We have several animals around the "farm" and my Shera is terribly vicious towards them. We have only had her since Christmas and she is wonderful with our 9 mo old. I do not want to get rid of her because we are the 4th people to have her and I dont want to give up on her. She is so sweet to us....Anyway.

Today I hear this loud rustling on the porch then I hear screaming....it was one of our 3 goats. Shera had her by the throat and pinned against the wall of the house. I had to beat her to get her to let go of the goat. Most horrible screams I have ever heard! Shera has always gone after the goats but nothing like this!

Is this lack of training on our part? I just don't know what to do and I am desperate to help fix this. Whatever advice you have would be great. Thanks!

Curving prey in an older dog isn't always the easiest thing to do, but is possible. I've never had to do it with livestock..... So I'll probably be off base.... I do however hope something helps.


You'll never remove the prey drive of a dog completely. Given enough time however you can teach that animals under your protection or care should be respected and are part of the family unit. Being that prey is always present however, my very first suggestion would be supervision.

It is unlikely you'll ever me able to watch Shera 24/7, but doing so when she has the possibility of getting in with the animals might be prudent. The goal here for me would be to really watch and look for early signs or behaviors from her that would lead into hunting. Sudden Freeze, intense staring, rigid stance, low to the ground or head very low, and correct or interrupt that train of thought at the start. If you can warn or chastise right as the thought comes into her head it is very possible to stop the action. This reinforces the role of these other animals and that you are protecting them.

This isn't always the easiest thing to break at first and you might want to check into getting a Vibe or Ecollar, for long range corrections. I think they are wonderful tools used in this context (IE preventing an attack from long range). Anything to get the brain out of that frame of mind.


I would also begin desensitizing my dog around the other animals. Keeping my dog on a tether or lead I would very slowly introduce them over a long period of time, rewarding both parties as they got closer to one another over days, weeks, or months.

This doesn't necessarily mean I would put them together. I may just decide to play with my dog close to the goats. Or teach new tricks or commands in proximity. They don't need to meet face to face for them to start to accept one another.

I may even umbilical my dog to myself as I did the rounds or chores for the other animals (cleaning, feeding, watering, grooming, ect).

If one animal fixated or showed any signs of hunt, defense, or aggression, I would simply request space for both parties by stepping in between them and backing one or both up simply with body positioning. If it persisted I would separate until they were relaxed and try again some other time.

It is just as important the goats are comfortable with the dog, as running will trigger the need to chase, hunt, and kill.



If for what ever reason I wanted to leave my pup unattended with the livestock I would ensure there was a way no attack could happen. Tethering or limiting the area my pup could travel might be one, or having an area where my livestock could "escape" into that I know my dog couldn't follow for some reason. I don't know how one would achieve that, but an invisible fence comes to mind that the goats could cross without incident (WoW look at me just suggestion you shock your dog at every opportunity).


Step up and defend the goats when ever you can. Demonstrate verbally it isn't ok for Shera to go after them. Any time you show how important they are to you, and that you are willing to protect them, should add up over time until it is understood they are part of your pack.



The sad truth is, while possible with a lot of work, some dogs just can't shake that primal prey drive. Huskies generally have one of the more powerful ones around. Being proactive and actively making sure no accidents can happen will always be the best bet.

I really hope it improved for you and Shera, I truly do.

I hope anything I said helped and wish you the best of luck.
~Chris~

Thank you! I will try this and pray it works! I didnt want to have to go the shock collar route but she just isnt listening to us when she goes to attack!

I'm so sorry this happened! It had to be terrifying to see, but I truly don't think your dog is vicious. If it were me, I would just ensure that the dog does not have access to the goats. Problem solved. I think it's a lot to expect Shera NOT to want to go after these animals, outside and unsupervised. It'd be as if a squirrel or deer wandered into the area where my dog is tied out. That prey drive is very strong and when those animals make funny noises or run, my girl is going to go after them even with the best training. I would never even consider leaving her unattended with our house cat that she's been raised with since she was 8 weeks old. She is very good with the cat when she knows we are there, but I can guarantee that cat would be dead if we left them alone. While it is not okay that Shera had the goat pinned on your porch, I'm not shocked in the least. I have a friend whose husky would escape and kill the neighborhood cats and chickens. I think it's our responsibility as pet owners to take the necessary precautions to prevent horrible things from happening. I hope you can figure something out so she doesn't end up in yet another home.

First of all, We have taken precautions but cannot help if the goats are smart enough to get out once in a while. We fix the problem they find another way out. They also will graze in the yard in the summer and we cannot have a dog that will attack like that. We have another dog and 2 cats that she doesnt bother. I have a 9 mo old son that takes priority over any animal and you implying that we arent responsible with our pets is a little offensive. I cant watch her 100% of the time nor do I want to keep her in a small room while I'm gone or cant stare out the window. I expect an intelligent dog to know their place and she should be expected listen. This dog will either learn or go.

I was not implying anything and the intention of my post was not to offend. Your original post was asking what you could do and my suggestion is keep the goats and dog away from each other. Just as when I leave my house, my dog does not have access to the cat. You have not said if Shera is tied out or in a fenced in area or if she has free roam of the land with the goats, but from my knowledge of the breed and the fact that Shera is a rescue and has not been raised with these animals I think you have a very long road ahead of you. It's not to say it can't be done, but the fact is that you never know what may happen if you're not looking. And that goes with any dog, not just huskies.

Not to come off offensive; but did you do research on the husky breed before you got her? Prey drive is ingrained in these dogs; not to say that you can't curb it or control it, but it is something you need to respect and something that cannot be fixed overnight. You will need to work day and night to overcome this with her. I understand you can't watch her 100% of the time, but crating her when you are gone is not cruel to her. Plenty of us crate our dogs and they have no negative fall outs with it. If you want to keep your goats safe and keep your husky, you need to do something different. Obviously what you have been doing isn't working.. you need to try other things.

isis2708 wrote:

I cant watch her 100% of the time nor do I want to keep her in a small room while I'm gone or cant stare out the window. I expect an intelligent dog to know their place and she should be expected listen. This dog will either learn or go.

Don't you think you're asking a bit much from the dog? You aren't willing to keep an eye on her at all times but you don't want to kennel the dog either... You expect the dog to just "know" because of their intelligence, but they are also a very hig prey driven breed with a streak of stubborn... You're asking a lot.

I would certainly suggest tethering her to YOU while you're doing work around the house. If you cannot watch her- and she's outside... Kennel her. Or you will run into this issue over and over again. She's doing what dogs do- in her mind its appropriate. Not saying it IS but if you are expecting her to behave out of intelligence- she already is. You need to teach her what is expected and how to act around these animals. And it's going to require work. If you cannot commit to that the dog would be better off being rehomed.

Something you can try is having her on a leash and putting her in a down stay with the other animals. Make her stay their while you feed them, pet them, etc. If she is going to overcome the prey drive, she needs to see them as part of her pack, just like humans. We were able to get our adult mal/husky mix to stop killing cats and chickens, but it took some time and effort, and I think he was an exception. It is a very hard instinct to overcome. We are working on it with our young girl, Vixen who likes to chase the chickens right now, and I don't know if we willwill succeed or not.

Your baby is priority, as you mentioned. Even though your dog is very good with him, please don't trust her alone with him yet. Huskies have earned an unfair dangerous dog rep because of their fatal attacks on infants. A squealing baby sounds a lot like a squealing animal, and the most gentle dog may misinterpret it. It isn't viciousness, it is just acting on instinct.

I wouldn't give up on her yet. Spend a few months working intensively, and supervising closely, as was mentioned. And until you feel she is trustworthy, I agree kenneling her when you can't watch her closely is a good idea. If you haven't macde real progress in 2-3 months, rehoming may be the best option. Even though she has moved several times already, if she finds the right environment she can still thrive.

Considering the intelligence of goats and the Siberian husky maybe the solution would be to teach both of them the game of chess, a time to bond and some great mental stimulation might keep them out of trouble! Just kidding around. Many good suggestions have been made, good luck with your problem.

My thoughts would are to seperate the animals unless you are there to control the enviroment and make sure that nobody gets hurt. Maybe it could just be that the dog knows that the goats are afraid of it and so it reacts on that feeling. My mother's dog would never harm anyone but if people were walking by the house while he was outside and they were afraid of him he would know that and run up to them acting like he was mean. I know that my cat does not like my husky so they do stay away from eachother if I am not there. But when I am there I will push the two animals to be somewhat around eachother through the use of harnesses so no animal is harmed and they start to get use to eachother and know that eachother is not a threat and I have been seeing some results from this. Maybe that might help as well.

isis2708 wrote:

Thank you! I will try this and pray it works! I didnt want to have to go the shock collar route but she just isnt listening to us when she goes to attack!

Tough call. Siberians are primitive dogs with many survival instincts still in place. The dog is not vicious to animals, it is just looking for a meal. Or looking for fun. Consider the behaviors to chase, grab, and kill are each rewarding or the dog would not choose to perform that sequence. That 's why farm dogs are usually Collies, Shepherds, Pyranees or other dogs with an affinity for livestock. Not Siberians.

The dog does not listen because it is fully engaged. Did you ever see a schoolyard fight and try to get the kids to break it up by yelling at them? Not very successful.

Positive punishment like shock collars can have unintended consequences. If you are considering it, first consult with a dog behaviorist that works with shock collars. There are some out there.

Here is an example of unintended consequences:

We put up electric livestock wires inside our metal fence. The idea was to prevent the Sibes from tearing apart the metal fence and escaping. It is suggested you purposefully get the dog to contact the wire so it learns rather than randomly running into it and getting tangled. I coated the wire with peanut butter. I leashed each dog and let it touch the peanut butter and each was shocked and wanted to stay away from the fence. Avalanche got shocked, but she developed a fear of the LEASH, not the wire, because I lead her there with the leash. In a few weeks she got over it and associated the wire with shock.

You dog may develop an aversion to you, or a certain patch of yard, or the porch, or being handled. It may become angry with you and encourage people aggression. Unintended consequences are not good.

Also, positive punishment must be delivered in under one second from the undesirable behavior to be most effective.