Training Dogs to Get Along with Horses

Leerburg's
Training Dogs to
Get Along with Horses DVD

Ed's dog CJ with his horse Jack

2 Hours, 25 Minutes
Product #211-D

Here at Leerburg we own horses and a number of dogs. We breed German Shepherds and Belgian Malinois and we also own 2 Corgis We also own Rocky Mountain gaited horses and quarter horses. A number of years ago when we decided to add horses it quickly became evident that we needed to train our dogs to get along with our horses. We did not expect our dogs to become good buddies with our horses but we did expect them to learn to live peacefully with the horses. Cindy and I have years of experience with both horses and dogs. This DVD teaches people how to desensitize their dogs to their horses. In our step-by-step program we teach our dogs to accept our horses as part of their family pack. This DVD was filmed over a 2 1/2 year period. We followed the training steps for one of our personal dogs (CJ). The viewer will have the opportunity to see CJ's first exposure to a number of the training steps we recommend in this DVD People can see the issues that came up with him and then relate to problems they may have with their own dogs and horses.

The DVD has the following chapters:

Introduction

Introducing Puppies to Horses
Equipment
Introduction to the Remote Collars
Desensitizing Dogs to Horses
Dogs That Chase Horses
Ground Work for the Down
Riding with Your Dog
Appi Kamps in Holland

Outtakes

collie and horse
Our DVD is not breed specific- our methods work on all dogs

We have a segment on how we safely introduce our puppies to horses at 8 weeks of age. By starting young dogs this entire process goes much easier. We understand that most people who buy this DVD will have horse aggressive dogs. We have included this puppy section so their next dog does not have to be that way. We demonstrate dogs with prey drive that chase horses and explain how to solve that problem. We also have a segment on dogs that are aggressive to horses. This segment shows how to safely handle these dogs and their training around horses. We have a detailed section on desensitizing a non-aggressive dog to a horse. This starts with work around the round pen and progress through the training steps to have your dog be safe while you are in the saddle. We have a detailed step by step section on preparing your dog to be controlled from the saddle. If you can't control your dog from your saddle you can never take your dog with you when you ride. To have complete control your dog must know and understand the DOWN command and the RECALL under distraction. The DVD explains how to accomplish this.

dog horse photo
Think of the trust that must be there for a dog and a horse to allow this to take place.

When a remote collar is used properly it is the quickest, safest and most humane training tool available for this work. The main problem with collar training is that people don't understand it and they think it is abusive. I have a section in this DVD on the introduction of the remote collar. I explain and demonstrate how I use a collar with my dogs while working with my horses. I am 100% sure that anyone who watches this DVD will come away with a new found respect for the value of correct collar work. Our program is a simple step-by-step program that produces excellent results. Dog training (and horse training) is not rocket science. You will find that the steps in my program are simple to understand and easy to follow. We prefer to train our dogs (and horses) by first developing a bond with the dog and then using that bond of trust to guide the guide the dog into the behavior we desire. Once an dog has learned to trust and respect us as their pack leader training is always quicker and easier. This DVD is a "Dog Training DVD" not a "Horse Training DVD." For one reason or another some horses are dog aggressive. While the end result of our training may help to get your horse used to being around dogs, it's not the intent of this DVD to train dog aggressive horses. In closing I like to tell people that dog training is not breed specific, it's temperament and drive specific. That means that our methods work for all breeds of dogs.

horse and dog
CJ and Bree

A 10 week old Leerburg puppy that has been properly socialized with horses.
We have a section in our DVD on how to do this.

Marker Training Tux

While our horse - dog DVD is not a horse training DVD I am going to include this short video of Cindy doing marker training with Tux (one of our Leerburg horses). We use marker training in a lot of our dog and horse training (although not in the DVD on teaching dogs to get along with horses).

If you have an interest in marker training I suggest that you study the free 84 page ebook and article I have written on this system of communication with animals. I have also done a 4 hour training DVD titled THE POWER OF TRAINING DOGS WITH MARKERS.

Photos I have taken of our horses

our jack Jack - Always aloof - but ALWAYS loveable

Question:

I recently purchased a sport dog collar. I watch your video that then that confirmed my thoughts that the shock collar wasn't working constantly. When the collar was not turned up it seemed to give different levels of intensity. I then sent it back and got a Tri-Tronics collar. My question is which Tri-Tronics collar do you recommend? This collar also seems to give different levels of intensity I would also like to know what is the test or evaluations that you would observe to know if a dog is horse aggressive or prey drive in regards to chasing the horse? I have been around dogs and horses all my life but the dogs we had as a child would help us around up the 100 horses we owned. They would bite at their tails to get them to move but they never drew blood in doing this. Sometimes the leader dog would chase a horse the wrong way or do it without being asked but it was easy to get him to stop. My dog is a very big 125 lb pup and when he chases the horse he will not stop when being told. He has been around the horse since we got him at 6 weeks old and he used to even sleep with our cat. He has changed from moving out of the way of the horse to wanting to bring the horse down. He has punctured the horse's leg while trying to get the horse to move and once he even got him on the mouth when the horse went to bite him back. If my dog is horse aggressive then I would just like to get rid of him even if my children don't. I think that now a days its harder to find the right type of dog that is a guard dog and a family companion we had about ten to fifteen dogs at our ranch. They never hurt our horses but at night if a stranger would come around they were very protective of the horses and us. I have had three dogs before this one at my house now and we have had to get rid of one and two were hit by cars. In the past we never had these kinds of problems with our dogs. It seems that people are breeding the wrong type of temperament dogs. I feel a good dog will stay around the house and listen when being told no. There sure are a lot of stupid dogs out there. I be waiting for your answer. Thank You for your time.

Michelle

Answer:

Michelle,I assume that you did not purchase these remote collar products from us - correct me if I am wrong but when I checked our database it just reflected the horse-dog DVD. I prefer and recommend that Dogtra Collars. For a dog of this size I would be using a Dogtra 1900 NCP – that’s what I use on my personal dog.The fact is – it does not matter if your dog is aggressive or has prey drive – your dog needs drop dead serious remote collar training. HIGH LEVEL training. You have my horse dog DVD – you need to study it – because you have the extreme dog who requires extreme measure. This dog should be wearing a muzzle every time he goes out around the horses. He needs long line work and HOGH LEVEL STIUMULATION. When a dog is this size and you describe him as “trying to bring a horse down or having drawn blood on a horse leg” – well you need to step to the line and back up your work. Muzzle – long line – high level stimulation for even looking at a horse much less interacting. In my opinion the root of this problem is you and not your dog or the breed or the breeder. You allowed this dog to become this and you should have stepped to the line a long time ago. You should have dealt with this when the dog was a puppy and then staid on top of it as the dog matured. You didn’t do this.We own 5 horses. My dog, mare and I spend a good deal of my time on my cousin's very large cattle ranch in Sooth Dakota - the drive way is 9 miles long... So I know a little about horses and dogs. You are drop dead wrong in saying that a dog should stay around your place. A dog should be well trained, understand its place in the family pack and it should not be allowed to run loose – not even if the drive way is 9 miles long. Sorry to point out the obvious but you have had two dogs killed on the road. Obviously this didn’t teach you much. I too feel that a dog should mind when told to do something. But I understand this comes with respect, leadership and training. This is not a breeder issues. It’s an owner issue.

I am sure your probably pissed right now – but the fact is I am right and you have made mistakes. It’s NEVER a dog problem – it’s ALWAYS an owner problem.

Question:

I would just like to tell you, that your response to the lady with the dog issue (drawing blood and chasing her horses, having 2 killed by vehicles) was great. I have only had one dog that had a problem with horses, she was not raised around them nor had she been trained, needless to say, she's now an inside dog, and is not allowed near our horses. I have an Australian Shepherd puppy now. I took her to our farm when she was 10 weeks old, and she was scared out of her mind when I put her on the ground. She ran back to the truck when the horses made noise. I was wanting to know what would be the best solution to that. Keep taking her out there until she gets used to them, or should I approach it differently. Thanks very much for your time. and again, thanks for the laughs on the response. I agree with you 100%. People should take more time to teach their animals what they can and cant do.

Kaitlyn

Answer:

When we raise a pup around our horses the pup is NEVER OFF LEASH. We will start by carrying the pup to introduce the pup to the horses. We don’t rush this process. When we are satisfied that the pup is not afraid we will put the dog on the ground and walk it in the area we have our horses. We will tie it in a safe place when we groom and feed the horses (a place that the horses can’t get to the dog).I would recommend that you get the DVD I did on training horses to get along with dogs.

Good luck

Question:

Hi,

We have three dogs. One is a 10 yr old miniature poodle who stays inside. The other two is are a little over a year old hound and the same age yellow lab. We got them from a pound sometime last fall (?). They are extremely sweet and we are doing what I would say a good job training them to get along with our four kids. We recently got two horses. One a 5 year old Palomino/Saddlebred and the other an adult miniature pony. We knew that we were going to have to teach the two dogs that live outside to get along with the horses. But, we approached this totally the wrong way. We put the dogs, supervised, into the pasture with the horses. These dogs have never seen a horse before and of course their first reaction is to chase the horses. So, acting on natural instinct, they chase the horses until they both get kicked. We immediately removed the dogs from the pasture and put them in their pens outside of the pasture. Another day we took one dog and put her in the pasture. She chased the horses and got kicked, so she stopped chasing them. This was the yellow lab. When she got kicked, she immediately ran over to us and we removed her from the pasture. Yet another day, after walking the dog through the pasture on a leash, she seemed to have learned her lesson and steered clear from the horses, not barking or anything. They were getting along. So, I put that dog only in the pasture. She stayed away from the horses for abt half an hour. But when she got too close to the barn, the Palomino chased the dog, and kicked the dog. The dog had done nothing, but the horse is ‘holding a grudge’ against the dog for chasing him earlier. With the hound dog, we walked him through the pasture with a leash but he barked at the dogs and tried to chase them so much that we put him back in his pen. The hound has gotten kicked twice, yet he still tries to get to the horses. I am afraid that we will not be able to undo our first mistake, and that the horses and dogs will never get along. Even when the dogs are not threatening at all, the horse charges the dogs and tries to kick it. The miniature horse though, only kicks when the dogs get close. He doesn’t have a problem. It is only the Palomino. Is there any possible way to undo this? Or do we need to permanently keep the dogs in the front yard AWAY from the horses forever? I understand that this was originally our fault and am taking a blame, but can you help me?

Also, this Palomino is extremely sweet tempered with everybody, and house the absolute Perfect ground manners. I am concerned, though because this horse has charged the dogs and charged the miniature horse for no reason that I can tell. Could this be dangerous for us and my little 7 yr old? Will he someday start charging US to, or is it only the animals? We have only had these horses for over a week, though. Is this just something that will take lots of time and patience? I am working on him not charging the mini, and he is getting better. But what abt when I am not here? Any advice?

Jessica

Answer:

You need to work with the dogs and teach them the rules. Simply throwing them in the pasture with the horses is dangerous, as you found out. I think your dogs are lucky they weren’t killed or seriously injured.

I’d start with our Groundwork program and the video that picks up where the article leaves off - Pack Structure for the Family Pet DVD.

We produced a video on how to train dogs to get along with horses. I’d recommend you view it and in the meantime work on establishing proper leadership with your dogs away from horses.

Your dogs need to be trained to follow a voice command as well, both on leash and off.

Basic Dog Obedience DVD

Electric collar Training for the Pet Owner DVD

When you can’t watch the dogs you must keep them away from the horses. Many dogs can’t ever be trusted around horses without supervision. We own 5 horses and I would NEVER EVER leave my dogs outside with my horses unattended. It’s just not worth the risk to my horses or my dogs. My dogs reliably follow my commands and they do not bother the horses but many horses will become aggressive with dogs who invade their space. Why take the chance?

You also need to keep in mind that you’ve only had your horses a week, which is a VERY short time. The horses need to settle in and feel at home. You are putting your horses in a very bad situation, a situation that they feel the need to defend themselves.

I think you have a lot going on and if you don’t take control of the situation by keeping the dogs on leash and away from the horses while you train them what is acceptable you are going to have a very serious injury. It’s not IF, it’s WHEN.

http://leerburg.com/dogtrainingebooks.htm

I’m afraid that I can’t offer horse training advice, I can only help you with the dogs. Sorry about that.

I hope this helps.

Cindy

When purchasing any product from Leerburg Enterprises, Inc. it is understood that any and all products sold by Leerburg Enterprises, Inc. are sold in Dunn County Wisconsin, USA. Any and all legal action taken against Leerburg Enterprises, Inc. concerning the purchase or use of these products must take place in Dunn County, Wisconsin. If customers do not agree with this policy they should not purchase Leerburg Ent. Inc. products.

Dog Training is never without risk of injury. Do not use any of the products sold by Leerburg Enterprises, Inc. without consulting a local professional. The training methods shown in the Leerburg Ent. Inc. DVD’s are meant to be used with a local instructor or trainer. Leerburg Enterprises, Inc. cannot be held responsible for accidents or injuries to humans and/or animals.

Copyright 2009 Leerburg® Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved. US Copyright Link. By accessing any information within Leerburg.com, you agree to abide by the Leerburg.com Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.



Raising Puppies	Training DVDs	Training Equipment	New Products