[my_doran]

a dog that responds to horse commands?

i have 2 dogs and one in particular has grown up with the horses and now being 10 yrs old has heard horse commands over and over and now seems to respond to them.
for example:
i walk my dog with me when i am going to our post mail box down the road and i find myself using commands like whoa and over(like when asking for a leg yeild for i.e) and he seems to know what i am asking him.

even just for fun ,ask him to walk on,trot and canter,just to name a few

so does anyone else have dogs that respond to horse commands?

[nasalberry]

No, but I once owned a cat that responded to commands given to my GSDs.

[Belg]

Not anymore

[Ridinwyoming]

When I cluck to my dog he goes faster. It's funny the more I cluck the faster he goes.

[OveroHunter]

We have a Blue Heeler / Australian Shepher cross that will nip at (not bite) the heels of horses when we they are being difficult to load. It is surprisingly effective I assume because it is natural for both the dogs and horses. Anyway, the dog is self taught because a few times she noticed the horse wouldn't get in the trailer and we would kiss to it to try to get it in. She eventually figured out the kissing meant the horse needed to get into the trailer and she would heel it and it would get in. It works great so she now will heel on command if we kiss to her.

It gets a little awkward when she's in the arena though and you're kissing to the horse you're riding Luckily she listens as soon as you tell her no and I think she has finally figured out that she only needs to listen to the kissing noise when a trailer is involved.

[Moderator 1]

We moved this thread here to The Menagerie, where it's a better fit.

Thanks!
Mod 1

[EquineImagined]

The pretty universal ones my dog understands. "Turn" "Whoa" "Get back" ....she may not always COMPLY but she understands them.

My kids on the other hand......

They got to spend a day with me at the farm where I did my working student/apprenticeship. After watching a lot of round penning and ground work, they were being a little 'rambunctious'. "Ah Ah!" stopped them dead in their tracks.

For fun, we thought we'd try something. "Walk on." They started walking to me. "Whoa." They stopped and backed up two steps, like they'd been watching the horses do. I fell off the cooler I was sitting on I was laughing so hard.

Just this weekend I threatened to put my younger son in the round pen and 'learn him some manners' after my SO and I retrieved them from the 'fort' they were building in the big pasture. He ran into the round pen, began running around, changing directions and then stopped directly across from the gate and turned to face me squarely, before bending at the waist and doing his best 'lick and chew' imitation. "Like this mama? I learned my manners, can I come inside and have a soda now?"

I did OK holding in the laughs, until my SO said "No you may not, she didn't ask you for that whoa, walk on!"

Tried this with the dog once....she just leaves under the panels.

[Bicoastal]

My dad, a former Steamboat, CO cowboy, is now the proud owner of a conformationally-correct Chihuahua: meaning that pooch is teeny. There's a word right there horse and dog people use that means something else to everyone else: conformation.

Dad tells him "Whoa." Chi sinks his belly the remaining 3" to the ground and stays there. I always crack up at a Chihuahua being issued a horse command.

Other horsey commands me or other dog folks -espec sport competitors- use:
everybody clucks
load
walk on
stand

Horsey terms in dog agility (that can really confuse a non-horse person ):
jumping: fence, standards, wings, flower box, spread, vertical, approach, bascule, "deep" "flyer" "chip" etc, over-faced, jumpers course/round, in-gate out-gate, cavaletti, grids, and on and on...

Horsey terms general:
green, gait, stride, hock, round (movement) flat hollow, carriage, forehand, freestyle, and on and on...

[sk_pacer]

No dog but several cats that whoa, get over and back up on command,well most of the time anyways

[RaeHughes]

Yep! my older BC listens to equine commands and my horses listen to canine ones - the "ah ah" caution that I use to get my dog back works really well on the mares when they are being just a little bit "naughty" - but also "WHOA!" when in full flight stops them and they come running back to me.

It was "fun" when I was riding my mare and my trainer called for a "right" turn - I didnt quite hear and said "RIGHT?" and the mare turned right. I was not asking for it and had a small "oops" moment. She is often grazed next to the paddock where I have my agility equipment and I do a lot of distance control training - "RIGHT" is my BC's command to turn right to or from a jump or on a cross-over etc. (Yes, "LEFT" means the other direction - and I have a command called "NO, THE OTHER LEFT/RIGHT" which has the agility judges in hysterics as my dog understands that she has gone the wrong way - often before she faults out.)

I think I might play with "lunging" them this weekend.

[MunchingonHay]

both my first dog who is now over the rainbow bridge and my current dog were raised in the barn. They both know; whoa, come, puurrrr, half halts, kiss/click to go quicker. My first dog was a BC and super quick and smart, my current dog is a mix and more..... independent.

So, yes.

[apcohrs]

(Yes, "LEFT" means the other direction - and I have a command called "NO, THE OTHER LEFT/RIGHT" which has the agility judges in hysterics as my dog understands that she has gone the wrong way - often before she faults out.)

This made me smile so hard my cheeks broke.

[Sku]

I was watching a Patricia McConnell dog training DVD and she mentioned that because of her experience with horses, she teaches her dogs to 'whoa'.

I laughed, then thought that was the best idea ever.

edit: I should also add that when I was a horse crazy girl I taught my dog to walk/run with my bike and used 'easy' and 'whoa'. It worked well.

[oliverreed]

When I was a horse crazy girl I taught my dog to jump the indoor jump course - just lowered them a lot. "Hup" meant to jump over or up onto something.

My cats all know that if I'm clucking to them like I cluck to my horse they need to move faster/get out of the way.