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