Has anyone tried...

[wolf]

Now that my ram is freezer-meat, I've put a deposit on a new baby ram for this year. I keep hearing folks talk about a cattle-prod to manage aggression. Has anyone tried using an electric dog-training collar on young rams, to jolt them whenever they take a challenge-stance?? Would that work? Or is the "juice" not enough to discourage developing that behavior? I ask because I'd like to instantly correct any Ideas while the boy is a "grade-schooler" - hoping to head off that type of crap when he gets older.

 

[mystang89]

I haven't tried that. I have a collar like that though. I'm not sure the prongs would connect with the skin unless it has been recently sheered.

 

[wolf]

I was wondering, because with Katahdins having a "dog hair" coat - if one would have enough kick to reinforce "Don't screw with me, boy!" - without having to have him close enough for a cattle prod. I know some models come with longer prongs for dogs with shaggier coats. Anyone know if the bite on these collars is strong enough?

 

[BoboFarm]

I think it would depend on the contacts and if your ram was intelligent enough to connect the correction with his action. Sometimes it takes quite a bit of adjusting to get the contacts on my dogs' skin when they have their winter coat (rotties). I've found that remote collars for heavy-coated dogs can be hit or miss because of their dense coat. I imagine sheep would be the same. I don't rely on my collars because of this. Plus you have to take it off to charge it. Would your ram be ok with you taking it off and putting it on all the time? Would he sit patiently while you adjust the collar? I'd go for the cattle-prod myself.

 

[wolf]

Dunno yet. He's still a nursling at the farm where he was born. Supposed to pick him up the end of the coming month.
The previous one was fine as long as I had his grain bucket in my hand. A whole different personality than first release from the shed in the mornings where he'd get out in the open air and challenge me as I exited the shed. Was tossing him until he got bigger than me, then was bluffing him off with my bamboo-pole held sideways to make me look bigger. I never got hit outright, cause he was put down beforehand - he'd already done his job with the ewe, so no reason to take a risk that he'd get worse as he got bigger. But mine are collared and haltered - cause with bummy hands I need an extra "grab hold" on them. And he went on lead to be tethered out to browse the cutover out back, with me sitting in a chair nearby so nothing happened. I'd feed him and the ewe in seperate places, and in the same spots all the time - so getting my hands on him was what he tolerated in order to get that scoop of grain.
Pot-roasted his shoulder last week - yum! Perfumed the whole house with the scent of roasted lamb! Meat fell off the bone! That was much better than getting my old bones bashed.