Post by simplynaturalfarm on May 5, 2011 10:40:41 GMT -5
We have a very sweet and lovely Mastiff x Great Pyrenees we have had since she was 3 weeks old and I bottle fed her. She is now oh 4 years old I think. She was a doll for the first two years of her life - stayed in the yard, well behaved etc. We had to ask our inlaws to take care of her for 1 year because we had to move into town and did not think she would handle it well - her job being to guard animals and NOT come in the house :)Well, she developed the most irritating habits there that she picked up from their old senile cocker spaniel who has a heart of gold - chasing cars, wandering and ignoring every command we ever gave her. We got her back in November and despite 4 strands of electric around our 5 acres, she just ducks under everything (she has a mastiff coat) and chases every vehicle that drives down the road (I mean with a vengeance until she can't keep up!), wanders to the neighbors constantly (he butchers and it is doggy heaven), ignores us when we call her to leave things alone (a horse and rider went by yesterday and she tore after them like she would kill them, but then just stops and barks). She is an excellent dog - puts up with everything kids do, very good protector, keeps the wildlife off our property, but this not staying in the yard is driving us crazy. I have never had a hard time training a dog to electric, but she doesn't touch it, she ducks and it skims along her coat. I dug out my slingshot, but the problem is I have to be close enough and out there EVERY time a car drives by. And I don't have that kind of accuracy at a distance - I have contemplated air guns or paint gun because if you can bonk her with something she stops right away (DH can throw things further than I can) I can't tie her up because she has to be loose to keep all the wildlife off our property. DH said we should try a shock collar, but again I would have to pay close enough attention to buzz her if she didn't listen. And that is so danged expensive considering how much water we have that could wreck a collar.
The only thing I can think of is to fence the bottom with something she can't get through and run electric above that. That means we will have to put out mondo money on more posts (right now we gave posts quite far apart because of the electric) as well as fencing but I think that might be my only option.
But maybe you guys have other suggestions??
Heather
The only thing I can think of is to fence the bottom with something she can't get through and run electric above that. That means we will have to put out mondo money on more posts (right now we gave posts quite far apart because of the electric) as well as fencing but I think that might be my only option.
But maybe you guys have other suggestions??
Heather