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Re: [RC] Dog training and horses - heidi larson

on Barbara's comments below:

1.  Amen - wait til they are at least one, start slow and
build up, it's very hard on their feet also! 

2.  I had a collie and he loved to go, one of his early
rides, he was in front going up a trail and saw the horse
coming, hunkered down and froze - I yelled "watch out" and
horse clipped him a bit on the way by.  From then on,
"watch out" meant, get off the trail and he never forgot
it!  

I like having dogs along - it seemed to keep my horses from
spooking at things in the brush (they thought it was just
the dog) and at night, coming home in the dark, following
that white tip was very reassuring!  He developed a twisted
stomach and had to be put down, but I sure miss our
Rham-dog!


Heidi

--- Barbara McCrary <bigcreekranch@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

I have a couple of comments about riding with dogs.  1) 
Don't start taking a dog that is younger than 1 year old.
 Our daughter once had a Kelpie that she took riding at
less than 1 year old and the poor thing developed
arthritis at a young age.  It's a bit like riding a horse
too hard when it is too young to handle the stress.  When
we got our present dog, an Aussie/BC cross, I did not
take him with me until he was a year old and he is now 14
and is quite athletic yet.  He has a bit of trouble
jumping up into a pickup, but he's in quite good shape
for his age.

2)  When training a dog to ride with me, I never really
did anything special...I was just very careful that he
didn't get hurt until he was smart enough to learn how to
avoid a horse's feet.  I had to watch out for him, just
as I had to watch out for our children before they were
old enough for the self-preservation instinct to kick in.
 And I scolded a little bit.  I would say, "Toot! Toot!" 
like a car horn, and he learned that meant to stay clear
or stay ahead.  Our dog will go ahead or follow
behind...he just is watchful of those horse feet.  And
our horses do not kick at the dog...they have been
introduced to riding with dogs since day one.

I don't imagine this is the answer you were looking for,
but it's worked for me.  A long time ago, we had a new BC
and she went running off up the trail, then turned around
and ran back.  Trouble is, I was trotting the horse
briskly, and before I knew it, she ran right into the
horse's front legs and they scissored her between them. 
She was hurt and scared and ran off somewhere.  It was
quite a long time before she showed up at home.  But
that's the only time we've had a dog hurt during our
riding.  She was not permanently damaged, just very
scared.

Barbara
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Sherri Lyngar 
  To: ridecamp 
  Sent: Thursday, January 31, 2008 6:26 PM
  Subject: [RC] Dog training and horses


  Hi Everyone,

  We rescued a beautiful dog this year, she is part
Rottweiler and part Border Collie. She is about eight
months and we have introduced her to the horses. I really
want to take her out on the trail with me. Does anyone
have training techniques that they use with their dog and
horses together. IE getting them to heel on one side of
the horse or the other, keeping them within a certain
distance as you ride. We've ridden with my sisters dogs
and they naturally heel around us as we ride, but
sometimes they do get underfoot. 

  Sherri



     
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Replies
Re: [RC] Dog training and horses, Barbara McCrary