It sounds to me as though your dog has a high prey drive where sheep are concerned (as have many dogs) so I would be inclined to keep him on a lead at all times where you may come into contact with livestock, and perhaps try one of the stop-pull harnesses if he is extra strong and difficult to control around sheep. It is unlikely with a dog like this that you will ever be able to trust him off lead, and tbh I would be wary of trying to desensitise him to sheep, as it may actually increase his interest if he is around them regularly.

You are currently doing everything in your power to keep your dog safe and happy, and to protect the sheep from being worried - so I would just continue as you are, with (as I have said) perhaps the help of a stop-pull harness.

Thanks for all your replies. I knew a lot of people on here would have experience of working dogs, sheep etc.

Very true about the thrill of the chase, sheep running is the ONLY thing that gets him so wound up and excited, he generally ignores other dogs, sits calmly at the side of the arena when our other is doin agility etc, never gettin the slightest bit excited..he's very laid back usually!

Tbh, I would be too anxious to desensitise him to sheep by being in close proximity of a load of them, as much as I think it might well help.

I will be definately be keeping him on his extendable, and packing the lunge line in my bag!

Isle of Skye we're going to this year - somebody tell me it's not a sheep haven lol surely not all the coastline?!

I'll be packing a tastier picnic for the dogs than for us too! anything to try to get his attention off the sheep!

Last time I was on Sky there were indeed a lot of sheep! We had one of our sheep badly savaged by a dog, bitten down to the bone on its face. It survived but it was not at all pretty to look at. I don't think that there is any suggestion you should try and desensatize your dog without proper help. Depending on wher you live you may have a local sheep dog trainer or even a farmer who may be able to help you. You could try looking on the ISDS website to see if there are any trainers close to you. Possibly someone in the Small Shepherds Club could help. If you know that your dog is not going to be a problem you will be able to relax and enjoy yourself a lot more!

Unfortunately I can't tell you there are no sheep on Skye, as there are lots

However, you will be able to find some sheep-free forests and woods and also beaches (although beware, as sometimes sheep are grazed on the edge of beaches).

The key thing is just to have your dog on his extendable lead or on a long line and then you have peace of mind and aren't trying to scan the horizon constantly.

I visit Kintail and Wester Ross a lot and there are lots of sheep-free mountain walks (although you will most likely encounter red deer, which can smell very like sheep to a dog, and also often invoke the same chase response), and there are also some large Forest areas.

If I were you, I would be checking out the Forestry Commission website, as well as trying to locate a good walk book from the tourist board, which should give an indication of some nice livestock-free walks.

If you are dedicated to stopping him chasing sheep then google Angela Stockdale. She runs courses designed to stop sheep worrying dogs and is extremely experienced.

A staffie attacked one of our sheep last year and also bit her face right down to the skull. Unfortunately she had to be put down

As I have said in my earlier post, if you would like to look at desensitising him to sheep, then I do think an experienced dog trainer would be the way to go - who has experience of sheep worrying dogs - ie Angela Stockdale. My mentor (and top sheepdog man), Thomas Longton, has had sheep chasing dogs in for aversion training before, and so I am sure some farmers/shepherds will have the experience and inclination to help, however there aren't many and at this time of year they are all too busy with lambing.

I hope you have a lovely holiday & that the sheep have taken themselves off to the mainland for the duration.

It is clearly predatory behaviour, & specifically targetted towards sheep. This would be why you don't get the same reaction in the agility arena ~ other dogs are not prey items!!

I knew they'd be fat chance of their being less sheep on Skye, even the islands reached by ferry are still flippin covered in sheep LOL!

Funny enough, he's ok with deer (when he's on lead I mean), we saw LOADS last year, every day! and he perked his ears up, but not in the same way sheep do.

Yes, Moobli, my other concern was that farmers are just too busy to really want to help us, when the simple solution is just to keep him on a lead. We have a few local farmers round here who we have gotten to know quite well, just by walking the dogs and hanging round the livery yard, however, I still wouldn't feel comfortable asking them to help somehow, a little cheeky.

I will have a look at Angela Stockdale, fancy there being such a thing as courses to stop sheep worrying, brilliant.

I'd go with Angela rather than a farmer . I suspect some farmers may still use ways such as putting dogs in with a tup and this can end up in various ways - dogs being hurt, dogs hating sheep, or if the owner is lucky, dogs avoiding sheep.

http://www.dogpartnership.com/workshop-diary.htm I can't find her usual website, but only googled quickly. It had a lot more info on

This may also be of interest. David Ryan lives in Cumbria, is ex police dog handler and chairman of the APBC and his main interest is predatory chasing

http://www.dog-secrets.co.uk/how-do-...y-dog-chasing/

And there is also Roger Mugford's place (Surrey area?) where they do a similar thing. All 3 will work in slightly different ways so if you go to any of these, check you are comfy with methods used. To be honest, I'd say keep him on lead if there is any likelihood at all of a sheep, and maybe just get DRs book to inform yourself a bit more about the subject as it has some useful tips.Be wary that some dogs who are real predatory chasers will seek to get out of a house or garden to find sheep. So do watch out if your boy knows sheep are "about" in case he is one of these.

When in the Lake District, we kept my dog on harness and long lead (double ended training lead) all the time, even if it looked safe (sheep can pop up anywhere, even beaches... ) but we did find Rothay Park near Ambleside where we could happily let her off. So do take care and be wary of places looking safe!!!

Hth
Wys
x

Thankyou Wys, I will have a look at the links now. And have a look for David Ryan's book on amazon.

Yes, I reackon he would jump fences etc to get to sheep. We always stay in cottages each time we go, and always with enclosed gardens, but even then I keep him on his long line on his late night wee! a four foot fence is nothing to him, and definately not our other (who now takes an interest in sheep too, grr, bound too, Zeke's her (usually so good) role model!) she's just started doing agility! haha!

It's on his website which may be easier, not sure if Amazon sell it http://www.dog-secrets.co.uk/shop/bo...asing-in-dogs/

Good luck with it and your holiday too.

Wys
x