This may be worth a read
http://www.dog-secrets.co.uk/how-do-...y-dog-chasing/

well if that works for you all well and good but i am a ex M.O.D dog handler if that helps

Oh yes it explains a GREAT deal!

I am a current competition handler, if that helps.

Your post re reliable recall is just what I need, very helpful and constructive. I have a 9 month old lurcher that I've had for 5 months now, I got her from a local rescue and they thought she was a lab/border terrier so I had no idea she was a lurcher. Unfortunately I've made mistakes and she has chased and caught 2 rabbits a squirrel and broken in to my chickens pen and killed 3 of them. However she has a great nature with my family and I feel she has the potential to be a great dog. I live on an estate where we encounter a lot of deer, and once off lead she chased them and I couldn't get her back. For the past 2 months I've been walking her on the lead and working on her recall. I'm going to work to your plan, however she also needs to socialise with other dogs as although she's very friendly she's too boisterous and needs to learn some manners. I'm also worried she will want to chase and harm small dogs. Have you any advice on how to socialise her even though she's on the lead when we meet other dogs?
thanks
Sam

You need to be very careful with a dog such as yours which has a high prey drive.

Dogs like this can demonstrate predatory drift.

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

Bromley Council secured a control order from Bromley Magistrates' Court after an incident in the recreation ground in August.

The six-year-old terrier was being taken for a walk when he was attacked and killed by one of a pair of Weimaraners.

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

Executive councillor for environment Cllr Colin Smith 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 story, 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!


So, after reading the above, I hope you will reconsider the need for your dog to play with other dogs at the moment, especially small ones.

Your dog has a history of success unfortunately, with other animals, and when dogs can rehearse how to do things, they get better, stronger and faster at it.

It sounds as though this dog in this environment will require a high degree of maintenance training, if you can redirect the chase instinct onto a toy all the better.

Have a look here, this might be right up your street for this dog, and when you have redirected the prey drive onto prey like toys you can then move this over to something like a ball, or, in your case a frisbee.

It will be hard work, but hey, you are up for that yes?


http://www.learningaboutdogs.com/aca...hippitdvd.html

Thanks so much for your response. You have confirmed my fears. I am concerned as I'm not a very experienced dog owner. We have only owned one dog before Willow. We had a male Dalmation for 13 years, he was very dominant so he had different issues. We have two young children (7 and 9) and I work (although mostly from home) so I'm worried about having enough time to put in to her training. Due to her very high prey drive it sounds as if all walks will need to be on the lead, possibly forever as I live in Epping Forest which is full of rabbits, squirrels and deer. I play ball with her in the garden so she can have a good run which she loves. She has spent some time with small dogs in the past but I will be very very careful from now on. I feel I need some professional help. I have contacted a couple of behavourists but after talking to them on the phone I've felt that they haven't really got the experience to help us with Willow. Is there anyone you could recommend to help me? She is a stunning dog who seems eager to learn, I just have to ensure that we can become the right owners for her

pm me, there are lot of people calling themselves behaviourists, unfortunately it is not a protected term.

If you let me know whereabouts you live in Essex I can probably recommend someone with the appropriate skills, knowledge, ability, training and experience to help you.

HTH

I live near Epping in Essex. Thanks for your help with this.