LGD keeps chasing one particular vehicle

[blessedfarmgirl]

I have a bit of a puzzle for you dog people. Moses, my Maremma/Pyr, has never been a car chaser. He ignores them unless they stop in front of the property or come down the driveway, which is good. I don't need him chasing cars. Recently though, he decided to chase a truck a couple hundred feet down the fence line, barking. We thought it was weird for him, but didn't think much more of it. That's until he chased the same truck a few days later halfway down the entire fenceline acting like he wanted to tear it apart. He did not leave the property, but it was strange behavior from him. Then he did it again today. Another car passed a few minutes later. Nothing. No reaction.
We have talked it over several times but can make no sense of it. My thought is the owner of the truck hunts or traps varmints maybe, and he smelled them? That's the best I could come up with. Anyone else have any theories? It's not really a problem yet since he doesn't leave the property, but it's still strange and I'm hoping to get some clue of what he has against this particular pickup.

 

[Ridgetop]

Is this a truck that has been traveling regularly on the road and he has just recently started barking at it? It is more likely that the truck guy did something to upset him. Maybe having him barkig at him made him stop the truck and shout at the dog? Whatever it is he doesn't like that particular vehicle. Has the driver ever stopped at the property? As long as the LGD does not leave the property I would not worry about it unless the guy comes over in that truck. As long as the driver did not d anything too him, he may calm down about it eventually.

 

[Baymule]

Maybe that particular truck makes a noise Moses does not like. So he chases the truck, and it goes away. Chasing the truck away works for him. I don’t know how you will stop it. Do you have a fence on the front? If not, you might consider a hot wire fence to deter him from leaving the property. Or start buying T posts as you can, save up for one roll of wire and put it up. Stay away from field fence,, sheep poke their heads through it and tear their ear tags off.

My dog Buford chases trucks. He learned it from Sentry. Sheba will chase some, but for the most part, she’s not interested. It’s great fun for the dogs, they chase away a big, noisy, rattling predator.

Do you know the driver of the truck? Maybe you could get him to drive in front of your place when you are out front. Put a leash on Moses and do some training. Or he could call/text you to let you know he’s coming. Then you could prepare. Scold Moses for trying to go chase the truck. Praise him the moment he relaxes. Or put a shock collar on him and buzz it, then give him a shock. These dogs are smart and know when the collar is off. And you could use the money a shock collar would cost towards fence supplies. Personally I’ve never used a shock collar, but many people do.

I prefer enlisting the help of the truck driver and some intensive training.

 

[blessedfarmgirl]

Is this a truck that has been traveling regularly on the road and he has just recently started barking at it? It is more likely that the truck guy did something to upset him. Maybe having him barkig at him made him stop the truck and shout at the dog? Whatever it is he doesn't like that particular vehicle. Has the driver ever stopped at the property? As long as the LGD does not leave the property I would not worry about it unless the guy comes over in that truck. As long as the driver did not d anything too him, he may calm down about it eventually.

I'm not sure if it's a new truck or it's been coming around for awhile. We have a lot of brush and trees along the road fenceline, so it's hard to see, and I don't usually take note of vehicles that pass. It could be that sometime when I was inside the driver did something Moses didn't like, but we don't usually have him and the sheep up next to the road perimeter fence (and haven't recently), so I don't know how that would have happened.

Maybe that particular truck makes a noise Moses does not like. So he chases the truck, and it goes away. Chasing the truck away works for him. I don’t know how you will stop it. Do you have a fence on the front? If not, you might consider a hot wire fence to deter him from leaving the property. Or start buying T posts as you can, save up for one roll of wire and put it up. Stay away from field fence,, sheep poke their heads through it and tear their ear tags off.

My dog Buford chases trucks. He learned it from Sentry. Sheba will chase some, but for the most part, she’s not interested. It’s great fun for the dogs, they chase away a big, noisy, rattling predator.

Do you know the driver of the truck? Maybe you could get him to drive in front of your place when you are out front. Put a leash on Moses and do some training. Or he could call/text you to let you know he’s coming. Then you could prepare. Scold Moses for trying to go chase the truck. Praise him the moment he relaxes. Or put a shock collar on him and buzz it, then give him a shock. These dogs are smart and know when the collar is off. And you could use the money a shock collar would cost towards fence supplies. Personally I’ve never used a shock collar, but many people do.

I prefer enlisting the help of the truck driver and some intensive training.

Unfortunately I don't know the truck driver or I might try that. I also don't think it's for fun, since it's only that particular truck and he hasn't learned the behavior from anyone.

We do have a fence in the front, but it's just a thickly brush and tree filled barbed wire fence. He respects it quite well though unless there's a visible hole/opening that's at least a couple feet. Otherwise he won't venture. He has only left the perimeter fence and crossed the road twice as far as I can remember, once to say hi to neighbor kids (he likes kids a little too much) and once to chase off a black lab that had been taunting him from just on the other side of the fence for weeks and he got tired of it. (The black lab has not come back since ) He stays in hot wire with the sheep the majority of the day, so it's just when we let him out to run around in the mornings and evenings he has been chasing this truck. We are always there to watch him and make sure he doesn't go too far. He will not leave the hotwire or the sheep when he is in with them.

I may just try keeping his shock collar on and buzzing him so he doesn't chase the truck again, though I hope the driver didn't do anything to cause it. But I don't want him getting in the habit of chasing vehicles and I don't want him going out on the road if he gets upset enough.

Thanks for the ideas. I guess since I can't speak dog we might never fully figure it out, but this is better than nothing.

 

[secuono]

Something happened to make him do it.
Mine hate horse trailers bc of the fox hunters around my farm.
Truck could of shot or yelled or something from or near the truck, revved the engine, honked too much, and now he's mad at it.
I wouldn't bother trying to stop him, unless he's trying to get through the fence.

 

[Ridgetop]

If yu are worried abut that stretch of fence run a ht wire. I have never used a shock collar because I don't feel they are as effective as other taning methods and the dog knows when he is wearing one. When I was showing and obedience training Weimaraners, my dogs knew the difference between a buckled collar for hunting, a choke chain for obedience, and a show collat. They greeted each collar with different enthusiasms.

Like @Baymule said, the cause and effect of the truck arriving, him chasing it and barking, and the truck leaving are telling Moses that he is a good watchdog. He is driving away the threat. Shouting at him will be seen as encouragement in his pursuit of the BIG BAD TRUCK.

Our new place in Yantis is on a state highway. Our last place was on a private road. At first our dogs wuod gather at the frnt fence and bark at the evening traffic. Now if they are barking it is for a reason. Hopefully. when the truck comes by and doesn't stop Moses wil realize that it is not a threat.