Honey's killed a squrriel, I have a photo of the injury she got when the squrriel bit her,



But then she's also good with my rabbit.

SDC10511 by Charlie Jade., on Flickr

She's also good with cats, but only inside, outside if they run their fair game, and I believe that both my rabbits would be too, tbh Diesel is also good with my rabbits inside too, and once he was round someones house and had gone into the kitchen to be followed by one of their ragdolls, when he must of noticed the cat was in the doorway he started barking like he was in trouble, and the cat had to be moved before he would move from where he was, as raggies are scary you know , but he has chased cats outside. The dogs have also chased Deer, Pheasant, Rabbits and even a Hare, I take it as part of their nature, and when they have had the oppurtunity to chase is when I haven't been enough on the ball, or the wildlife has turned up in areas where they haven't been before.

How awful. I hope OH had a wake-up call yesterday but somehow I doubt it.

He chases squirrels... well he jumps up and down in eternal hope at the tree they're up (while the squirrel just sits there, no doubt laughing its tail off at him), then retries the jumping at a different angle in the hope it will miraculously give him wings to fly up and get him... repeat three times at different angles and he gets the message. Strangely he hasn't generalised that squirrels live up LOTS of trees - just specific ones that he's seen them up, and will only look up as he's passing the trees in question. He's not the sharpest - bless him!

It's a pain in the rear in terms of when he loses the plot with recall's concerned at that point and I tend to put him on lead or distract him past his squirrely trees but no, it doesn't concern me that he'll go cat chasing as he really really doesn't give a stuff about them - even when they stand on the back fence and try to wind him up he's not bothered. Somewhere along the lines he's learnt that the hissing things with sharp pointy claws are really not worth the hassle - but then he lives with a cat who is very very much in charge -she hisses cos she wants a spot he's sat in and he moves!

The boys will chase anything that comes in the garden and field - it's their territory, so fair game... (cats, birds, vermin etc)

However, apart from not liking cats, they've shown no wish to do the same when out on a walk.

We were all surprised by a deer when on our hols in Scotland. The boys were off lead, and about 6ft away from the deer, and it ran off. They didn't chase, or even start to, they just watched it go.

A dog owner has been ordered to keep their pet under control after it attacked and killed a terrier.


The six-year-old terrier was being taken for a walk when he was attacked and killed by a dog.

Following council and police investigations, magistrates ordered the owner of the offending dog to keep the pet dog on a lead and muzzled at all times while in a public place.

Executive councillor for environment said: "Although incidents like this are infrequent, as the vast majority of dog owners do behave responsibly, there has been a growing trend of attacks like this that have to be cracked down on.

This was a seriously upsetting incident and there have been similar cases recently. We need to remind all dog owners of their duty to control their animals.

It's simply not right or fair that other people's loved pets are being killed in this way."

The order was made under section 2 of the Dog Act 1871, which gives courts the power to make owners keep pets muzzled and on leads in public places. In extreme cases, the court can order that the dog be destroyed.

Predatory Drift

As you read the above , did you think “shocking, these dogs were obviously aggressive” “they should never have been let off the lead in public” “my dogs would never do such a thing”?

If you did then I hope that the following information may help you look at this event in a slightly different way and in order to prevent a similar occurrence. Whilst the dogs in question may have a history of predatory behaviour, the actions may well have been as a result of something slightly different; predatory drift.

What is it?

Predatory Drift is a sudden, and drastic change in a dog's demeanour that is characterised by behaviours associated with hunting small prey.

The term is usually used to describe a medium - large dog which has suddenly and uncharacteristically targeted a smaller dog as prey (dinner).

Predatory Drift is NOT aggression, but it can mean injury or death for small dogs (or puppies).

Predatory Drift happens when the larger dog's instinct to hunt are triggered when play escalates or gets too much like the real thing (an out of control chase game). It can occur when a small dog/puppy gets scared or injured and squeals or wriggles in a way that makes them look like prey, It can happen just because the size difference says, "You are comparatively bite-sized, or move like something that is bite-sized, and I am a canine predator."

The most alarming fact about Predatory Drift is that it can happen even with well-behaved, well-socialised dogs who play well and often with no aggression.
Dogs which are triggered into predatory drift, may never have been in a dog fight, and be generally obedient. This is no protection against predatory drift. It is not a “good dog/bad dog” problem.

Predatory Drift is not about how brave, strong, feisty, or fearless the small dog acts. Or how well your large dog plays and listens to you, or even how many times they have met, played with or been around a small dog.

Predatory Drift can even happen between two dogs that know each other well and have lived, played, and or known each other for years. In the right situation, a sudden shift happens and the predatory sequence (like dominoes falling) is triggered and completed with lightening fast speed.

While it is not a problem seen every day, all it takes is the slightest trigger -an injury, a fight, a response to something startling or scary. Predatory Drift is a SIZE MATTER! It usually involves a grab and shake, which instantly breaks the small dog's neck. There is no time to react. This is not a fight, it does not escalate. There is a trigger and then it is over.

What can we do about it?

Exercise particular care if you have a large dog interacting with a very much smaller one (including a puppy) and be aware that when you have 2+ dogs they often “pack up” and are more susceptible to the phenomenon. If you have a dog with high prey drive in the mix then the risks increase.

I often meet a lady with 4 Bichon Frises where I regularly walk; because I have one dog with an extremly high prey drive and another with a reasonably high one I only allow one of them to interact off lead with these dogs to avoid any possibility of such an event.

It is worth remembering that is sometimes easier to label dogs as x, y or z than to educate ourselves about dog behaviour!

Shila has never been allowed to hunt as i always had cats and was a bit fearful about it, Isis we managed to train it out of her as she was really bad and after nearly being shot that was close enough for me and my ex Des (partners dog) has no interest in chasing or hunting Rof on the other hand has every interest in it, he does stop mid chase if u call him but u have to be very quick about it otherwise he's gone BUT he never goes far, with his accident on sat he was only a few feet away from my partner when it happened but he is going to look at trying to have some control over his chasing, hunting etc as he was incredibly lucky on sat and its not something he wants to risk again x

One of my dogs will chase rabbits/squirrels if given the opportunity, however I can call him off. All of my "pet" dogs have been trained from a young age not to chase sheep or other livestock (of course the collies' interest in sheep is encouraged), and that does help when it comes to calling the chaser (my younger GSD) off deer, rabbits etc. However, hares seem to trigger something in him that is different to deer/rabbits etc and I have to be especially quick to recall him before he has a chance to get into his stride

I have heard of too many dogs being killed by cars/trains after chasing wildlife It isn't worth the risk, never mind being unfair to terrorise the local wildlife.

We don't have cats around here so not sure what my lot would do, but I expect the "chaser" out of mine would want to chase if given the chance. However, he does know that the sheep, chickens, horses etc are all out of bounds and doesn't even attempt to give chase to them any more.

Oooh that article by Smokeybear has made me think . . . .
The two shepherds that attacked Poppy were allowed by their owners to chase wildlife, in fact we all complained to the forestry about them chasing the deer etc. They always focused on Poppy and when I was out with my friends puppy (smaller than poppy) they focused on him, when he whimpered in my arms they went crazy trying to get to him!! but they were always OK with my other two which are much bigger.

(Bailey not included in this one!!)

Kiara does love a squirrel tho and will run around and around a tree trunk following it as it runs upwards, she's never caught one.

Poppy's a bird dog and can flush a pheasant at 100yds she goes into a what I call 'hunting stance' all tense and one foot raised while she fine tunes the birds location and if I recall at that point she'll come but once she's started moving thats it, she'll return when the bird is flushed out. She's never attempted to catch one - she seems quite content to flush it out then she comes back.

I do try and stay alert for the signs and stop it before it happens but sometimes if a rabbit or deer pop up too close there's no stopping them.

This is the danger in allowing dogs to chase prey, because a) the more they do it the better they get at it
b) dogs will not understand that (insert relevent prey) is ok and (insert relevant prey) is not.
c) this is whey you get predatory drift, a small dog can appear similar to a rabbit in the distance (one reason why greys are often muzzled)!

If you allow your dogs to chase, then you must weigh up the potential risks; many people believe their their dog would never chase a small dog etc and/or as previously described, interpret such behaviour as aggression.

SEC (sudden environmental contrast) is another factor with deer/hares in particular which are difficult to train for, which is why in another article, I explain the difference between domestic sheep and wild sheep (livid some of them)!

Mine's more interested in eating their poo than eating a rabbit... just had an hour and a half trying to find my keys when I dropped them in a park - to find them down a rabbit hole when I must have bent down to try to stop poosworthy chomping his way through the scattered bitesize snack of bunny poo.