FYI: If you make a purchase via a link on this site, I may receive a commission from various affiliate programs, and as an Amazon Associate and Chewy affiliate I also earn commissions from qualifying purchases—at NO extra cost to you. See the Disclosure page for more information. Thank you!

Guide To Australian Shepherd Training & Care

Home

Afraid of Horses

by Anna

Hi, We have a 1 year old Aussie. She was supposed to be a riding companion. She even comes from a breeder with a horse ranch and her parents are great riding companions.

Our problem now: she's afraid of horses! We don't know how this has happened.

She already runs home from our stable or during the walk(!) with the horse. As soon as the horse is making any "strange" noise or is moving faster, she gets nervous and likes to run away. We always try to be calm and relax the horse and the dog, but she's way to nervous.

I know that there's no miracle or the-only-way-method, but maybe you can give me any tips I didn't think of!

Best regards,

Anna

Comments for Afraid of Horses

Click here to add your own comments

A thought
by: Anonymous

I'm not a trainer, but I have a young mini Aussie who is intimidated by things she cannot control. What has worked for us is to allow the dog to set her own comfort distance at first and reward calm, sitting behavior with her very favorite treats. She has the option to move away if frightened. We've repeated that process until she has felt more comfortable in moving closer, and eventually accepting the scary thing by associating it with yummies. This takes a long period of time - days, weeks. But, we find that what we view as a tiny push, our dog feels as a great big one. So slow and steady works best for us. Good luck!

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to Australian Shepherd Q & A.

Have Dog Training Questions?

Check out these introductory dog training videos...

I want my dog to stop being aggressive.

I want some help training my new puppy.

I want my dog to stop barking at everything.

I want my dog to walk nicely and calmly on the leash.

I want my dog to listen and come every time I call!

Back to Home

⌃ TOP ⌃

All Content Copyright © 2006-2024 by Anton Hout,
Australian-Shepherd-Lovers.com. All rights reserved.

Disclosure: If you make a purchase via a link on this site, I may receive a commission from various affiliate programs, and as an Amazon Associate and Chewy affiliate I also earn commissions from qualifying purchases—at NO extra cost to you. See the Disclosure page for more information. Thank you!

As stated in our Privacy Policy, Australian-Shepherd-Lovers.com
does not sell your personal information.