drc

Thanks so much for all your replies guys, I really appreciate it. Looks like we have some tough decisions ahead.

Thank you so much for taking the time to comment. We did think about running some electrical fencing but we were advised we could face criminal prosecution if a member of the public got a zap, and that's a risk I'm not willing to take. We live in an small outback town so seeking the assistance of a professional isn't really an option for us. I did phone up a dog training centre in NSW to ask some advise. The trainer said it would be a very hard problem to train out of her, if not impossible. For a while I thought she may make a good pig dog given her pray drive, unfortunately after seeking some advise I was told that given she wasn't stock proof they couldn't take the risk with her. Aside from living in rental accommodation and not being able to build a fully enclosed run, I hate to think of her having to spend the rest of her life on a chain. You see so many dogs around here that spend their whole life on a chain, it's really sad to see. dancinbcs - After the cat incident I did go to the vets and explain the situation. She told me what I didn't want to hear but I appreciated her honesty; "The dog is a liability and it's only a mater of time before she does something else like this ". It's such a hard decision to make and I couldn't bring myself to do it, but here we are a year down the track facing the same issues. You're right when you say about not getting anything back from her. She isn't an affectionate dog, more like a snooty cat in many respects. She is 4 years old now. I can't help but feel like I have failed her. I have successfully trained other dogs but she is not like any other dog I have come across. I knew having her pts was always hanging over us but I just wanted to exhaust all other options, hence my post.

Hello, This is my first post here so I'd like to say Hi to everyone. I'm the owner of an entire male SBT and a de-sexed female AMSTAFF and I'm in desperate need of some advise from fellow dog owners. The issue is with my Amstaff. She is an expert fence jumper to say the least. It's got to the point now where I can't leave her alone even when I'm in the garden with her. As soon as I turn my back or lose sight of her, she's over and away. She has even escaped from the boarding kennels 7ft fence whilst we were on holiday. If this problem wasn't bad enough, she has a very high prey drive and to date has killed the neighbours cat, 3 chickens and more possums than I can count. When we first collected her as a puppy it was obvious she was an aloof dog but we had already paid for sight unseen due to the distance involved. She doesn't show much interest in humans except for when she is barking at them or nipping the backs of their legs (yes another issue to add to the list). She doesn't respond very well to training as she has no real desire to please (unlike our SBT). We have tried different training methods including food rewarding for good behaviour and a shock collar for when she jumps the fence. We used to think the problem may have been boredom so we tried taking her for long runs along the river but she still went AWOL when she got home. The running had to stop as she would run off after roos and we'd spend hours looking for her. I really am stuck as to what to do, this has been going on for years now and it's got to stop. It's effecting our lives and certainly the quality of life of our SBT. Any advise will be much appreciated as I'm at the end of my tether! Thanks