# High prey drive



## Jo Ellen (Feb 25, 2007)

Ummm....I haven't figured this one out yet. Good luck


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## Bender (Dec 30, 2008)

Storee was a lot like that as a youngster too. What you can do is start with a less distracting thing (birds FAR away) and work on him listening to you and responding to your cues. Then move closer to it. 

One game I did with Storee was I took her ball and tossed it, then stood and let her have her fit, pull, yelp, whine and so on, I just stood still so she couldn't get to the ball. Eventually she stood still and released the pressure on the leash, I let go and she got her ball. After a few days of that she figured out that IF she wanted something she had to stop acting up and wait for my cue to go get it, and that helped a lot, instead of turning into a crazy dog at the sight of something cool, she'll back up and look to me to see if she's getting it. 

You may have to move to a different collar (like a prong) to get better control overall. Fieldwork helped a lot too, she got the idea of the game and that there was more 'rules' but she got to go get dem birdies...

Lana


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## EvanG (Apr 26, 2008)

Andythom said:


> My 8 month old does pretty good on the leash in general. He normally ignores other dogs and people passing by or just looks at them and keeps moving. However, when he spots a bird or even worse, a rabbit, he gets a little crazy. He stop listening to me and doesn't respond to collar "pops" at all. Normally i try to keep him moving or distract him, but sometimes it's unavoidable. The other day he ran into a street sign trying to walk forward while "birddogging" a rabbit (wish i had a video of that, i would win 10k on funniest home videos)
> 
> What's the best way to deal with this? I've considered bring treats along and trying to distract him that way, rewarding him for looking at me instead of the wildlife.
> 
> Any suggestions?


Sooner or later, you're going to need to actually train the dog. There is more to it than is popularly assumed, but it's still not complicated.

The issue you have is simply obedience, or rather degree of obedience. If your dog is trained to come when called, and sit when commanded to sit, you should have no such struggles. At 8 months of age your pup is an adolescent, and will regularly challenge your authority. 

Prey drive is a great thing for a retriever to have. After all, it's what fuels the desire to retrieve! What controls and orgainzes it is obedience; standard obedience commands. Pet store obedience classes are fine for many breeds of dogs, and some retrievers with relatively low prey drive.

You need real training. I'll post up more about it a little later.

EvanG


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## Andythom (Jun 20, 2009)

EvanG said:


> Sooner or later, you're going to need to actually train the dog. There is more to it than is popularly assumed, but it's still not complicated.
> 
> The issue you have is simply obedience, or rather degree of obedience. If your dog is trained to come when called, and sit when commanded to sit, you should have no such struggles. At 8 months of age your pup is an adolescent, and will regularly challenge your authority.
> 
> ...


I would appreciate some advice on training techniques for this. He trains really well. He's pretty submissive and loves to please. He is generally really good on the leash (no pulling, slows down when i tell him to, etc), but the rabbits taunt him.


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## S-Dog's Mom (Jan 9, 2009)

Aww.... LOL... I had an issue like this at my father's house, of all places. He has an amazing garden (it's huge). I had Simon outside one night to go pee, and all of a sudden he looks up and sees a bird in the middle of the garden.

My first thought-Oh Crap!

I couldn't even get WORDS out before he was halfway across the garden after that bird.

Simon came happily back to me, and we went into the house, and my conversation with Dad went something like this...

"Uh, Dad? I have some good news and some bad news...."

"really? What's the good news?"

"There are NO BIRDS in your garden."

His reply: "And Simon made sure of it, huh?"

I cringe, expecting a few words of "should have trained the dog/leashed the dog..." Instead.... a chuckle, a head rub for Simon and a "good boy... keep those BAD birds out!"

Just when you think you have your parents figured out.....

We have been working on "leave it" when it comes to squirrels/chipmunks/birds, etc. It's a challenge to be sure, but it seems to be working... for now!


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## gunjee (Aug 28, 2008)

With me, I'm always on the lookout for squirrels and see them before 22-month-old Gracie does so I will cross the street or go the opposite direction away from the squirrel, or I'll stop and give her the sit command until the squirrel is gone. Sometimes she sees the squirrel by that time and may try to look at it but I'll get within her field of vision and keep her in the sit. She challenges my authority and gives frustrated snorts sometimes, but I do not give in. This is with me.

Now I have to tell you about what happened just a month ago. I was walking Gracie and my 5-year-old son was walking with us. He wanted to walk her and she was doing pretty well, but since she pulls hard I thought I would tie her leash to his waist and keep my hands on the leash as well to correct her when she pulls. Things were going well and my son started jogging a little and she started running alongside him. I should have stopped it then, but my son looked so happy running along with the dog. Suddenly I saw a squirrel and knew what was going to happen. I ran after them to try to catch the leash before it happened, but I was too late. Gracie saw the squirrel and took off after him, dragging my son about 10 feet on the sidewalk before I got there. She was very excited and pulling like crazy when I got the leash off of him, and there was no way to walk her and carry him home. He bravely got up and walked home with me slowly and I bandaged him up. The scrapes were very bad on his knee and his wrist, and it hurt him a lot to disinfect them. At the time it happened I was so angry with Gracie, but she doesn't know any better. I should have known better. I mean, what happened was terrible, but she could have dragged my little boy into the street and a car could have come. Anything could have happened.

So basically, you have to get control of your animal. I know no one likes to refer to their pet as an animal, but as sweet as Gracie is, and as adorable as the things she does sometimes and the looks she gives us, we have to remember she is an animal driven by instincts and those instincts will not just go away...ever. So we have to stay one step ahead at all times. At least that's what I have to do with Gracie.


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## Elisabeth Kazup (Aug 23, 2008)

You can start at home, in the house, by teaching the 'leave it' command.

Put your pup in a sit/stay. If your puppy doesn't know 'stay', keep a leash on him. Put a treat on the floor a few feet away, telling him to 'leave it'. Restrain with the leash if necessary. Once your puppy is calmly sitting, maybe trembling with anticipation but not trying to go get the treat, you can use a 'release' word to let puppy know it's NOW okay to get the treat. We use the word "okay".

This exercise teaches a couple of things. First of all it improves sit/stay, it teaches your pup patience and teaches him to focus on YOU for commands rather than giving into impulse.

Many people will shout NO at a pup. I don't believe that gives the pup any alternatives; it doesn't really tell him what he should be doing. By giving the command LEAVE IT, the pup now has a job to do.

Be sure to carry treats with you on your walks, keep the look out for 'prey' and be ready to give the command. Be sure to reward even the slightest hint of obedience. It builds from little starts.

Have fun with it!


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## hollyk (Feb 21, 2009)

I'm so glad to see this thread!
I have a 6 month old female pup. On land, I have good recall, brings ball all the way back 90% of the time(she all was returns) and knows leave it. In the water my pup becomes untrained and deaf. We went to a very popular dog park yesterday. Would almost bring the ball in, then drop it to go out for someone else's. I swear at one point she was swimming for 20 minutes straight before paws touched ground. I tried treats, praise and maintaining eye contract but I lost her attention when the next ball went flying out. I finally just went in a grabbed her.
I probably need to go when the park is not so crowded and work my way up? Should I have her do swimming retrieves on a long line? Winter is my 1st dog so I know I'm missing steps.


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## Griffyn'sMom (Mar 22, 2007)

Yep, yep! The Leave It command is the best one to work with (IMHO). 

I think I use "Wait" and "Leave it" the most. They both come in handy to prevent a dangerous situation - from avoiding having your dog bolt into traffic and for avoiding burning his mouth on a hot piece of bacon that's dropped on the floor. 

Lots and lots of praise when he does what he's told.


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## Elisabeth Kazup (Aug 23, 2008)

Yes, WAIT! is extremely valuable. I use it so much that 'stay' doesn't have as much meaning for Penny.

When she gets too far ahead, either on leash or off, I say WAIT and she'll stop and turn to look at me. It's great to get her refocused on me.

Recently, she was off leash at a horse show and going to the doggie potty spot. She knew where it was and how to get to it, so I let her go and followed along. At one point she had to pass between parked campers and cross pavement that frequently had cars/trucks passing by. When she got to the edge of the pavement, I said WAIT which she did until I caught up to her. She waited while I looked both ways and then gave her the okay to cross and go to the potty spot.

She has exceptional obedience off leash. It's as if she knows it's a huge privilege and doesn't want to lose it by messing up.


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## Andythom (Jun 20, 2009)

Thanks to everyone for the advice! We have been working the stay command for a few days and he's picking it up quite well. I will start integrating the leave it/wait command into training and eventually on walks to see if that helps.


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## Elisabeth Kazup (Aug 23, 2008)

Great update.

Take your treats on walks and practice your dog's walking 'manners'.

I would stop (WAIT) at every driveway and street corner. I would ask Penny to SIT and then WALK ON with me (the beginning of HEEL, but don't use the HEEL command yet).

I'd also practice the sit/down STAY (leash in hand). 

I think practicing during walks is valuable for 3 reasons: 1. it keeps them focused and refocused on you throughout the entire walk; 2. it gives you an opportunity to train with doggie distractions; 3. it takes obedience training out of the 'classroom' and puts it into real life.

The side benefit of training in public that always makes me puff with pride are all the nice complements we get on what a well-behaved dog Penny is, how pretty she is and of course "Wanna take MY dog for a couple of weeks????"


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## 3459 (Dec 27, 2007)

I really appreciate the tips on this thread. Chessie knows Wait, but I haven't used it on walks. I'm going to implement that and also see if I can incorporate Wait and Leave into helping her control her prey drive with the abundance of little birdies in my yard.


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## Andythom (Jun 20, 2009)

I've been practicing "leave it" today with his toys, and then treats and he did really great. Took a few times to the concept in his head, but he's a smart lil guy and he picked it up quickly. A couple more days of in house training, then we will take it to the streets to see what happens.


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## Andythom (Jun 20, 2009)

Just thought i would post an update. I took a slightly different route that seems to be working well. Cooper was already a pretty good walker. He rarely pulled and when he did, he knows he's done something wrong and slows down on his own. I made the mistake of giving him a little too much freedom on walks, i.e. letting his sniff around at everything, go potty anywhere, etc. I think this was contributing to him getting crazy around rabbits, birds, squirrels, etc. since he felt is was OK to go after them. 

I decided to be more strict on walks by not letting him sniff around everywhere and make him walk really close to me. I also stopped letting him potty everywhere and only allow him to go in designated spots. After about 2 weeks of this, walks have become much more enjoyable. He still perks up his ears when he spots a rabbit, but he no longer goes crazy. We don't stop to look at the wildlife or sniff around, just keep him moving. I think he realizes now there's no reason to get crazy since there's no chance he will get to chase them.


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## wagondog (Aug 24, 2007)

Griffyn'sMom said:


> Yep, yep! The Leave It command is the best one to work with (IMHO).
> 
> I think I use "Wait" and "Leave it" the most. They both come in handy to prevent a dangerous situation - from avoiding having your dog bolt into traffic and for avoiding burning his mouth on a hot piece of bacon that's dropped on the floor.
> 
> Lots and lots of praise when he does what he's told.


Griff's Mom
I agree 100%, those two commands get alot done for us! And always praise
WagonDog


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## Elisabeth Kazup (Aug 23, 2008)

Sounds great, Andy. It's been my experience that black and white is best for pups when they are learning. You are doing a great job of that but keeping your walks disciplined and under control.

As he ages and obedience becomes ingrained you will be able to allow more freedom to 'snoop and sniff'. But for right now, you're doing a wonderful job. I'm so glad you are enjoying your walks!


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

I think there's been some great advice on the thread so far. I'll just add that mastering distractions is all about building on small successes towards the really challenging situations. Small, boring prey far away in a familiar setting is fairly easy to break through, particularly if you've already played an attention game a whole bunch indoors or in an otherwise boring situation.

The trick is to make the _habit_ stronger than the prey stimulus, not to try to find a correction or a reward stronger than a fleeing rabbit. Teach your dog that it's a lot more fun and rewarding to work with you than to ignore you. You're not bribing him off the stimulus with a treat. You might use a treat, but only _after_ he's offered his attention, to reinforce the behavior. For many prey-driven dogs, even the stinkiest of treats is nothing compared to a fleeing bird.

My guys have very strong prey drive, but even the 9-month-old obeyed "leave it!" in a friendly, upbeat voice when we found an injured squirrel in the yard. They were both off leash, and the squirrel was an easy, exciting target, but we've spent so much time practicing paying attention and leaving things that they trust that whatever I've got going on when I say "come" or "leave it" is cooler than an injured squirrel.

The only advice in the thread I disagree with is the suggestion to upgrade to a prong. Your dog doesn't need more discomfort or a stronger, more unpleasant stimulus. He needs to be set up for success in controlled situations so the habit of looking to you is stronger than the desire to chase the bunny and ignore. Breaking through his distraction with more discomfort is even more misguided than thinking you need higher value treats.


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