teaching a dog NOT to hurt the bunny?

[BlueCoyote 0]

ok i dunno if its been clear yet or not that i am a bulldog person..... i wouldnt trade those bucket heads for anything. my husband on the other hand is a shepherd man...

 

two days ago a young female pure bred GSD wandered up and we've "claimed" her. we're looking for her people but i have a strong feeling that she's a drop off because she has no manners and training.....at all.... she is clean like a house dog, but while IN the house she's a terror!

now the point of my thread is not the house. that bit is easy..... what i want to know is how do i teach this knucklehead to leave my rabbits alone? with the exception of the two bulldogs i have right now i have raised every dog from my past from a new born puppy and never had predator issues with them.... ok thats not totally true either. as kids my brother and i had a female shepherd mix that would kill chickens and cats and bring them home to play with. but we didnt raise her from a pup.. but even my bulldogs, acquired around the ages of 1 and 2 do not bother any animal unless i tell them to. this dog is in non-stop kill mode.

 

if she is to live with us (providing we dont find her owners) MUST learn to leave the livestock alone. any time she goes past the cages or pens she leaps, barks, yelps, lunges etc.

 

we have a choke chain and have been doing the usual "No" command and try to redirect her but that doesnt last long.

She's still young enough to be cured of this but i've never done it before...... my first instinct is to get rid of the dog. but my husband wants to keep her and thats ok... providing she behaves. if she doesnt then she's flower pot fertilizer.

 

she looks small in this pic but she's nearly the size of a full grown shepherd.

[Simoman 110]

Whats the dogs obedience like? If she is toy/food orientated you could work on her obedience around the bunnies using them as a distraction, or substitute the check chain for a pinch collar?

[J Darcy 5,871]

First thing to do is......Let the dog settle in.

 

 

Then start the training.

[earth&hounds 94]

First thing to do is......Let the dog settle in.

 

 

Then start the training.

well said mate there are to many that just think the dog will pick thing up right away

[Guest pip]

NO OFFENCE TO ANYONE HERE BUT I WOULD NT HAVE ONE OF THEM THINGS ABOUT THE PLACE,PROB THE REASON ITS BEEN DROPPED OFF.

[TUFFTY 1,484]

NO OFFENCE TO ANYONE HERE BUT I WOULD NT HAVE ONE OF THEM THINGS ABOUT THE PLACE,PROB THE REASON ITS BEEN DROPPED OFF.

 

I wouldnt have one of them things?

 

Explain.

 

TUFFTY

[Pignut 4]

You need to let this dog settle into the house and your routine. Keep a very close eye on him and set yourself up to succeed. Don't put the dog in any situation where you have to trust it, because he will, more than likely, let you down and you will be to blame.

 

Decide as a family what the limits are to be and all stick to them so the dog is not being set up to fail. There will be the obvious mistakes and if the dog is permanently on kill-mode, then you have to be extra vigilant.

 

Get the dog listening to you on a one to one basis. No distractions and use rewards, either food or praise if that is what works best. Keep encouraging more than criticising.

 

It will take time. There is no immediate cure. He has to learn to listen to you, realise what is expected in your pack and then decide if this is what he can work with. Some dogs never learn, never listen because they have lost that ability.

 

My rescued patt now lives with chickens very successfully. He killed two on arrival and then we worked on walking him, on a lead with the chickens, not allowing chasing and he could see the other dogs didn't chase them. he was rewarded for good behaviour and my disgust was very apparent when he killed. My theory being if I feed, water and exercise then my rules! He cottoned on very quickly as he likes living here! Abit like teenage children, really.

 

Good luck. It may or may not work. It is really whether you can get inside the dog's head or not.

[Guest oneredtrim]

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Edited April 19, 2008 by oneredtrim

[BlueCoyote 0]

great points to remember, giving her time. my cousin, the :db: self proclaimed expert in all things dog :db: tells me that this dog can never be trusted, will be impossible to train because she wasnt socialised, etc bla bla bla and if we wanted a shepherd that badly then we should have asked HER for one (she is a "breeder").. she is under the impression that we bought this dog and doesnt believe it just wandered up. in short...... she is the only one smart enough to decide when a dog is useless and no one else would DARE let their pure bred puppy escape.. but all that tells me is she is jealous.

 

anyway as for the dogs training, she pulls on the leash while walking but not too bad. she doesnt try to drag you off, but does want to go her way if you'll let her. she is getting better about not jumping up on things but really all she is is a big dumb puppy. she acts just like a little puppy.. wants to climb(or jump) into your lap, wants to sleep IN the bed, on the sofa, or anywhere you are. she followed me like a shadow all day today while i was doing laundry....

 

i agree too about not setting her up to fail. but i believe that about any dog. the bulldogs and terrier ignore these animals but when its time to call it a night the dogs go to their respective places and the stock is protected by an invisible fence plus a real fence.

 

Right now i have a rabbit with a litter - almost old enough to wean - on my front porch for the time being. so that is temptation for the dog. they were there before she showed up however.

 

one thing i've been doing randomly during the day is making her lie down on the porch to be brushed. she's leashed during this time so she cant run at them too.

 

 

A clever dog will pick up on your first instinct, manipulate your own mindset first and then set out to discover if the bitch is the best dog in your yard.

 

what i meant by "my first instinct is to get rid of her" is that of anyone who raises their own food and is hell bent on protecting their livelihood. sort of like "she's more trouble than she's worth!" the good thing is, except for the bunnies on the porch, all the other animals are a safe distance away and protected by fencing.

 

i understand and agree though, that she IS still a dog, and a young one, and a shepherd to boot. all of that without training spells disaster and i cant expect her to be any better than what she is right now.

i've never used a pinch collar before - damned expensive the last time i looked! - but it would probably get her attention better than the old choke chain.

 

thanks for the reminders and advice everyone i dont believe she is a lost cause. but i really really hope she can be as useful as my other three dogs. i love all dogs, but i like them better if they have a job and not just a cushion warmer..

however i will say in praise of her that she's extremely protective! i came home late the other night when the husband was already in bed. i shut the door too loudly and i heard her roar to life and saw her leap from the bed and land several feet from it and charge up to me. she realised who i was and stopped in her tracks just a foot from me..... wagged her tail, ducked her head etc. so i'm happy she's ALMOST as good as my bulldog in that respect. only difference is the bully wouldnt have barked.......

Edited April 19, 2008 by BlueCoyote

[whippet08 8]

NO OFFENCE TO ANYONE HERE BUT I WOULD NT HAVE ONE OF THEM THINGS ABOUT THE PLACE,PROB THE REASON ITS BEEN DROPPED OFF.

 

and why is that?

[BlueCoyote 0]

NO OFFENCE TO ANYONE HERE BUT I WOULD NT HAVE ONE OF THEM THINGS ABOUT THE PLACE,PROB THE REASON ITS BEEN DROPPED OFF.

 

and why is that?

because the damned dog is a freak! i should have taken that advice from the start she got loose not too long ago and where did i find her? running her legs off up and down the goat pen. would she come to me when i called her? No! how did i catch her? I tricked her! i opened the gate to the goat pen and that got her attention. she seemed to actually think i was going to let her in there. i tackled her before she could go through the gate, then put her back in her own yard.

 

i dont know what i should do. i like her. she's a nice dog... but she has no loyalties to anyone. its all about her.... and if i took her to the pound she'd just die because she's hyper and hasnt got any training...... which isnt true. i've worked with her. but she'll only follow commands if you're inside the house. outside? Forget it. she's deaf outdoors.

[Guest oneredtrim]

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Edited August 12, 2008 by oneredtrim

[BlueCoyote 0]

oh she's loyal to food! steal it right out of your mouth!!!

[Guest oneredtrim]

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Edited August 12, 2008 by oneredtrim

[BlueCoyote 0]

oh she's loyal to food! steal it right out of your mouth!!!

 

I wish she was over here...i'd wager she would'nt.

 

If she loyal to food...then you've got her. No good countering that statement, think about it for a couple of days. Like i said earlier...it's all down to how your mind manipulates her WANTS.

i wish she was over there. lol that would be perfectly fine with me!