Does anyone know how to make my dog stop barking at my neighbor's horses?

Question

my dog always goes to the horses and bothers them. she once even bit the horses leg, but wasnt hurt. the owner of the horses gets mad so what should i do? i need help!

well my dog is trained except when she goes outside she get all crazy with the horses. when we bring her inside she is so calm and listens to every command i say.
also she is a german shepherd and she is soooooo protective! i love her so much!

she only bit the horse when she went into their yard but she did that once! but everyday she barks at them and the horses dont like it.

i am telling you she is trained!!! i what i was trying to say is that she gets crazy in front of horses!

we even took her to a special training place where she stayed for 2 week 24/7, i mean she slept their because where we put her was a place where you cant pick up up your dog in one day and bring her back the next day!

Answer 1

Well, first of all (yes, I am going all legal on you) but you need to purchase a fence it sounds like if possible. I know this is hard for some people but if possible it is the best solution. I know that there are a lot of legal cases that go to court about dogs biting horses so I thought I would mention it to you before something serious happens. For now though, if you can't get a fence or a "runner", I would suggest a few things.
1. Try taking your dog out on a lease and training her when her area is and where she shouldn't go. It is important to walk the area of your yard each time and tell her "no!" with an authoritive voice when she tries to go over the area you wish her to stay in.
2. When she barks, you tell her "no!" in an authoritive voice. Our neighbors always tell this to their dog "no, that is only the neighbors, don't bark" and she stops. She is barking because she is trying to protect you from these "beasts".
3. Talk to your neighbors about their horses being out and about if they are not in a fence. It is illegal to not have horses in a fenced in location at all times.
4. Stay outside with your dog and make sure that she is staying in your yard. Make sure you use an authoritive voice with her when she is getting close to the horses location. Never yell however use a voice that you would use with your kids.
Training is the key - she just has to be taught what is right and what is not right. Good Luck!

Answer 2

First, understand your dog's behavior. German Shepherds were initialy bred to be herding animals. Many still retain the herding instinct. If your dog was nipping at the ankles or underbelly of the horse, it is trying to herd the horse. Now it may have nowhere in mind to 'herd' the horse to, but that is what is happening here.

This can be dangerous to your dog, as well as to the horse owner or anyone around the horse when the dog is nipping. The horse can wheel and kick at the dog, and end up kicking it's owner. Or if it lands a kick on your dog, you dog can end up with broken bones. Either way, this needs to be avoided, because you, as the dog's owner will be liable for any injury sustained.

I have had horses and German shepherds for over 30 yrs. Once the dog 'learns' they can move the horse by barking or nipping, it can be a difficult habit to break.
Letting your dog out in an area away from the neighbor's horses would be the logical choice. But this may not be possible. I would suggest you enroll yourself and your dog in an obedience class. You say your dog is trained, so move him up a level to an advanced class where both you, and he, will learn off-leash commands. As you both learn the commands, and become more proficient with them, both you and your neighbor will be happier. Until you can manage an advanced obedience course, you might want to somehow block your dog's access to the horse's pasture area.
(Sidenote: never let someone else train your dog for you, it's akin to letting someone take driver's ed. for you, you may get the license, but the other person is the one who knows how to drive the car)

Answer 3

I once had an elderly lady for a friend. She had a wonderful little dog. A mix of some sort. She had the dog trained well and it behaved very well. Learn here https://tr.im/eNoWU

She kept an uncovered candy dish on her coffee table with candy in it. The dog was forbidden to eat the candy. When she was in the room observing the dog he did not even appear to notice the candy. One day while she was in her dinning room she happened to look in a mirror and could see her dog in the living room. He did not know he was being watched. For several minutes he was sitting in front of the candy bowl staring at the candy. Finally he reached in and took one. He placed it on the table and stared at it, he woofed at it. He stared some more, licked his chops and PUT IT BACK in the bowl and walked away. Did he want the candy, oh yeah. Did he eat it? Nope. They can be trained that well but most, I'll admit, are not trained that well. When I was a young boy, maybe 5 years old. We had a german shepherd. He was very well trained also. My mom could leave food unattended on the table, no problem. She would open the oven door and set a pan roast beef or roast chicken on the door to cool. No problem. He would not touch it, watched or not. But butter? Whole other story. You leave a stick of butter anywhere he could reach and it was gone. He was a large shepherd so there were not many places he could not reach. Really, I think the number of dogs trained to the point they will leave food alone when not being supervised is very small indeed.
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Now if we are talking obedience training, not food grubbing, that is a different story. Way back when I was first learning obedience training one of the final exercises was to put our dogs in a down/stay and not only leave the room but leave the building for 15 minutes. The only person that stayed was our trainer, not the owners. Most of the dogs in my class did not break their stay, which would be an automatic fail. I'm happy to report my dog was one of the ones that passed.

Answer 4

I would try a bark collar. They have automatic ones that "shock" when the dog barks and ones where you have to push a button when you want the "shock". If this is happening when you are not near the dog I would get the automatic one. Some people say these are cruel, but it only takes a few "shocks" before they learn to stop barking.

Answer 5

Training discs would work in this kind of situation. They come with instructions on how to condition your dog to the sound of them. You do need help to do this & I recommend a dog trainer who has experience in using them. If not a friend can help you, as it does need two people.

Answer 6

Dogs bark. It is part of their normal and natural communication and behavior. Dogs can bark for appropriate and good reasons, such as when strangers approach our house, they hear an odd noise, or they are herding sheep. Most of us want our dogs to be "watch dogs" and alert us to anything unusual. But dogs can also bark inappropriately. In two scientific surveys of dog owners, approximately 1/3 of them reported their dogs barked excessively. To control barking in our dogs, we first need to understand why they are barking.




If you want to control barking, you need a dog who can obey you and relax. The dog needs to look to you for behavior clues. If you can call her, have her lie down (dogs do not bark as much when lying down) and stay, we are well on the way to solving a nuisance barking problem.

First, in most cases shouting "No" is only going to make matters worse since the dog is thinking you are barking too (and is probably happy you joined in).

Be patient with your dog and yourself. Changing behavior takes a lot of time, and you need to take it slowly, one step at a time. If you become angry at your dog, the chance to correctly modify the behavior will be gone.


Reward the dog for good behavior. Positive reinforcement is much more powerful than punishment. Physical punishment will do nothing but make your dog fearful of you and break down the bond you wish to have with her. Food treats are fine to use as a reward at first. Often, picking a very special treat like small pieces of cooked chicken or hot dog will make the reward seem even better. As time goes on, you will not give a treat every time, sometimes just rewarding with a "Good Dog" and a pat on the dog's chest.


Do not hug your dog, talk soothingly, or otherwise play into your dog's barking. Your dog may then believe there really was something of which to be alarmed, afraid, or anxious. This reinforces her behavior and she will likely bark even more the next time.

Answer 7

Well you take the dog and train it or get it a personal dog trainer.

Answer 8

you could try buying a barking collar or every time he barks give him a slap an the nose it'll get his attention. just make sure its not too hard

Answer 9

Dont let your dog see them at all or get anywhere near them. Sorry, but that is basically the only solution.
Good luck = )

Answer 10

!!!!!!!THIS WORKS!!!!!!!

THIS WORKS!!!!!!!!!
take her right to the horses. hold her. let her sniff them. Give her a treat if she doesnt bark, if she does let her look at the treat.