.... But ALL dogs have the possibility of having a high prey-drive regardless of breed. I have said before, there are MANY NI owners whose dogs are fine around sheep, cattle, horses AND poultry, as was MY dog before he developed his compulsion. He wasn't BORN wanting to chase sheep, he LEARNED this behaviour.

I think it depends on the breed. Malamutes and Sibes spring to mind and many owners of these breeds work very hard in finding ways of exercising their dogs. In my limited experience the majority of owners will be able to find an area to let a dog have some off lead running.
On a personal note, there is nothing better than watching Beau running full speed off lead but I knew before getting him that we may never have reliable recall and specifically searched for safe places to exercise him. If I hadn't found safe places then we wouldn't have got him.

and that i think is a responsible approach

I know and sometimes all the planning in the word goes up in the air but I do believe you have got a dog with both SH and Malamute in his breeding and both these breeds are know to have high prey drives so it was always going to be a strong possibility. Regardless of how you justify it to yourself and the reasons for it happening - your dog chases sheep and you have been given great advice of how to work with him. I can never agree with punishing him for doing what comes naturally to him.

But it comes naturally to him to poo wherever he wants - I had to TRAIN him to get him to go outside. Just because a behaviour 'comes naturally' doesn't mean it's acceptable. Besides, as I said, he wasn't BORN wanting to chase sheep - he developed a compulsive obsession.

my staff showed no interest in chasing rabbits for nearly a year of living in my new house, nor squirrels, to the point that i can back one day with him and coco my cav to discover the hutch was open, the cav went flying off after the rabbit ( stopping dead when she got there ha ) paddy literally sat watched.
Now he is a different animal and i am sure his interest has been aroused because of Lolas appearance and her high chse drive

Have you stopped him pooing? -no. Did you train him to do it outside with an E collar? - no. Sorry I don't see the comparison
Do you not accept that your dogs breeding means that he wants to chase things? You keep on saying he has a compulsive obsession but what does that mean in real terms?

as someone with a broken leg at the moment, and far too much time to spend on the computer, all I can say to that is









OUCH!!!!!!

At least you have an excuse, hope it is on the mend

I think you'll find that some breeds have a higher prey drive than others - not every dog breed is the same in many repsects, and correct me if I'm wrong but NI's have Siberian Husky in them and they have a very high prey drive that is not learnt but instinctive.
I do understand your dilemma, but I really think you should put the safety of your dog and the livestock first. You'll see from the top of my post what breed I own, and why I'm saying this...