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family dogs have killed three of our sheep

Monty and Buster

Both males from same litter, both neutered. We have 1 acre with chickens, ducks and sheep (sheep are tethered in the garden to eat the grass). Dogs have always been good with our 3 kids (14yrs, 10yrs, 6yrs,) come back when called. They bark and guard the house when guests arrive ay house, people are weary of them but they have never harmed. However, since we all hand reared a rejected lamb - to which the dogs were friendly with and cuddled up to - When eldest son was home alone they ripped the lamb to shreds. My son was very harsh on them, but the next day we forgave them and made sure they were tethered when we were not around ( which they are used to). 5 days later whilst we were around (but not in front of us), they killed adult female sheep, and last night (5days on) they killed another adult female. Our two youngest kids now feel scared of the dogs, is there any solution to this situation? And is there a reason why this has happened now, we love our dogs and are a big part of our family life. Many thanks in advance for your prompt response and help - Lisa and family.

Symptoms: Behavioral

• Experienced Advisor Rosie Barclay says:

  June 09th, 2009 at 08:33 AM

  How awful for you I am so sorry.

  Dogs are a predatory species and sheep unfortunately are prey and your dogs were doing what comes naturally to some dogs. In your profile you say that the dogs are collie crossed with GSDs so its likely they will have a strong prey drive. Humans are generally viewed as competitors/group members rather than prey so unless they suddenly view your children as prey they should not repeat this behaviour towards your children. However, I wouldn't ever leave small children unattended with ANY dog.

  It is understandable that your children would be afraid and I strongly suggest that if you wish to keep the dogs that you seek the advice from a fully qualified pet behaviourist in your area. Your vet should have contact details. However, please make sure that the behaviourist is qualified see www.apbc.org  (if in the UK or the equivalent in the USA). The wrong type of training in this instance could be disastrous. It will take time for you to trust the dogs again and this is quite natural but try and remain calm and react normally towards them as they really won't know what they have done wrong after the event. They will know something’s wrong but not what exactly. Some trainers might suggest that you use aversion therapy or shock collars to stop your dogs chasing and killing sheep but this is always fraught with difficulty and may lead to increased aggression in the dogs as they may not really understand why they are being punished. If you are going to keep sheep, don't keep dogs and vice versa unless it’s a very small dog that has brought up with them. We have to think about the welfare of the animals here, would your dogs have a good quality of life if they were always around sheep as they may become quite frustrated that they couldn’t get to them and that they were continually being punished for doing what comes naturally and would the sheep be happy knowing that there were two dogs wanting to eat them around?

  The children will also have been traumatised and will need to learn to trust the dogs again slowly so it’s important that you react calmly and seek help with this.

  It is always a harrowing experience and why farmers will shoot dogs if they start to attack the sheep. The fact they have actually killed the sheep means that they do show that uninhibited killing behaviour and they may not stop at sheep, the hens etc may also be killed. It’s a difficult decision for you to make and I am sure talking it over with someone qualified will help enormously.

  Good luck and best wishes

  Rosie Barclay

   

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• Gabriella suggests:

  September 26th, 2009 at 11:47 AM

  I'm very sorry. . . I could kind of see them doing that to the first sheep because he came home and they wanted all the attention, but continuing doing it is VERY strange and truthfully I'd probably be scared of the dogs as well. Have they EVER done this before or shown any aggression? They may have become acclimated to the taste of blood by now, and you NEED to discipline them... I suggest keeping them away from any small children. And trust me I know this sounds drastic because they're a member of the family and they've never hurt anyone, but this is ANYTHING BUT normal behavior, and they may become violent with small children or any children if there's any excitation or stress. They may actually have rabies. Check for and bites, scratches, or any form of blood drawing wound on either one of them. Rabies isn't just the dog goes completely psycho, there are different stages and no symptoms can arise for up to several months. I strongly suggest contacting professional behaviorists and your vet. Good Luck, Gabriella

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• Gabriella suggests:

  September 26th, 2009 at 02:15 PM

  It also could be a dominance thing. If you ever see it again then make sure to see who lunges in first. Because, dogs are pack animals and will most likely follow what the other is doing. Kind of like toddlers. One could be the problem, meaning if that one's removed than the other could never do it again. Good Luck, Gabriella

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