German Shepherds Vs Horses - Page 1

I have three GSDs that can not live peacefully with my horses and will jump on an opportunity to hunt them down due to high prey drives.Ive had to rush one six month old male to the vet for pouncing on my horses back like a lion on a zebra,needless to say which resulted in a swift kick in the face and he was thrown like a sack of potatoes and knocked out cold.Luckily he's o.k. but I would like to raise my next puppy to live peacefully around them.Any advice on what is an appropriate age to put them together where the puppy will be old enough to be aware of keeping a safe distance from being under a horses feet and realize they must live together without conflict.

You need to train your dogs to respect your horses. I would have your dog(s) on leads at all time when they are around the horses... When they show any signs of aggressiveness at the horse(s) or want to harass them... give your dogs a strong correction... Don't just give them weak ones... give them a strong one (till they yelp) and tell them with a deep dark voice, NO! I'm sure this will solve the problem.

I have horses and gsds.... sounds like you have very high prey dogs. I would look for one that doesn't have such a high prey drive. I have both, those with very high prey, and those with enough prey to work sch and herding but don't bother the horses. I also have all my basic obedience done with my dogs by 6 months of age. I teach a very strong leave it, without making my dog yelp, and if they begin to run the fence at the horses I tell them to "leave it" and because they know what this means they do. training is the key. Heather

Thanks to both of you for the helpful advice.I probably failed to mention that the problems 99 percent of the time occur when I am not around.They do know better and usually make their moves when Im out of sight.They are all very obedient otherwise and I know the puppy we want to keep will probably also be high prey drive since she is from my own West German line bitch and stud.I hope someone can tell me what is a safe age to socialize the puppy with the horses and leave them alone together.

Leerburg has a page on how dogs can behave around horses. www.leerburg.com

If your horses have been attacked by dogs then I don't know if the horse will socialize with the puppy. I don't think their is a magic age to leave them alone together, you are taking a chance. Until you are absoluyely 100% positive that your dog will not bother the horse they should never be left alone. When I had my horses, I had problems with my female always trying to run up to them to nip at there heals. She only got away with it twice. After I would not let her out unless I could watch her. To fix the problem i used basically a desensitization method. I put the dog pen next to the horse pen where the dogs could see the horses and the curious horses could safely come up to the pen and the dogs could not get to them.The funny think was the horses started hanging out next to the dog pen. After a month or so the dogs could care less about the horses. After that I could actually take her in the pasture with me to feed. Horses also could care less about the dog. With your dog that already has jumped on the horses back, I highly doubt this will work. But for the puppy there is a good chance of it. Hope it helps.

I sold a 22 month old female to a horse family 2 years ago and the dog immediatly bonded with the horses, one in particular. There were other horses and one other GSD on the premises and the GSD spend all her time in the pasture with the one horse, but instinctivly protected the whole herd, I was told. I had taken her around horses a couple of times, while a puppy for familiarzation(as I do with all my dogs), but she had no training or extensive exposure to horses. I must add this dog had a very loving personality. The reason I sold her is because although she thrived in obedience and tracking, she did not do exceptionally well in the bite department(I like my dogs to bite people if necessary, not just the sleeve). I would think, if you bought an 8 week old puppy and intergrated it into the horses from day one, there would not be a problem. It's like cats. I have never owned a dog that would not kill a cat on sight. This is because we don't own cats and I don't socialize my dogs to accept cats, I just don't waste(for lack of a better term) the time doing so. People have bought my puppies that were raised with their cats and they get along fine. I would think that the 6 month old GSD that got the boot from the horse in the first post would have gotten the message, and change his behaviour towards them. Did he he, LisaGSDLvr? If he did not, I would not think jerking on his neck to make him yelp would solve your problem, either. LOL Stephen

I do have horses, and high drive dogs, i don't let them get to the horses when I am not around. It is not worth it to me to have either injured. I did have one of my high drive girls get out and chase the neighbors horse and he shot her.....this is tx,yes it is legal....anyway she lived and will still chase horses. High prey dive is just that, and you are not going to stop a dog that has that high of a prey drive. You have to manage the situation. Only let the dog out around the horses when you are there to control the situation. Otherwise you are setting both animals up to fail. Just my Opinion. Heather

I do have some experience on that! Chase horses is not a good business to a dog!. My Atila, wich I consider as my best dog ever, because of his strong caracter and great inteligence, did that twice. The first time it chased two females while they were eating, the kick was at the shoulder muscle and he stayed down for almost five minutes. The second time it was just passing, not chasing anymore, behind the same female. The kick was at the legs muscles. He was very respectfull with horses until it dies 4 years later, it used to follow me when riding. There was never an other acident! He learned not to stay at the way. It could cost his life!

If the pup is out of your own bitch then why not start taking it out to the horses now? When I lived on my parents' farm ALL animals no matter the species had to learn to live in peace or leave. No killing on a farm. Even the bird dogs had to learn that the chickens were not to be chased or eaten. We start them as soon as we get them whether it is from birth or at 12 weeks of age. Take the pup out to the corral and let the horses sniff it. If it is walking then you can let it down but keep it on a lead so that you can quickly pull it to safety if necessary. A quick tug is better than a hoof on the head. Let it walk but if it gets behind the horse pull it to you and tell it no or whatever command you want touse. If it tries to get closer than a foot to the horse pull it back and tell it no or whatever command you choose to use. Do not let it off of the lead until it consistently stays out of those areas without a command. NEVER let the pup run at or bark at the horse. It needs to respect the horse and those behaviors are only a start to the same problem you already have. If there is a safe area put the pup in it while you work with your horses so it can see. If there isn't a place to put it, then bring out a kennel to put it in while you work. Do not allow barking at the horses. You should have no problem with the pup as an adult. As a general rule the younger the better but as long as you lay down the rules immediately it should be fine.