by Marcia King
There they are: your two best friends. “Fred” has been your buddy since you were a teenager, sharing your victories and disappointments, always steadfast and reliable. “Bonnie” has only been part of your life for a couple of months, but you’ve hit it off in a big way and look forward to a long and active friendship.
Now you want them to meet and be best buds, too, so the three of you can share pleasurable times together. But like all relationships, it’s hard to predict how this is going to go: Fred is your middle-aged Quarter Horse; Bonnie is your Border Collie puppy.
While you’ve seen many agreeable horse/dog combinations amongst your friends’ animals, you’ve also seen dogs that are relentless about chasing horses or clueless about avoiding horses’ legs. You’ve also witnessed horses that are unreasonably terrified over dogs, as well as the occasional horse that actually runs after and attacks any dog hapless enough to stray into her pasture.
How can you help foster a safe, compatible relationship between your animals?
Reasonable Expectations
For a start, you need to realize that your success or failure begins with the individuals involved.
“Horses have a good reputation for developing buddy relationships with a variety of species other than their own,” states Sharon Crowell-Davis, DVM, professor of veterinary behaviour at the University of Georgia. “Dogs are the same way. However, it depends on the individuals.”
In some cases, certain horses or dogs are just not going to get along with the other species.
Herding dogs, for example, have a strong instinct to nip at the heels of large animals, notes Nancy L. Dougherty, American Kennel Club judge. That doesn’t mean a herding dog will start nipping and rounding up horses, but herding is a trait for which they’ve been bred, so these breeds might need close watching and extra training.
Dogs with a history of aggression, chasing joggers or bicyclers, or going out hunting other animals on their own are more risky, warns Crowell-Davis.
“These dogs are probably going to transfer those same behaviours to a horse,” she said. “This dog may be okay back in the barn when horses are just standing around, but once they get out on the trail and the horse is trotting along, all of a sudden the dog alerts to the moving target and its predatory instincts could come out.”
Bigger dogs, too, present more of a risk to horses, should they attack.
On the other hand, some horses react with great fear or aggression around dogs. “You can try to calm these horses, to desensitize them, but if your horse is really afraid of or aggressive toward dogs, you may not be able to change that behaviour,” says cutting horse competitor Kate Running DVM, of Texas. She noted that some horses are aggressive only in their own territory, i.e., their pastures, but when under saddle on the trail, they ignore dogs.
Faced with these hurdles, you could employ the services of a reputable equine or canine behaviourist, but it’s possible that a horse or dog fitting the above description can never be trusted alone or at liberty with the other species, and you’ll need to accept that.
The First Date
Happily, odds are your horse and dog will get along fine, especially if you’re smart about how you introduce them to each other.
Sure, there’s the, “Let-nature-take-its-course,” approach of: “If the dog is dumb enough to get so close he gets kicked, maybe that’ll learn him,” if you don’t mind your dog ending up with cracked ribs, a fractured skull, disabled, or dead, and you don’t mind setting up a lifetime scenario for your horse in which it associates all dogs as enemies.
The best approach is to make gradual introductions in a calm manner and controlled environment, whether you’re introducing a horse and dog where neither has met the other species before, or whether it’s a new experience for just one animal.
“Ideally, you have a well-established, trusting relationship with your horse and your dog knows basic obedience – come, sit, stay, down – before you begin,” says Running. This enables you to assure and calm a nervous horse and help maintain control over your dog.
“Begin by letting horse and dog see each other from a distance,” says Crowell-Davis. Your dog should be on a leash and your horse in a paddock or pasture. Don’t make a big deal out of it; curiosity or disinterest and a calm atmosphere is all you want. Try this for a few minutes for a couple of days.
Next, let the animals get a little closer. “Let your dog walk through the barn with you while you feed stalled horses,” says Running, “or when you go out to pasture to feed. Make sure your dog doesn’t go after the horse. Most of the real acceptance comes with everyone going about their daily routine until they just quietly incorporate all this as routine.”
After a few days of letting the dog hang out while you feed the horse, try for more intimate contact. Suggests Crowell-Davis, “Put the horse in crossties or have a friend hold the horse while the leashed dog is walked nearby. If they do okay, let them get close enough to each other–nose-to-nose contact; that little greeting behaviour that both species do.”
If either animal is nervous, try to calm them with pats or a reassuring voice, but don’t force the issue, just try again the next day. If either animal acts aggressively, remove them from the situation. As soon as the animals are calm, reward them with a treat or a pat.
You’ll know you’ve succeeded in creating a good match when horse and dog are in each other’s presence and just go about their own business, ignoring each other in a relaxed, calm manner. “Some will be oblivious to each other, some will engage in a greeting behaviour where they touch noses,” Crowell-Davis says.
Both dogs and horses share a similar, peak socialization age (about three to 12 weeks for dogs and four to 12 weeks for horses) when they are more accepting of other animals around them, says Crowell-Davis.
Hold your puppy up to sniff noses with a friendly horse for a few minutes a day. Be sure not to let the puppy run loose around horses, as it could startle a horse and get the puppy kicked.
Young horses raised in a herd where they see horse-friendly dogs might need little or no formal introductions. “That goes a very long way to acclimating them to that dog because nobody else around them is getting upset, so why should they,” Running says.
“A lot of times you see dogs and horses playing, especially colts because they’re so curious and they want to play.”
Generally, once a horse gets used to a dog, it’s okay with all dogs, and vice versa. But there are exceptions, Running warns, so it’s always best to employ introductory exercises with new horses and dogs.
Out and About
Many horse/dog owners prefer to allow their dogs to roam the premises unsupervised while their horses are turned out.
“Signs that suggest it’s okay to leave them alone together are when your dog has a complete disinterest in the horse and the horse sees, but doesn’t react to the dog,” Running says. “But understand that you always run a risk. Anything can happen.”
Running never confines her Border Collie, which is trained to stay close to the barn and outbuildings. “I don’t confine her because I need her as a watchdog,” Running says.
“Her job is to herd cattle when we need her to work, protect the barn cats, keep wildlife from coming into the area, and patrol the grounds. The horses are used to her, and she’s used to the horses, yet I would not absolutely, beyond a shadow of a doubt say there’ll never be a problem.”
Countless horse/dog owners also want to ride with their dogs at their sides. To do so safely, especially off-premises, requires additional training, particularly for the dog. You need to train your dog to accompany you off-lead at a safe distance from your horse – to learn not to dawdle on the trail, go chasing after other critters, or to get too close to your horse’s legs.
For starts, your dog needs to respond to the basic commands of come, sit, down, and stay; a basic obedience class with a competent instructor helps a lot. You should be able to call your dog if he starts to wander off and to have the dog wait in place while you tend to other matters.
Once he understands the basics in a familiar, non-distracting place, test him not just at home, but off premises, as he needs to obey amid the distractions of other people, horses, dogs, and so forth. When you have good command of your dog and achieve consistently good responses, you can begin training your dog to move with, but not too close to, your horse.
“Teach the dog a command to turn away from something, like ‘leave it,’ “ says Karla Hamlin, BS (Communications and Public Relations), registered veterinary technician, and certified pet dog trainer.
Start the training without the horse. “As the dog approaches you, say ‘leave it’ or ‘back,’ walk toward the dog, and throw a handful of treats behind the dog, causing him to turn away from you. After he starts to get the idea, try not to let the dog see you throwing the treats. You want the dog to find the treats and be rewarded when he responds to the ‘leave it’ command by turning away.
After many successful repetitions, try using the command and randomizing the rewards after getting a correct response while in various places in relation to the dog – on the couch, on a porch with the dog on the ground, and finally on a horse standing still, then moving. By the time you use this with a horse, you should be using few or no rewards.”
If the dog is responding well, train the dog to accompany a mounted horse. “Have someone ride or walk the horse in a safe place while you walk the dog on a Gentle Leader Headcollar (a type of training collar) next to the horse,” Hamlin says.
“If you don’t have a Gentle Leader, use a flat collar for sensitive dogs. It is important to avoid keeping the lead taut, as often the more you pull the dog away, the more the dog wants to go forward. Reward or praise the dog calmly for walking near, but not under foot.”
Repeat the exercise with someone else walking the dog near the horse while you’re riding the horse, to make sure the dog is not going to act differently when the owner is mounted.
“Eventually, you’ll have to see if the dog remains calm while the horse trots, canters, or gallops,” says Hamlin. “Some dogs may be fine around a horse until it begins to move fast. After the dog has learned to walk calmly near, but not interfering with, the horse, you can add more horses and do the same thing.”
Another method is to have the young dog accompany a dog that will model good behaviour around a horse, Hamlin adds. “Brace a seasoned dog with a young dog and walk the two alongside a horse on a trail or down a lane daily for a few weeks, again with one person handling the horse and the dog owner handling the dogs.”
Never attempt to leash a dog to a horse or to try to ride and hold a long line, Hamlin warns, as the dog could get the line tangled in the legs of the horse or pull the rider off of the horse. Don’t use clicker training for these exercises if both horse and dog have been clicker trained, as it could cause confusion. Also, don’t turn to an electronic dog collar as a quick fix.
“You are much better off working with a reputable trainer,” says Hamlin. “There are a lot of collars on the market and some are much better than others.
If a collar is appropriate, an experienced and knowledgeable trainer will show you how to use one successfully, which requires proper introduction, timing, and settings that get the correct response without confusing the dog.”
For dog training tips, Hamlin recommends Joanne Plumb’s Canine Training Systems videos, Bruce Fogle’s books, Jean Donaldson’s Culture Clash, Karen Pryor’s Don’t Shoot the Dog!: The New Art of Teaching and Training, and Janet Lewis’ Smart Trainers’ Brilliant Dogs.
If you wish to work with a dog trainer, watch them train, talk with their students, and ask for references.
By applying the same sensitive training methods you use for teaching your horse and dog other skills, you can maximize the success of your two buddies being safe companions.
