UA-12921627-3 Jump to content

Cattle Chasing !


Recommended Posts

I have also learnt that less is more where speaking is concerned. I now use a whistle and hand signals. I find she responds far better.

ACME whistles are for gundogs but I trained a lurcher to one easily.

 

Same with mine. Getting an ACME and doing gundog whistle training was the big breakthrough with Wispa.

 

Point of information: the law states that a beef breed bull may be kept in a field with cows even though a footpath goes through it, but he can't be there alone. A dairy breed bull may not run loose in such a field at all.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 45
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Cycas, how did you get Az interetsted in play ? Jamie is not play motivated at all outside, and not much inside either. I'm not sure that his chasing is from stress either, more sheer enjoyment and thrill of the chase :unsure:

 

 

Sorry, I missed this before. I've found that Az will play with sticks in particular locations - I don't t know why those locations rather than any others. Perhaps there are fewer prey scents to distract him there. He likes streams where other dogs play with sticks, so maybe he is copying them. I tend to do a lot of dancing and hiding the stick behind my back, and I don't expect him to bring the stick back - he likes to run off and hide it in the woods, then I am supposed to magically produce another stick. :rolleyes:

 

(yes, I know playing with sticks can be risky. I only use very small ones with Az, that are easy to snap with one hand)

 

Az has a lot of fears so with him I could very much see the effect of being allowed to run offlead and chase on him - if I walk him onlead through a town, for example, he really needs to be able to run and chase somewhere quiet after that, the tension builds up in him. As I said, apart from play, I do allow him to chase squirrels and rabbits, and when he was younger of course he spent a fair bit of time chasing Mollydog greyhound too! I'd rather he spent some time racing about after squirrels and I can then stand some chance of keeping him off a cat, deer (or heaven help us a misplaced sheep) if I really need to.

 

I'm fairly clear that with Az at least, it's a tradeoff. If I kept him on the lead most of the time, there is no way that I'd expect to be able to call him back from a chase. :rolleyes:

 

I don't think Az is the most high-prey-drive of lurchers though - plus of course he is old now so it's easy. Even when he was younger, it was possible with him to take the edge off : I know for many dogs this can be really hard.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh blimey :huh:

 

 

Im hoping that everyones got the point that its a terrible thing to set a dog on cattle to teach it not to chase.

Cows are just as sensitive as dogs and get terrified just as easily.

What is needed is good training without having the risk of any innocent animal getting nipped or chased. I agree AFTER training you need to re-enforce the commands near livestock but dogs should not be allowed to chase anything in order to try and persuade a hyper dog not to. At the end of the day they are dogs and prey drive is simply that. Its not logic so they cannot differentiate. They simply obey a command not to do what is natural in order to appease the pack leader. By putting livestock to soon into the mix someone will get hurt.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't think anyone was suggesting that chasing livestock should be part of the training process? I certainly wasn't!

 

If you are going to train a dog to be used to livestock, then at some point, the dog is going to have to meet the livestock: one assumes that at that point, the dog has already been worked to the stage where he can walk calmly past the animal at a distance, and the livestock, whatever it is, is also calm and confident.

 

The idea is that chasing is something you cannot entirely eliminate - in the same way that if you have a border collie, you expect to have to give him something to do with his herding drive, the idea is that if you have a dog that wants to chase, you give him an outlet for that drive, such as chasing toys, lure coursing, or if you are lazy like me, squirrels. Not that you allow the dog that wants to chase cattle to go in and chase them till they defend themselves - that would be awful all round!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't think anyone was suggesting that chasing livestock should be part of the training process? I certainly wasn't!

 

If you are going to train a dog to be used to livestock, then at some point, the dog is going to have to meet the livestock: one assumes that at that point, the dog has already been worked to the stage where he can walk calmly past the animal at a distance, and the livestock, whatever it is, is also calm and confident.

 

The idea is that chasing is something you cannot entirely eliminate - in the same way that if you have a border collie, you expect to have to give him something to do with his herding drive, the idea is that if you have a dog that wants to chase, you give him an outlet for that drive, such as chasing toys, lure coursing, or if you are lazy like me, squirrels. Not that you allow the dog that wants to chase cattle to go in and chase them till they defend themselves - that would be awful all round!

 

I agree with you, it just concerns me that a man is looking for a bull for two clients dogs. Why a bull unless he intends the dogs to get sorted by it ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was thinking it was because they are perhaps likely to be less inquisitive and more calm and confident than youngsters, and less defensive than cows, which often seem to actively dislike dogs?

 

But admittedly that's generalising wildly on the basis of having met only a few bulls who all seemed to be such nice animals, not at all like their reputations.

The only bull I meet regularly is a Hereford I think, and he is such a lovely gentle boy.

 

The problem cow we had in our park who took to chasing dogs and had to be removed was I think a Holstein? Large, black and white, longish legs, bolshy expression? She was a right menace, I'd much rather walk past the bull ! ohmy.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Im hoping that everyones got the point that its a terrible thing to set a dog on cattle to teach it not to chase.

 

Where on earth did you get that from ? What the he*l ! Jamie is not going in with a bull to terrorise or be terrorised, and YES training is going to happen first. He has now been close to cows (and Yes he was under full control before anyone asks), and he was not interested at all, but males he does react to. Males and speed, and mix the two together and it's not a good combination. At some point he is going to have to be tested, and so yes we need a bull, , but it absolutlely is not going to be just letting Jamie off lead and watch the blood start flowing, from either animal.

 

I don't think anyone was suggesting that chasing livestock should be part of the training process? I certainly wasn't!

 

Nope, nor was I, or anyone else for that matter.

 

Why a bull unless he intends the dogs to get sorted by it ?

 

Because with Jamie, it seems to be gender specific. I obviously have a sexist dog. I'm sure the EU has a law against that somewhere, but hayho, these things happen.

Jamie is not going to get "sorted" by a bull or anything/one else for that matter, what sort of person do you think I am ?

 

To those that have offered advice, information and help I thank you, it really has been appreciated :flowers:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was thinking it was because they are perhaps likely to be less inquisitive and more calm and confident than youngsters, and less defensive than cows, which often seem to actively dislike dogs?

 

But admittedly that's generalising wildly on the basis of having met only a few bulls who all seemed to be such nice animals, not at all like their reputations.

The only bull I meet regularly is a Hereford I think, and he is such a lovely gentle boy.

 

The problem cow we had in our park who took to chasing dogs and had to be removed was I think a Holstein? Large, black and white, longish legs, bolshy expression? She was a right menace, I'd much rather walk past the bull ! ohmy.gif

 

 

Ah yes Holsteins do have a sense of humour. She may well have been chased by a dog and was making sure she got in first.

Dairy cattle are more of a problem than store/Beef cattle. My bull Fred can be cuddled and my old one Tiny used to come in the house.

Link to comment
Share on other sites


×
×
  • Create New...