October 05, 2011
We recently adopted a 5 year old GSD, we’ve had him 3 weeks. He chases our horses, what can we do? Would an invisible fence work to contain him?
Full Question:
Dear Ed and Cindy,We live have a german shepherd dog who is five years old. We have had him three weeks. He is a super dog, intelligent sweet natured and obedient. A friend of mine asked me to rescue him as his family were divorced and had dumped him with mother/ mother in law who was disabled. He spent his days in a tiny garden as she was unable to walk him.
The only problem I have is that he does chase the horses and then he gets so excited that he doesn't hear what you say. I feel that with a lot of attention and a distance collar I might get this under control, but will this make him safe if someone accidentally leaves a door open?
If due to his age he will not become horse reliable, may be I need to limit him to an area of the property where the horse don't go. I have heard of invisible fencing. How secure is it? I have had dogs all my life but I have always brought them up from puppy, so I have never encountered this problem.
I would appreciate any advice.
Cindy's Answer:
We have a video on how to train dogs to behave around horses.
This dog needs general rules, structure and training away from distractions like horses before you can expect him to pay attention to you in the face of such an exciting activity (chasing horses).
Whenever we add a new dog to our home, we start with our groundwork program and Pack Structure for the Family Pet.
Regardless of how well the training goes, I would never trust this dog around horses unsupervised. I would have a secure PHYSICAL enclosure for him, I would not trust an invisible fence for something so dangerous. A horse can kill a dog very easily, or a dog can scare a horse so badly they injure themselves. It’s better to keep this interaction supervised at all times.
Good luck!
Cindy Rhodes
This dog needs general rules, structure and training away from distractions like horses before you can expect him to pay attention to you in the face of such an exciting activity (chasing horses).
Whenever we add a new dog to our home, we start with our groundwork program and Pack Structure for the Family Pet.
Regardless of how well the training goes, I would never trust this dog around horses unsupervised. I would have a secure PHYSICAL enclosure for him, I would not trust an invisible fence for something so dangerous. A horse can kill a dog very easily, or a dog can scare a horse so badly they injure themselves. It’s better to keep this interaction supervised at all times.
Good luck!
Cindy Rhodes
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