The dog just jumped over a stable door and chased a flock of sheep

[wishesandkisses]

I'm suprised he wasn't shot. Probably the 50th post I've put about him. I'm at my wits end.

Yeah, he was lucky.

Was he on a lead? What breed and age?

Beagle X. And no we were at my horse and when I go get my horse from the field I leave the dog and my mums dog in the stable with chews. I just had my horse in my hand and I looked in the sheep's field and they were all running with my dog chasing them. My yard owner running after them. He'd jumped a 4 and a half foot stable door. I'm mortified.

You were lucky. He would have been round where I come from. And I'm afraid my sympathy is with the sheep...

Talk to a trainer, and get urgent assessment of whether he is retrainaable, re home him to an urban setting, keep him tied up.

Is he castrated?

I do feel for you, I know I need to keep my ddog on a lead round livestock..

You're going to have to tie him up to one if the rings in the stable in the short term. But my advice still stands.

And beagles are notorious for training.

Good luck. Your heart may have to break one way or another.

Leave the dogs at home or in the car whilst you get the horse .

I think the trainer is definitely an option. I've been close to tears all night. I never thought he'd be able to jump that high or I wouldn't have left him. He never even whines. He was so lucky not to be shot. But yes, i'm getting a trainer.

Also, yes he is castrated. He's never even looked at a sheep before whilst walking. I don't know what possessed him today.

I bought two stubborn, clever bitchy old cull ewes to teach my dog not to chase sheep. It's no fun to chase when they stand up to you and charge back.

You'll need to work like hell to make sure this doesn't happen again.

Beagles are not easy.

Good luck.

I don't have much advice but in the meantime could you shut the top stable door so there's is no way he can jump over?

There isn't a top or I would do! He's not coming again. That's a good idea about the sheep but nowhere to put them!

Oh no, nightmare situation! :( Was it just your dog chasing him or both? We had people grazing at our place some years ago, one day I looked up and here is a girl riding in the arena and my dog bearing down on her and her horse at a great rate of knots. Thank goodness her horse didn't react, I was mortified. Made sure it didn't happen again (gate unlatched, me being sloppy) but in the case of chasing sheep for me it would be PTS as rehoming isn't always a guarantee that they won't be able to escape and having seen so many horrible accounts and pics of the aftermath of sheep worried I couldn't forgive myself it it happened again. That is just me though. I feel for you.

It's hard to face but sheep worrying is a terrible trait in a dog. If you live near livestock, I would consider PTS. My father would have shot him on sight. Awful for you though. You have my sympathy.

Nightmare! I would think retraining a reliable recall / inhibition of attempts to chase sheep would be pretty difficult now he has experienced the super-reinforcement of running after them. A bummer if you've been able to be relaxed so far.
But managing to ensure there is no opportunity is what most people have to do / should do anyway. From experience even those who think their dog won't chase sheep can find they were wrong, to the dog and sheep's cost!
I think sometimes they have safely been in the vicinity of quietly grazing sheep before, but the fact they run too close / near an age group who are more easily startled, cause sheep run away which triggers the chase instinct.

tie the wee bugger up!!!

PTS is a massive overreation! Most non-retrieving breeds will usually chase other animals that run away from them (cats, squirrels, deer, sheep etc)

Often you cannot reliably train this behaviour out, as the 'chase' is too rewarding, and will be reinforced by playing 'fetch' encouraging ball chases etc, but its pretty easy to keep a dog secure so that it doesn't have access to sheep. I've no idea if my dogs would worry sheep (they've never had the chance despite living in an area where there are lots for the last 5 years), but they will chase squirrels, deer etc. So I assume that they would if given the opportunity. To say that they should be PTS'd because they would chase sheep (if given the opportunity) is bonkers!

Its pretty easy to keep a dog under control - those of you that would PTS rather than take responsibility astonish me!

Absolutely agree with sunshine ,I'm sure my terrier would chase sheep so I don't give him the oppurtunity ,if he's anywhere near any livestock he is on a secure lead .

PTS??? bloody hell!

Just don't take him, then he can't chase them. Shame because it will mean he has to stay at home but unless you can stop him from worrying the sheep (this term is quite a comedy term for something quite serious imo) he is in danger of being shot.

I would have not a snowballs chance in hell in stopping my dogs if they spotted a field full of playmates sheep so they are never off the lead around farms.

Either leave him home, or sort out a tether for him at the stables. Daft dog.

PTS is way OTT. Look, any dog will run after something that's running away. There is a substantial difference from the dog's point of view (not the chased animal's point of view, obviously) and from the retraining point of view between a gleeful gallop after something that's running away, and a ferocious hunt. My dog has chased most animals once or twice (a joyous wooHOO! look at us running! sort of thing) but has been very intently trained to become stockproof and is now as steady as can be.
It takes a lot of work and attention to teach a dog to respect stock but it can certainly be done, even after a few errors.
Otherwise it's forever on the lead or left at home.

Well, round where I come from, a sheep and dairy area, I'm afraid there is one chance and that is only if the chase has been short with no attacking. After that it is being shot. Or re homed to an urban area with v strict instructions. Not only is it cruel to the sheep, but it is people's livelihood and livestock farming is having a bad time.

But first, try your trainer. Do get a beagle specialist because they are buggers.

Oh yes shooting or rehoming - reasonable and proportionate alternatives to just being responsible

I've never said shooting is what I would do. But if I were a subsistence farmer seeing some of my basic living money being endangered and perhaps dying as a result of someone's unwitting (or' not in this case but others, witting behaviour) yes I would be tempted.

If you've never lived on that basis, don't be critical.

And all of us have said try to retrain, keep tied up, in the first instance.

I don't think anyone has said that farmers are not within their rights to shoot a dog if it is worrying their sheep ,they clearly are the point was that you don't have a dog PTS because it may chase sheep if it gets loose - you just ensure that the dog never gets the chance to do so .

We had ours PTS for sheep chasing
In fairness he had caught one and was tearing at its throat when I eventually managed to catch him. A totally different scenario to the OP but sometimes "training and vigilance" is simply not a responsible option, or indeed even practical.

If you tie him up, use a chain. I've given up on using fabric leads / rope in mine. He bites through them so quickly.

We do not have livestock in our area (mainly arable) but he will chase seagulls over the fields, cats that are not our own who dare to venture in the garden and other dogs. (border terrier)

There is a woman in the Lake District who specialises in training dogs to not chase sheep. If you're concerned about this in particular it might be worth a Google. Think you leave the dog with her for a weekend and it comes back guaranteed to never look at a sheep again. As long as poor dog isn't trained by spending the weekend being trampled by sheep!

My dog would chase sheep given a chance. she tries chasing ducks, cyclists, pheasants. She killed one of my chickens last week. I keep her on a lead unless we're in a known arable only area.