Dog infatuated with my tortoises, need help

I have a Puggle, Millie who is crazy about getting at my tortoises. She barks at them constantly and will not leave them alone. When Fred and Ethel are outside in their enclosure and Millie goes out she makes a beeline for it and will run around it until she finds one of them. Once she finds one, she will bark and bite at the fence trying to get in. She will do this for hours if I let her. I had to increase the strength of the fencing, so she could not break in. Once she gets an idea in her little head she will not stop.

Does anyone know of a way that I can get her to calm down? I have had two trainers come to the house and they tried working with her, but to no avail. She has a one-track mind and it to get Fred and Ethel. She used to go after squirrels my solution was to put up a squirrel feeder and over stimulate her with them this worked after about 2 weeks, but Fred and Ethel have been going on for a year now and she still will not let them be. The mere mention of their names put her into a frenzy.

Any ideas would be appropriated.

Maybe squirt her with a hose when she does it? I'm sure it depends on the animal, but one squirt with the hose and my dog would never go around again.

there are electric/electronic fences you could put up - (or dig into the earth). Millie would have to wear a collar, she'd get a small jolt when she neared the place where the fenceless fence is. I have a friend back east who didn't have a regular fence, but had the electric fence line dug into the ground. Her dog behaved very well and didn't go near the fence line, no matter what the provacation.

good luck

teri

What about a shock collar with a remote, so you can shock him whenever he gets too close? I have heard this works well. The previous owner of my Lab had this done to keep him away from rattlers.

You didn't say how old Millie was. Could this be a jealousy issue?Which came first, the tortoises or the dog? I think her aggressive behavior towards the Torts are instinctive to her. What other disciplinary actions do you take to correct her? You said when she was going after the squirrels, you put up a squirrel feeder, but what did you do to correct her behavior?

If she is a young dog, perhaps you can get her some type of obedience training. This will assist her in listening to you, when you tell her "No" when she is biting at the fence and trying to get to the tortoises. Also, the water hose might work. It has for me in similar occassions with a fox terrier I once owned.

Good Luck and keep us posted.

Our desert tortoise, Timi, has been a constant source of interest to our Golden Retriever who thinks that she is a fascinating slow-moving rock. So far, the little wall between Timi's enclosure and the rest of the yard has been enough to keep the dog out - but we always supervise him just in case.

Here in Arizona snakes (the wild ones) are an issue with dogs. They offer snakeproofing classes for dogs because it is rather common for dogs and snakes to meet and it isn't so good for the dog! What they do is to put a shock collar on the dog and let it "play" with a rubber snake. When the dog approaches the snake it gets a mild shock. That sounds cruel; but dogs avoid snakes within a very short training period and it can save the dog's life. Perhaps that type of training might work with your pup when she encounters Fred and Ethel.

My next door nieghbor did the fence thing. The dogs would get out anyway and then be afraid to go back in the yard. It was a pain because they were at work all day and their dogs would be out. They were great people but flakey.

Millie is 4 I have had her for 3 years and the tortoises for 1. I have tried spraying her with a squirt bottle and it does nothing, she will actually come over and lick the bottle. The person who had Millie before me had an invisible fence, Millie would run through it and and then dig a hole under her horse fencing and chase her cows. After about an hour she would return back into her yard running through the fence like nothing. She has pellets in her back legs and chest from being shot for chasing my friends neighbor's cows. This is the reason my friend gave her to me because she could not stop her from doing it. Millie is a wonderful dog with people and cats besides that look out. I was hoping it was a phase, my other dog could care less about Fred or Ethel.
As far as what corrective behavior I have tried, bringing her back inside, spraying her with a squirt bottle, stayed outside with her and sat with her while she looked into the enclosure petting her and talking nice while not letting her bite or scratch at the pen. I have also tried sitting outside and rewarding her with a small treat for not bothering the tortoises. I have tried these things for weeks at a time with no change.
As far as the squirrels went I tried all the above and when that did not work I thought I would try the equivalent of Ritalin used for ADHD make her have so many squirrels showing up that it was just too much for her. This worked now she does not bark or pay attention to any squirrels in the front yard. Anywhere else she still chases and barks like mad at them.
I don't know if she thinks she is protecting me from these evil tortoises or if the beagle in her just want to chase and bark at everything.

I wasn't talking using a squirt bottle. I meant a full-powered drenching blast from your garden hose...

I think tom might be able to help.

Positive reinforcement for correct behavior. Put her in a sit or down and feed her a stream of treats as long as she's calm. Repeat, repeat again and again. This works! My aussie has been joyfully reactive when other dogs are barking at her. On Saturday morning I took her outside and the dogs across the street barked at us. (They are our beloved neighbors and they bark to greet us.) Ponette looked that them, looked at me, and chose to sit by my side, looking up at me. I was SOOO glad I had a cut-up hot dog in my pocket.

Ditto on the garden hose. Works for our minpin, lol.

A vinegar/water solution works great for training with a squirt bottle too

I wish I lived closer to you. This is a pretty easy fix. The problem with most trainers is they are used to dealing with the average, mild mannered house pet type of dog. You don't have that. Your dog is a very high-drive, INsensitive, work minded dog. The usual methods won't work with your type of dog.

Training can be broken down into two simple concepts. #1. If a behavior is followed by positive consequences, it will likely occur again. #2. If a behavior is followed by negative consequences, it will likely not occur again. The difference between a good trainer and a great trainer is the ability to read the dog (or animal) and not only know, but also apply whatever is appropriately positive or negative to THAT dog at THAT moment in time. Sometimes I use electric collars to "polish" competition level behaviors that were taught conventionally. During obedience, which is much "higher drive" than typical dog obedience, I'll usually set my remote at level 17-20 out of 100. You almost can't even feel it when you hold the collar against your forearm and hold the button down at this level. Its just a light tingle and its a way to remind the off leash dog that you can still "touch" him, even at a distance with no leash. During bite work, which is a combination of prey drive (your dog) and defensive drive I usually go to level 60-100 on that exact same dog on that exact same day. When YOUR dog is in drive, chasing after cows or tortoises or squirrels, any sort of normal correction will be simply ignored and tuned out. I bet the pellets and bb's didn't even slow him down. I love that sort of tenacity in a dog in the right situation, but most conventional dog trainers have no idea how to control it.

So, to solve your problem:
1. Find a trainer in your area who does competition level protection work. Good protection dog trainers understand the whole dog and his mindset. Conventional dog trainers are missing an enormous piece of the puzzle. Dog aggression and dominance/submission is a huge part of dog behavior, yet most trainers have no idea what to do with it and don't understand it. My boss is a great example. He has been a top level professional wild animal and dog trainer since the early 70's. You have seen his work for decades. He has no idea how I get my dogs to do what they do and openly admits that all of his training "instincts" take him in the entirely wrong direction. He finally told me after several years of watching me and several National bite work championships, "Tom. I don't understand it, but I can't argue with the results." This quote came after he was on the receiving end of an on-camera stunt, doubling an actor for a TV show. He was sure that he would either be torn up or that it just wouldn't work. It worked perfectly, as it always does. I get SOOOO many clients who were told by other trainers and vets to kill their incorrigible dogs, when for a trainer who works with these sort of dogs and this sort of drive, its so easy to fix.

2. Proper, I said PROPER, application of an e-collar should fix this in a few minutes. Proper use would take several pages to explain. The type of trainer from #1. above will be able to explain it to you very well.

3. Nowadays when people ask me how to get their dog to do something, I say, "Just make 'em do it." Or, "How do I get my dog to stop doing X?" I say, "Just make them stop it." It seems so simple to me because I have that kind of relationship with all the dogs I put my hands on and I know how and when to escalate to make the dog listen. You need to get that sort of relationship with YOUR dog and learn that skill set. The first and primary step to this is to put your dog on a leash and train him some PROPER obedience. Some dogs need cookies. Cookie-training is great. It is a valid and good method. Your dog doesn't need cookies. Your dog needs compulsion. He doesn't respect you and you need to MAKE him respect you. Be his leader first and his buddy later on. There is nothing wrong with your dog. He embodies what a dog ought to be in my opinion. But a strong minded dog like that needs a strong minded leader. You need to find a way to make attacking tortoises, cows and squirrels so negative that its just not worth it. A shout from you and a squirt from the hose is not going to do it with driven dog like yours. Those things WILL work for most dogs, but not yours. The right trainer should be able to help find whatever it is that will work for your dog.

I have tried the hose thing she thinks it is a game. She charges the hose bitting at the water then goes back to the tortoises. I will try the treats again, the last time I tried this method was last summer for 10 minutes a few times a day for a month. She never could do it for longer than 5 minutes, then she would start to shake like she was trying not to bark and go after the tortoises, but then just could not control herself. She is a very persistent one track minded dog.
I also used to have my other dog outside at the same time hoping her leadership would stop Millie from doing this, but my Lab was content to lay in the shade and sleep Millie not so much.

Tom gave some pretty damn good advice. I would take him up on it. I had to do this type of training with that little Wirehair Fox Terrier or Terror as I often called her. It is just in their breed and that drive like Tom says is perfect in some situations...your tortoises and other animals are not those situations.

Good Luck to you. And Tom thanks for the quick lessons..you sound like an awesome trainer. Glad you are here on the forum.