# How do I teach my GSD to be around my horses without going after them?



## Pattycakes (Sep 8, 2010)

I have a 15 mth old female GSD that thinks our horses are big play toys. So right now she is not allowed off leash around them. She gets very excited when she is around them and she barks at them. I have been trying to work with her around them, but I can't seem to get her to calm down. Even as a puppy she thought she should be able to run up to them and jump all over them. Horses just aren't that playful with puppies. I think the puppy/dog would lose that game real quick. 

If anyone has any ideas, suggestions, things that worked for them, please post them. 

Also, do you train with an E-collar? I've never used one but someone suggested that I try that.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Look up Lou Castle. 

My GSD thought it was grand fun to run between my horse's legs. Luckily, he's about as bomb proof as they come so it didn't phase him. Not even a cat jumping off a wall and landing on his back phased him. She eventually outgrew it but there were some pretty heart stopping moments a few times.


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## Pattycakes (Sep 8, 2010)

Thank you, I will!


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## meandmyrajah(: (Jul 7, 2010)

i have the same problem my 9 month old shepherd actually grabs onto my horses tail and swings from it and he's been kicked luckily it didnt hurt him but im afraid one day it will i hope he grows out of it


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

How are the dog classes going? Can't you use the leash and transfer the same 'leave it' situations from class to the horses?

I'd have let my pup visit with the horses when they were 7 weeks old because I know that starting early is so much easier and more accepting for a puppy (and a horse) then waiting until the dog is big and LOUD! 

When you go into town, is your dog always calm when new dogs come up? How about with cats?


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## Rerun (Feb 27, 2006)

Knowing how things can go so very wrong with horses and dogs (long time horse owner here), I would go to an e-collar now. You can use all the leave it commands in the world but if your dog doesn't have horse sense all it takes is one accident.

Use the e-collar in conjunction with normal verbal commands. The e-collar is there as a backup and training aid. When the dog is not responding and is out of reach, which they usually are at a horse farm, then you can issue a correction with the e-collar.

We have one and use it for various things, love it and wouldn't trade it for anything.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

you have horses, that's nice. i don't have
a horse but i knew we would be around horses
a lot when we walked in the woods. when my
pup was 10 weeks old we visited sevearl stables.
i use to pick my pup up ans stand next to the horse.
sometimes i would stand in front of the horse and raise my pup
eye level to the horse. as my pup got older
i use to leash him and walk around the horse. sometimes
we walked in and out of the stable. when we were near the horses
i held the leash close to my dogs head so he couldn't
jump at or on the horse. you had your dog since it was
a pup. why did you wait so long to train it around your horses???

i've never used an e-collar.


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## Rerun (Feb 27, 2006)

Walking your dog around a horse barn as a puppy and letting it off leash at a farm to be loose around horsesare two very different things. Holding your puppy up to look at a horse can not be compared to a young adult GSD off leash around them. I've held my 10 wk old son up to my horse so horse could sniff him and he could see my horse, but that doesn't mean when he's 18 months old he'll be expected to know how to safely behave and interact with one.

Regarding why the poster "waited' - what difference does it make now? If she'd adopted an adult she'd be in the same situation and need training advice. There could be a number of reasons why the dog wasn't around the horse as a puppy.

Perhaps the barn she boarded at didn't allow dogs (most around here don't), perhaps she was nervous of a young pup and large horse, perhaps her schedule was different and she didn't go home before going to the barn, or perhaps she is just now letting the dog off lead and the problems started.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

1 > i walked around the barn so my dog would get use to the horses.
i also let him get very close to the horses. it's the
socializing and and early training for the future around horses. 

2 > holding him up to look at the horse in the face
was another part of socializing and training. the training
and socializing leads to the dog being off leash
around horses because he knows how to act.

3 > holding your son up to a horse is good training.
he won't be afraid of horses and he probably won't
jump at them. i held my children up to horses and i did expect them to learn how to interact with them. my children had horses by the time they 
12 yrs, old. i knew early training around horses would
help them in the future.

4 > the OP owns horses. the OP had their dog since
it was a puppy. i think the dog should have been taught how to act around horses by now. the dog is 15 months old
and raised around horses. the difference in waiting is now you have 15 month old dog that doesn't know why to act around horses that it was raised with.

5 > i don't think the Op's horse is boarded.

6 > you said " perhaps her schedule was different and she didn't go home before going to the barn" what does that mean??? she didn't go home before going to the barn, wwwhhhaaattt? 

7 > i don't think this is 1st time the dog is off
the leash around horses.

seems like you're trying to make an issue
out of this post or you didn't read and understand the post. 
obviously you don't anything about socializing
a dog and horses.



Rerun said:


> 1 > Walking your dog around a horse barn as a puppy and letting it off leash at a farm to be loose around horses are two very different things.
> 
> 2> Holding your puppy up to look at a horse can not be compared to a young adult GSD off leash around them.
> 
> ...


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## Pattycakes (Sep 8, 2010)

Thank you everyone! I really appreciate your advice on this! 




Rerun said:


> Walking your dog around a horse barn as a puppy and letting it off leash at a farm to be loose around horsesare two very different things. Holding your puppy up to look at a horse can not be compared to a young adult GSD off leash around them. I've held my 10 wk old son up to my horse so horse could sniff him and he could see my horse, but that doesn't mean when he's 18 months old he'll be expected to know how to safely behave and interact with one.
> 
> Regarding why the poster "waited' - what difference does it make now? If she'd adopted an adult she'd be in the same situation and need training advice. There could be a number of reasons why the dog wasn't around the horse as a puppy.
> 
> Perhaps the barn she boarded at didn't allow dogs (most around here don't), perhaps she was nervous of a young pup and large horse, perhaps her schedule was different and she didn't go home before going to the barn, or perhaps she is just now letting the dog off lead and the problems started.


Thank you! 



doggiedad said:


> 1 > i walked around the barn so my dog would get use to the horses.
> i also let him get very close to the horses. it's the
> socializing and and early training for the future around horses.
> 
> ...


1. I did that with my puppy and as she matured.

2. Did that too. 

3. We learned at an early age how to be around horses as well. I have a tremendous amount of respect for their size, speed, and agility. I love horses...everything about them.

4. The puppy was socialized around the horses every chance I got. She lives with me...my horse(s) live with my boyfriend. The dog is only around the horses when she and I go to my BF's place on the weekend. 

5. Yes and no...my horses are at my BF's place...not mine. 

6. I took that to mean that if I went to the barn right after work...then my dog wouldn't be with me.  

7. Actually, since my dog doesn't have a very good recall at this point, she isn't allowed off the leash around the horses. We are working on that as part of her ongoing training....as well as her other commands. 

I had a previous GSD...she had a totally different personality and working drive than my current GSD. With my previous one, she was very mellow and learned things very quickly and learned that she had to respect horses or any other animal. 

My current GSD has a very high prey drive and I'm trying to work with her to redirect that energy in positive ways. She is very challenging to train for me so I really appreciate all the advice all of you have given me. 

Her obedience is getting better as she matures but until I feel totally comfortable with her around the horses...knowing she won't go after them or get hurt herself...she will be kept on leash. 

Rerun - Thank you about your comments about the e-collar!   May I ask where you purchased your e-collar (online or at a petstore)? 

I just want to aid my training with my dog so she can be safe around our horses and others...not replace obedience commands with using an e-collar instead.


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## Rerun (Feb 27, 2006)

There are several brands that were recommended to us, dotra and tri-tronics come to mind. However we also read rave reviews online of the sport dog brand which we bought at TSC for $180ish. It's completely water proof (the collar part), rechargable, and very durable. I've been very happy with it. It has 8 levels (1 being lowest, 8 being highest) and you have the training option of using a warning beep sound, a "nic" which is essentially a very quick correction, or a seperate button that can issue up to an 8 second correction. I would only use that in an extreme situation though...if we use that button we will only hold it for an extra second from the nic.

It has been an extremely effective training tool when the dogs are off leash.


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## Pattycakes (Sep 8, 2010)

Thank you, Rerun. I will look up the sport dog...is that the brand name or the model of it? :blush:


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## Rerun (Feb 27, 2006)

It's a sport dog (brand) field trainer (model). I think it's a 400 yd range.


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## Pattycakes (Sep 8, 2010)

Found it...thanks again!


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## Lin (Jul 3, 2007)

Rerun, where do you board at?


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## Rerun (Feb 27, 2006)

Would prefer not to disclose that kind of info on the web but we can talk if you are looking for somewhere to keep one. It's about a half hr north of the north side of Indy.


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