was the horse's name Mr Ed?...He might have told your dog to feck off out of his field or else!

 

On a serious note, I usually find the large livestock no problem unless they make a sudden move toward the dog. My Meg keeps tight by me when we walk through cattle as she realises she is safer.