{"id":1588,"date":"2023-01-01T23:22:11","date_gmt":"2023-01-01T22:22:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/twofeetadventures.de\/?p=1588"},"modified":"2023-01-21T21:43:08","modified_gmt":"2023-01-21T20:43:08","slug":"das-treffen-auf-herdenschutzhunde","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/twofeetadventures.de\/en\/2023\/01\/01\/the-meeting-on-shelter-dogs\/","title":{"rendered":"The encounter with guard dogs"},"content":{"rendered":"

What do I do if I come across sheep and their protectors, the guard dogs, in the mountains? <\/em>Have you ever had the experience of unexpectedly coming across a Livestock guarding dogs <\/strong>who are guarding your flock of sheep? Or are you planning to go hiking in the mountains with your dog? At this point we would like to give you a few Behavioural tips <\/strong>give.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have been hiking with our dogs for a long time and on almost every hike we are asked about our well \"trained\" dogs, as we don't need a lead, nor do our dogs think of going to other dogs, even on narrow paths. They stay with us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We thought long and hard about whether we should write something about how to deal with your own dog or how to deal with dogs that don't belong to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the end, we decided to start by learning something about \"What do I do when I meet sheep and their protectors, the guard dogs, in the mountains\". Because the wrong behaviour we saw there was hair-raising and sometimes really dangerous for humans and their four-legged companions. We simply hope that these lines will help to master these situations more confidently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Realise that these dogs are simply doing their job! They work self-sufficiently, which means that they cannot be called off by a shepherd (if present at all). In this case, we are the intruders and a potential danger to their herd, especially if we are accompanied by a predator, i.e. our dogs. They all are, whether they are pinschers or Great Danes. No coat or \"He just wants to play\" button will help. The apparently very popular treat bag won't help either. They are and remain the offspring of wolves and that is what they are seen as.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Avoid encounters with livestock guarding dogs?<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

So what to do? The best thing to do when you see a flock of sheep from a distance is to to be avoided as far as possible<\/strong>. Look for another way. As this is often not possible in the mountains, our second piece of advice is to use it for a break<\/strong>if you have the time, and wait until the herd has moved on. The last option is turn round completely<\/strong> and abandon the hike, which would not be a shame in this situation, but the better choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, it is often the case that you only recognise the herd when it is already too late, and you are suddenly confronted by several<\/strong>barking, snarling large dogs<\/strong> is surrounded. We've been in a situation like this ourselves several times and it can really get to you and your heart is pounding. I think everyone feels that way! So how should we behave, or how should we not?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Irritant or tear gas against livestock guarding dogs?<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

We would like to briefly address the topic of Irritant gas \/ tear gas<\/strong> to take it with us. We were advised to do so several times, or rather we were asked several times whether we had it with us. The answer is quite clear NO!<\/strong> If the wind is right, this may help against an aggressive dog, but we're talking about a pack here. If you catch a guard dog, it will probably back off, but all the others will interpret this as an attack and react accordingly. And no matter how strong you are, you don't stand a chance against several 70kg dogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What should I do if I encounter livestock guarding dogs?<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

The worst thing to do is to panic, for you and for your four-legged friend. Under no circumstances should you threaten, run or pick up your dog! If you are a good human-dog team and your dog trusts you Pack leader <\/strong>he will automatically move behind you, or to the position facing away from the danger, and leave you to resolve the situation. If this is not the case, as is unfortunately so often the case, put him in this position. Don't shout at your dog, but try to radiate calm, sovereignty and determination, which is important for your dog. Because if he senses fear, insecurity and low energy, he will take the lead, even if he doesn't naturally want to. Someone has to take the lead in a pack and that should always be our job!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now it means Keep calm<\/strong>. Breathe deeply and calmly, this helps to avoid panic. Move slowly along your path in a wide arc away from the herd. Keep your back straight, your head down and never look the dogs directly in the eye. As always, Do not touch, do not speak to, do not look at<\/strong>. If there are two of you, all the better, so you can take your dogs between you, i.e. one walks forwards and the other backwards to keep an eye on the other side. If you are travelling with walking sticks, you can hold them crosswise in front of you to keep the guard dogs at a distance. Be careful not to appear threatening, however, so keep them lowered and don't wave them around wildly. You must be prepared for the pack of guard dogs to accompany and circle you for a while. From personal experience, this can sometimes be a kilometre. Just as long until they think their herd is safe again. Then they will retreat of their own accord. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of this applies to all animals or herds that we encounter in the mountains. Always realise that this is their terrain. Our dogs, as lovely as they may be, are always a potential threat to them. And if there is no possibility of escape and we humans think we can get closer to them, perhaps to take a nice selfie, they will attack if necessary. Especially if there are young animals in the herds. You all know the reports of cows attacking hikers. These are all avoidable situations if we behave properly in accordance with nature. A little respect, humility and mindfulness out in nature would help, because we are only a part of it and not the centre of the whole. We should be aware of that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You have Questions <\/strong>on the topic? Please write to us via the Contact form <\/a>to. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What do I do if I meet sheep and their protectors, the guard dogs, in the mountains? At this point we would like to give you a few tips on how to behave.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1590,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[506],"tags":[531,203,523,524,517,513,520,529,521,522,514,515,530,519,550,518,525,528,22,516,527],"post_series":[],"class_list":["post-1588","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reisen-mit-hund","tag-bedrohung","tag-berge","tag-erziehung","tag-fremdhunde","tag-gebirge","tag-herdenschutzhund","tag-hunde","tag-reizgas","tag-rudel","tag-rudelfuehrer","tag-schafe","tag-schafherde","tag-traenengas","tag-verhalten","tag-verhaltensregeln","tag-verhaltenstipps","tag-verhaltensweise","tag-vermeiden","tag-wandern","tag-wanderung","tag-woelfe"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/twofeetadventures.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/beautiful-shot-dog-herd-sheep-french-riviera-hinterland-edited.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/twofeetadventures.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1588","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/twofeetadventures.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/twofeetadventures.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twofeetadventures.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twofeetadventures.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1588"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/twofeetadventures.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1588\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1718,"href":"https:\/\/twofeetadventures.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1588\/revisions\/1718"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twofeetadventures.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/twofeetadventures.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1588"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twofeetadventures.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1588"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twofeetadventures.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1588"},{"taxonomy":"post_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twofeetadventures.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_series?post=1588"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}