# Used electric netting~ Dogs now scared to go in the yard.... <sigh>



## Shepherd wannabe (Jun 22, 2013)

Well, my transition to sheep owner has not been a very smooth one. It seems that no amount of research or questions could prepare me for the reality of it. My sheep are adorable, two wethers and a ewe Khatadin.  What I was not prepared for was how much they would eat and how fast!!!! they went through an area of the yard that I thought would take a week in about 24 hours. I started out with a 10x10 covered kennel for their stall and about 80 feet of sheep panels that I could move around it. That set up I had hoped would give me a month or more to set up two larger pasture areas. WELL, It has been 1 1/2 weeks and it is all eaten. Instead of lugging panels once a week I am moving them 2x day. :/

So I was very relieved when my electric netting came from Premier 1. It was a nice easy set up. The solar panel box seems to be good quality. Then we just had to introduce the sheep and dogs to it. The head sheep got a zap on the nose and backed right off. the other two watched. THIS was going well. Then my dogs came out. We told them no about the fence, they were anxious to get in and chase sheep. My Boy, got zapped really well and screamed and ran back to the house. my female stuck her head right in, screamed and ran too. So that was painful to watch, but now they know about the fence, right? 

No, they just think that there is a giant random pain from the sky. They both have gotten too close (not trying to get in but just standing and watching me do sheep chores) and have now been zapped twice. NOW both dogs are terrified of going out into the yard. No more running and playing. No more following mom to the garden, basically just standing shaking at the door. What have I done? 

I got a call that same day from my daughter.... Um, one of your sheep are out of the fence. Well, sure enough, Violet had squeezed her way between the stall and the excess fence running down the side of the stall and the poor girl must have gotten zapped a few times before making it out. She was laying on the outside next to where the boys were laying on the inside. She was happy to follow me back inside. 

I am tempted to sell the sheep and return all returnables and just cut my losses. I took down the net and the dogs are still afraid of the yard. Anyone have any ideas on how to let them know the yard is safe and the fence is not to be touched??? My husband wants to keep trying and move the sheep to a different part of the yard. So I am off to move fencing...


----------



## bcnewe2 (Jun 22, 2013)

Move the fence away the area where the dogs will be.  Lure them out with a bit of food and don't baby them.  They really should get over it. One of my dogs got hit with a very hot wire.  He stayed in for a day or 2  but got over it.  He would rather die than touch that fence, but really that is exactly what you are training by using the fence. Sometimes people don't realize exactly what electric fence does, it hurts the animal enough that it trains them to not touch or test the fence again.  

If you don't understand how it works, go touch the fence then wait 10 minutes and touch it again.  You are probably thinking that I'm a jerk why would I tell you to touch the fence again.  That's because it hurt and you are not going to delibretly touch it again.  Trained already aren't you? 

My sheep are so conditioned that they won't go near a hot wire on or off.  Neither will any of my dogs that have hit it once or twice.

Any other fencing will be tested more than once by any animal.  It is merely a puzzle to be figured out but an electric fence is something that if used right an animal does NOT want to test again.  

Your sheep are new, you're new to sheep,  take a breath, give it some time and you will get things figured out.  

Did you not research how much 3 sheep can eat?  One length of premier electro net should get you a decent size area for 3 sheep.  Probably moving it once a week.  You'll get used to using it.

Good luck, its easy once you get the hang of things! You might want to get a bale of hay or 2 for now till you get things figured out.  That way you can give them a flake if need be and not "have" hurry and do anything without a minutes thought.  It'll take a week or 2 maybe even 3 or 4 to get the kinks worked out of your new routine. But 3 sheep don't eat that much.


----------



## Briard'nSheep (Jun 22, 2013)

My sheep too have touched the fence and jumped. They too have squeezed through (damn winter hair and they don't feel that current!!) However, once they touched it with their nose, they were "trained" so to speak. 

Felix has touched the fence too, but he too has tons of hair, so the current never bothered him for the 5 seconds he was in the fence last night. However our previous dog touched a cattle electric fence with his tail when he got a walk with my brother years ago. Bobby refused to walk with my brother for days. At that time I was ~13 years old when I walked that dog and it took me a year to get the dog to walk that same path again. Many years later, I would now have a different approach to that training. 

Act like nothing happened, , be the goofiest person you can be while interacting with your dog in the area. (the kind of silly acting you don't want your neighbours to see!) He will have no choice but to act goofy with you! This method got Felix past many scary objects as he sees that I make fun of it! Lots of praise. If you act so funny with the dog that closely interacting/playing with you, he will only be paying attention to you not his surroundings. (this method of training is based on having a solid "play" foundation with the dog, such as playing tug)
Herding dogs can be so sensitive sometimes 

the other way to try and get them to walk into said area is approaching from another direction.


----------



## Shepherd wannabe (Jun 22, 2013)

Thanks you two. Today has gone much better. I mowed a path for the fence and ran it, moved their stall and now they are a much bigger area (1/3 acre?) that is terraced and hard to mow. I am hoping that they will be able to stay there for several weeks. They do have hay and minerals etc. in their stall. They ate through 2 links of premier fencing (about 200 ft square) in a day and a half. This isn't measly grass either. It was nice and lush with clover and free choice hay... I think that they are still adjusting to having lots of food and are overeating a bit. 

We have used the dogs to move them twice now. Honestly, the horse treats move them and they follow me.  BUT it is nice to see the dogs take their job so seriously and respectfully. Before the e-fence my girl would sit down by their stall and lick their ears through the 2X3 inch mesh. The sheep would actually lean against the fence for her to do this.... probably because they can't read her devious little mind.... Or maybe they knew her teeth wouldn't reach? 

The dogs are bright dogs. I mean they know words and can be told things like "pick up that bottle" "find my keys and bring it" "Take the watering can to dad" etc and will do it. But i realized where i went wrong. I let them be outside with me as I set up the fence. They walked on it, tried climbing through it, and touched it quite a bit before I turned on the power. The BAM dad said "No" and they are zapped. For a day they thought Dad was pretty dog-gone powerful! But then they each got zapped just hanging out with mom..... So they haven't yet linked it to THE FENCE OF PAIN.  They have, however, relaxed a lot. We have been playing lots of frisbee. making them come with me to do chores etc and not babying them. They are getting over it.  Still they come so close to the e fence that I know they did not get the message. 

Right now, my chickens are out thoroughly going through the old stall spot and picking through the droppings (for eggs? Go girls!), and the sheep are eating my most nasty 3 ft batch of grass and weeds on a bank. Dogs are relaxing. THIS is how I had hoped it was going to go. What a difference a day makes. 

Now, If they eat all of that by tomorrow, I am going to have to start a sheep share program!

Lauren


----------



## bcnewe2 (Jun 22, 2013)

I have so much grass it's no big deal, but if you think your sheep are getting enough can you put them up some of the time? During the night of middle off the day would be good. you could ration out your grass...

So glad you are feeling better! yep, letting the dogs romp on the unpowered fence was confusing to them,  but I swear they figure it out and pretty quickly!

What type dogs? I must have missed it if you mentioned it before.


----------



## Shepherd wannabe (Jun 23, 2013)

They are Dutch Shepherds. (kind of like Belgian Malinois) My girl is two and is a wild child. She crashes through life with a grin on her face. VERY keen on sheep, but a bit too quick, close and OCD. My husbands boy is a year and a half. Much calmer with a natural sense of how to move to direct sheep. He thinks of things like stopping them at the water to let then drink before working more. But being a pup he still likes to occasionally crash through them just so he can put them back together. 

I got into this whole love for herding and sheep because of my dog. She needed something to do and I didn't really want to train her in protection sports so we tried a fun herding clinic and got hooked! I will try to figure out how to post pictures...







 Here is Thornwald, putting himself down so he doesn't rush them through the pannels.






 Here is Xena very uncharacteristically giving the sheep some space.


----------



## bcnewe2 (Jun 23, 2013)

Nice!
I have 4 border Collie's.  I started much the same as you.  My first BC bit the neighbor kid and the dad said I needed to teach her how to herd. What? Herding? Got started quickly and 16+ years later here we are.  I own about 17 acres 17 sheep plus lambs and have been living the farm life ever since.  My DH is not into dogs like me but, he puts up with us.  
I train and trial a bit.  Trailing was more fun years ago but nothing better than a good dog day working stock! Dew is the BC in my avatar.  She is my best trained dog for now.  But I have a great up and comer, she's just a bit hard to train so were taking our time. 

We also just got another LGD.  I love nice LGD's as much as my border Collie's.

Glad things are settling in for you guys.  It really does get easier!

Who did you have your first clinic with?


----------



## Briard'nSheep (Jun 23, 2013)

Very nice! Beautiful dogs, I haven't met any dutch shepherds yet, they are not that common around here! 

Glad to hear your situation is mellowing out, don't be surprised if they touch the fence again. Just remember don't make a big deal of it or you will be getting into the "if mom is scared of it, I should be too!" You want the "mom is not scared, so i don't need to be". Some herding breeds were bred to think and act on their own (Briards def. will!!), so you may have to convince those breeds that your way of thinking is better


----------

