Herding?

[oldcrow]

It is amazing how easily Maggie stole my heart (it really was love at first sight) and she is very affectionate with everyone. She also quickly bonded with Sadie, our Lab. The only "problem" that they seem to have is that when we go for a walk in the woods and Maggie is off of her leash, she tries to herd Sadie some-times. I assume that is what she is doing because she gets behind her and barks and gently nips at her backend or legs. Sadie is pretty tolerant and simply turns and barks at her but I have been saying "no" to Maggie which makes her stop for the moment but she will soon go back to doing it. Throwing a toy or stick to chase/retrieve does distract her but she always returns to pester Sadie again. Should we just consistently say "no" ? It doesn't occur the whole time because they spend lots of time chasing each other and playing tug-a-war with sticks. I suppose that I sound like a worrywart but I want to make sure that I am doing things the right way.

[waschull]

You might want to check "dog park blues".

We talked a bit about controling obnoxious herding behaviors.

I think when these sort of things become a habitual way on interacting,they don't change on their own. If you wish Maggie's behavior to change, you probably need to step in a redirect her. I don't think she is huritng your lab, but she is probably annoying her.

I use a bark collar to control this behavior because barking is a big component of the herding and also quite annoying. I must also admit to another "dirty" trick that has worked for me. When my dog is beginning her herd-frenzy behavior, I pick up a rock, throw it at her, and hit her with it while giving a strong "no". She realizes that I have control, even when she is off leash or a good distance away. I realize that this is a risky correction and one could miss, etc. For that reason I have switched to a bark collar. Nonelesless, it worked. All I had to do was pick up a rock and show it to Bug and she quickly settled.

[Hadoken]

Our Athena tries to herd us. Best thing I have found for it is to start issueing commands. She gets a mini training session as soon as she starts the behavior. In the beginning we used "timeout" with little results.

The behavior has decreased to the point of extinction. I am sure there are other ideas out there but this one seems to be working for us.