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[RC] [RC] Advice on Dealing with "Strange" Dogs - Roo GrubisI have filled a Super Soaker up with ammonia and taken it riding with me (my daughters are still afraid to play with it since "mom ruined it") I didn't have a bit of luck. The dogs seemed to know immediately to stay out of range and knew if I had it in my hands. One of my FAVORITE dog training tools is a firecracker. P.S. Firecrackers will also shut up barking dogs. Sheesh. So do you start your grill with gasoline? ;-O I don't see the point of using methods which have the very real potential to cause serious injury to an animal when there are plenty of other effective options. A Super Soaker with plain water (or with a wee bit of vinegar added) has the same effect without the chance of blinding the dog. And a dog that runs to investigate a tossed firecracker can end up blind, maimed, or dead. I agree with others that have posted, that the most effective thing is to turn your horse to face the oncoming dogs, and even better, to steadily walk them down. We had a filly that was absolutely *terrified* of dogs. We taught her to "Go git 'em!" and she found it very "empowering" ;-) and now strides purposefully toward any dog we encounter. (We've never let her go faster than a walk toward them, and she's always easily dissuaded from doing so, so it's never become anything like the poster who had the "dogaggressive horse".) It's also carried over to deer and other "scary" things we happen across. All of the horses here have been taught to stand ground and/or walk them down. There are no leash laws in the two closest towns here. There *are* laws against dogs harassing stock, though. We *consistently* call the ACO on the problem dogs, and we've had very blunt talks with the offending owners about how they are responsible for any injuries to us or our very expensive (well, not really, but they don't know that...) horses, and we will not hesitate to sue them for any and all damage. It's worked pretty well. As for places where the ACO is unresponsive, there are *always* higher-ranking public officials to whom you can go. Again, impressing upon them the *liability* issues tends to be effective. (I am remarkably unlitigious, and the first to go on a rant about frivolous lawsuits, but the threat of legal action and $$$ is most effective in dealing with these things.) /Roo in Boston Roo Grubis Citydog Dog Training Boston, MA =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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