Flynn is not a natural chaser but is more inclined to give chase when the other dogs are present. He normally hangs back, preferring not to waste his energy chasing things he realises he wont catch. However, if he thinks he stands a good chance of catching something then he will go for it and if he gets it then it's dead within seconds. Out of the 3 of mine, he is the least likely to give chase but has the stronger kill instinct. If he does take off after something I can recall him back quickly and he wont venture far.

Jessie will chase and has killed but she only joins in when the other dogs are there, she isnt fixated on hunting and can take it or leave it really. That means I can call her off easily or prevent her in the first place. Her prey drive is pretty low for live animals (never chases cats) but is more directed at toys really.

Jed is the worst. He never hunted until I got Flynn and then he realised what he'd been missing out on and now he's a liability. I cant call him off and he will run a good distance away from me and just keep going until he can no longer see or smell the prey. He's the type of dog who is very independent and has little desire to please humans so coupled with his prey drive makes him a nightmare. For this reason he stays on lead in places I feel are unsafe and I only tend to walk my dogs in places where they cant really get into trouble. So that means away from roads, train lines, farms etc.

As prey driven as all of my dogs are, they have never bothered sheep. We always used to walk in the Peak District where there would be the odd sheep on the moor or hillside which would take flight and my dogs never gave it a second look. If I saw the sheep first I would of course reel them in and keep them away. We were at Bradgate Park the other weekend and there was a few deer over the brow of the hill. I didnt realise and my dogs went over the brow and out of sight but came back within a few seconds. Thankfully they paid the deer no interest (good job really because it gave me a serious wake up call that day!) and they even ignored a red stag running from us.

I'm not stupid enough to think that these things are guaranteed and I always exercise caution and try to weigh up the surroundings.

For me personally, I dont see predatory drift as a problem but I do keep my eye on the dogs if they come across smaller dogs. We came across a Papillon the other day who got a bit bothered by my 3 looming over it. It started yelping and running in circles so I was quick to move my lot away, especially as they'd just been play fighting.

Also, most owners may well have “proofed” their dogs amongst fields of sheep but are surprised if and when their supposedly “sheep proof” dog will chase a singleton which appears out of the blue on the moors say. The sheep often smell different and move differently as well.

This is due to a phenomenon known as SEC (Sudden Environmental Contrast); which is one of the reasons a dog will chase a hare when it has been rock steady in a rabbit pen!

I have often seen "sheep proof" dogs go mad to get at lambs. There seems to be something about lambs that gets dogs excited - even usually steady, well trained sheepdogs

Yes and you would be better placed to have an educated guess at why.

So do you think this is because:

a) the move differently ie jump about etc
b) smell differently
c) combination of above
d) something else entirely

I personally think it is because of the way they move, but I am not with sheep day in and day out.

- Sorry my first bash at posting a photo - I'm a bit of a technophobe. Yes the lamb is standing beside Tess who is lay down.

You can tell when holding a lurcher or greyhound when the predatory bit kicks in. Everything about the dog changes and if you hold its collar you can feel the tension and the concentration.

Its as if the dog changes completely from the one you thought knew.

rune