Setting Dogs Up for Success on Lifestyle Blocks
A lot of people have this vision going into rural life. They’ll own a block, their dog will be free to roam the property with so much freedom and they’ll all live this peaceful life together.
Here’s the thing. Dogs don’t tend to make great choices with freedom. When given the choice between doing nothing and doing something that the dog has been bred to find really fun, they’re likely to take the fun option and keep doing it. This looks like roaming, harassing stock and generally being a problem child.
We want to set the dogs up for success so they don’t get to practice the unwanted behaviours in the first place. Once that genie is out of the bottle, it’s much more difficult to put away.
In practical terms, this looks like:
👉🏻 Containing the dog somewhere where they can’t get into mischief when unsupervised - especially while young or new to the property.
My preferred options for a lifestyle block are a secure outdoor kennel and run, or a dog crate. A hot wire around the house section can also be a good option, provided they’re not able to build anticipation stalking the animals through the fence. Bottom line - they can’t practice harassing stock or eating the chickens or running off to the neighbours if they don’t have access to do so.
Then when you are supervising and checking on your stock etc with your dog by your side, don’t allow the dog to rehearse the predatory sequence in that context. Unless you have intentions of properly training your dog to herd stock correctly (and most importantly, stop!), they are simply not allowed. What does this mean in reality?
👉🏻 Until you can trust your dog is under good control, have a line on them anytime they’re in the same area as prey animals such as chickens, sheep etc. A bit of rope works, or I use biothane long lines which don’t absorb the mud (so good in winter!). You can go from a long line in your hand, to letting it drag, to reducing the length gradually so they get more freedom. You can easily stand on this, give it a tug or use it to guide them away as needed - much easier than trying to catch a naked dog that doesn’t want to be caught.
👉🏻 Reward them for what you do want (eg hanging out with you, staying on the back of the quad bike). Take a handful of their dinner out with you and use that to reinforce good stuff.
👉🏻 Intervene at the earliest sign of mischief. Don’t wait for the dog to be halfway across the paddock after a calf before you interrupt - watch for the early signs (visually fixating, stiff posture, stalking) and intervene then. The higher up the sequence the dog goes, the harder you need to work to make a meaningful impact with our corrections. Pay attention and nip it in the bud early.
Now, when it comes to our herdy dogs etc, it’s pretty unfair to get a dog designed for a purpose and not allow them to express it at all. But it’s also quite unsafe and unkind to other animals to allow them to express that on stock without appropriate training or ongoing work to keep it controlled (again - once you let the genie out, it’s difficult to put it back in!). So that’s where other outlets can come into play. Flirt poles (see my recent video for more on that), tug toys, soccer balls etc can all be used to give an outlet to those natural instincts in a safe and controlled manner away from the stock context, with the bonus side effect of building control around moving things.
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If you’re on a block and want a hand with your dog from someone who gets the rural life, check out the website for training details. Available in person throughout much of the Waikato, and online anywhere with an internet connection. www.wolfedogs.nz/training
