The thread for bad farm dogs

[NotabitaiI]

Just curious to see if anyone else keeps a dog who is not well suited to a farm. I've got one who is not meant for the farm life, I've tried many different training methods but I can't train his prey drive away, can't desensitize him, can't redirect him, and I don't see a future where he improves and calms down. I'm okay with that and I keep him separated from the animals, he is indoors primarily and he LOVES his humans, he lives a happy life here and I've worked around his special needs and I will continue to do so for the next 10-15 years. Let me know where you draw your lines, how you train your high prey drive dogs, what methods you think work, why dogs haven't worked out etc.
Please don't fight, I think this topic is important even if it's controversial to keep a high prey drive dog on a farm.

 

[NotabitaiI]

My first bad dog was my Aussie, she was raised in the suburbs with only dog and cat friends. After killing several chickens I worked on desensitizing her, she eventually learned to share her space with them and it was very common to look out the window and see the chickens dust bathing right next to her in the holes she dug. She was always a little rotten with the little animals though, one of the last things she did was try to sneak away with a guinea pig, I found her slobbering the poor thing up while it squealed with joy and sat contentedly while being basted in drool.

 

[NotabitaiI]

Another one was my lab mix, he also came from the suburbs, a couple of scoldings was all it took to make him a great farm dog. He learned quick and regularly shadowed me as I did all the animal chores, he was a really amazing farm dog and I hope I can someday have another like him.

 

[NotabitaiI]

My current mini Aussie is a little too smart for his own good, he knows when I'm gone he can mess with the animals, but if I am with him he's a little gentleman. He never harms them, he just pushes them around, I think his problem is just not having a job, he craves some sort of chase or task but has no real chore so he resorts to playful chasing. I'm hoping to teach him to put up the ducks and goats. He's super obedient and intuitive so it won't take much training.

 

[murphynhazel12]

I've got a dog who just can't be trusted around any small animal. When we had ducklings, she got out and got one in her mouth! Fortunately the duckling was alright, but anything that's small and moves is like an extra-exciting toy to her.