Dog that Chases: How to Stop?

Why did the previous owners give the dog away to you? Were they having problems with it too? Sometimes a bigger dog isn't always better, sometimes it's just dumber and more dangerous because it's bigger.

A question for the people recommending shock collars. If the shock collar successfully trains the dog to not chase poultry, cats and small dogs then what guarantee is there that it will chase away coyotes and other small predators? To a big english mastiff a coyote will just be another small dog that it might think it's not allowed to chase.

Trust me. They know a coyote is not a dog.

Anita Crafton
Dan-Ani Pygmy Goats
Hansen, Idaho

__________________
Anita Crafton ~ Dan-Ani Pygmy Goats ~ Hansen, Idaho

In your situation with the older dog I would probably go with the shock collar. However, with our mastiff and other dogs we started them as pups training with the "look/focus" technique. Training the dog to look/focus on you ensures that your command to "leave it" doesn't fall on deaf ears. Mastiffs have a high prey drive. There have been a couple of times that I have had to roll my mastiff, sit on him and growl "mine". He doesn't even notice the chickens now or the cats. It works, but it takes time and working with him and until completely trustworthy you will have to babysit him while outside until he fully learns what is yours. mastiff are people pleasers so they do learn fast, but they are incredibly stubborn. Persistence is key with a mastiff because if they get away with it once then they think that is the new rule. Blessings, Kat

__________________
Come visit Homesteading and Homekeeping at Whisperwind Farm

Slight thread drift.... make sure your house insurance company allows mastiffs. Some don't. You don't want to lose your insurance because of the dog.

__________________
Alice
* * *
"No great thing is created suddenly." ~Epictitus

You could also try a fence or a lead- if there are pedestrians, bikers or cars that he is liable to chase then it is best for him to be confined when you cannot supervise him even if you use a collar or other means to teach him not to chase.

__________________
They shall all sit under their own vines and their own fig trees, and they shall live in peace and unafraid. Mica 4:4

I've used the shock collar to train a setter & a lab/coonhound mix not to chase chickens. I tell them "no chase" firmly while using the warning vibration and then if they continue I give the command again with the lightest shock. If they continue I wait until they are close to the bird and then give the shock with no command. They now think the chickens are shocking them and put their heads down and walk away when approached by a chicken. I use the voice command everytime except that one time when I shock them hard & they usually never have to be shocked again - the warning vibration is enough. Some dogs are more hardheaded than others but this is what works for me.

I definitely would not let this dog run loose until very well trained to stop chasing people or chickens. I have trained pups before not to chase the chickens by taking them out on a long leash, allowing them to start to chase, then throwing a small can with several gravel inside (to rattle) at them. The pup was running away, didn't see me throw it, and it distracted them from the "chase." I did this repeatedly, and never allowed the pup to be "loose" around the chickens without being there to "distract" it. After several days of taking our training walk, I threw the can the instant the dog started to "look" at the chickens. Yeah, the can bopped the pup in the back or head, but it didn't kill it. Even if it didn't hit the pup, it still distracted it. The pup now is a 2 yr old, and protects the chickens and ducks from the coyotes. She's an Aussie.

Recently, a mastiff got loose on a city street in a nearby town. The neighbors called police when a lady who was walking her dog was attacked by it, along with her little dog. The police officer was ordered to shoot the offending dog, on the spot. The dog owner was "charged" and fined, and required to pay the vet bill for the little dog that was nearly killed, and for the ER visit by the elderly lady.
I'm glad you are trying to train the dog, but if it were me, I'd return the dog. Its way easier to train a pup who hasn't developed bad habits already. Good luck, whatever you do.

__________________
Pro Libertate!

The individual who's dog got loose would probably have found a benefit by having insurance to help with the bills.

Folks down the road had a large German Shepard when I was a kid. Headed to my friend's house on my bike was down hill so when that dog came out there to bite at my ankle it was all over pretty fast. Riding home was horrible One day I had enough and I headed down that gentle hill with a baseball bat. With my strong right arm I came around with a full swing as I was riding as fast as I could. I nailed that dog in the head as hard as I could. It flipped over twice and laid very still in the ditch. I was hoping I had killed it. I sure was watching on the trip back home but no sign of the dog. I was hoping they had buried it. The next day heading down the road here came that dog on the run. When he saw it was me it put on the skids with all four feet, slid to a stop, laid down and watched me go by. It still went after other kids but it never bothered ME again.

Thanks, everyone! The dog stops chasing when I yell, "No!" One of the cats turns and chases him when he wants to play, so a shock collar is probably a good investment. He will learn to leave them alone if the chickens shock him.

__________________
Terri

Dogs are much more dangerous to motorcycle riders than the bite. Hitting a dog on a motorcycle usually ends up with a nasty bone breaking accidently. Many people have been killed this way. The worst problems to a motorcycle rider are dogs, p/u trucks with the tailgate down and stuff falling out, and railroad tracks that diagonally cross the road.

__________________
Moving to that big black hole in the night satellite photo. (also the hole in cell phone coverage )

Use a shock collar and as others have suggested, shock him when you catch him in the act, preferably when he does not even know you are present. At the very least do not say a word, just give him some negative reinforcement when he performs undesirable deeds. I used to walk my dog and she always wanted to chase cats. I started giving her a very light zap when she spotted a cat and a heavier one if she chased. It quickly got her to the point that she hid behind my legs when she would see a cat. She associated the zap with the cat and thought it was the cat doing that to her. She stopped chasing cats after that.

Shock collars are no replacement for being the pack leader. I have a blue heeler and I taught her not to chase chickens, ie the chickens were MINE and she was not allowed to engage them. Of course this means you have to have pack leader status in place already. Yes that "leave it" command is very important for a dog to learn.

The heeler also chased kids on bikes and dirt bikes. It was "just" my boys and the neighbor boys who thought is was funny, she would grab the tires and pull the bikes out from under them (yeah even the pw50s). But obviously all kids dont' think it's funny so we told the kids to run her over, and boys being boys they did. Only took a few rolls with a dirt bike for her to learn consequences.

The cats took care of themselves.

Neighbors had a mastiff that would come over and kill my chickens. Finally the light bulb went on to quit politely complaining about this to the neighbors and train the dog myself to leave my chickens alone. Baseball bat helps ha.

And a mastiff still ain't much against a pack of coyotes. You put enough chicken bait out there the coyotes will take care of your dog. Smart buggers.

__________________
THE BEGINNING IS NEAR
5-star double-rated astronavagatrix earth girl

PS, it did take a 250 dirt bike to make a big enough consequence btw, the 50s just bounced off of her ha.

__________________
THE BEGINNING IS NEAR
5-star double-rated astronavagatrix earth girl

1 yr old he's still young !! Mastiff's are not fully mature till they're 3 that said you have to break him out of it !! Use a long leash but definitely get the shock collar there's also one that as a spray instead !! Show. Him who's boss


Tired of the rat race

The dog has to know what NO means... if it doesn't shouting no means nothing. IF I have to tell a dog NO a few times and it doesn't respond, I catch it in the act of doing something 'bad', pick it up, or bend down, grab their muzzle, and shout loudly in it's ear NO NO NO, while biting it's ear harder and harder and harder, till it cries. I know, it's cruel, but later, my NO means NO. My NO could save it's life, if it goes after something that could kill it, like a wild hog, coyote, snakes, etc. They forgive me quickly, and we're back on good terms again.

If a dog that's had NO training falters, it gets refreshed on NO training...

__________________
Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. Seneca
Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival. W. Edwards Deming

This is so true. A friend went out west to Colorado with a group of guys on vacation on their bikes. One of them had an animal run out in front of him in a curve, he tried to miss it, wrecked and nearly died. He had broken most of the bones in his legs, arms, shoulders, and has a brain injury. He had to learn to walk & talk all over again, couldn't feed himself, and still has memory issues. People he's known his entire life, he now doesn't recognize, & that was over 5 yrs ago. He was a big strong athletic guy of 42 when it happened, and had 2 small children and a stay at home wife. This turned their world completely upside down in the moment it took for that dog to run out in front of him chasing him. Just not worth the liability imo, insurance or not, I'd still feel responsible.

__________________
Pro Libertate!