Is 7 months too old to stock break?

[villebones 4]

Well My mothers friend (dog trainer) has recently been working with a dog in her late training classes.

Its a 7 month old collie cross whippet. It has been shut in a cage 9 hours a day whilst its owners were at work and hadn't been walked much.

When they got back from work, the dog was let out the cage and is apparently wild when out of it (no surprisingly), so the owners decided that they were going to get the pup pts. Mums friend said that she'd find it a home. She may have one lined up but if not its mine .

Soo would it be to old to break to ferrets and sheep?

Cheers Will

[Guest fence_hopper]

no, just might be a little more hard work, but you should get there easy enough with abit of patience

[hairyface 211]

depends on the dog mate, ive had a pup at 7 months and it was stockbroke it a couple of minutes, but a different dog was a lot harder to break at a lot younger age,

[samba 534]

still young enough

[wullielennox 158]

it will take a bit a time and patience,but good luck,hope things go well for you.. and at 7mth should be plenty time.

[tdavepat 8]

Never too old and never too young. 7 months is no age anyway.

 

Stock breaking isn't a one off event where you train your dog and that's it for the rest of its life.

 

Constant exposure throughout its life and frequent refresher training walks through livestock on a long leash should keep reminding it of what is expected.

 

I use a long leash as it gives a good indication of how the dog will react when given its off lead 'independance'.

 

I had a dog off sick for six months and when he came back into the field, I hadn't refreshed him. When we rounded a hedgerow and saw a field of sheep, he did what came natural to him........

 

I never had to learn that lesson again.

 

Ferrets are no different. Its easier to break them to the ferrets early in life, but never too late at 7 months.

[stealthy1 3,964]

Seven months is a good age to start with the stock breaking, its just starting to become a little more sensible at that age You should be able to break it to ferrets easily enough, at that age you can teach it anything.

[oakey 57]

i'm by no means an expert on this but all of my dog are stock broken ,my mate comes around and we walk our dogs every time we get near stock he puts his on a lead, i had to tell him the other day if it never sees stock it will never get used to it get a understaning farmer or go when theres no one around and let it mix keeping a close eye and your full attention on it good luck im sure it will be ok

[martync1967 64]

defo not mate may just need to spend a little more time on it i stock break my dogs as young as possible around the three month old mark alb martync

[villebones 4]

Thanks guys. The little thing will have lots of time too learn and will learn off my other lurcher.

Hopefully if she comes here she'll have a good life, with lots of nice long walks instead of being shut in a cage all day.

[the great white hunter 1]

its still a young age so it shouldnt matter mate