How To Control Dogs With High Prey Drive

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Dogs with high prey drive aren’t always fun to take for wilderness walks.

But there’s hope – many dogs with high prey drive can learn to control themselves around bunnies, squirrels, and pigeons.

In this “Ask A Behavior Consultant,” Amanda K. asks:

My 5 year old Dutch shepherd, Konrad, has an EXCESSIVE prey drive. He is all around an amazing and well behaved dog, who never barks, chews or destroys, and has an amazingly calm and composed demeanor. In our 4 years together, we have found that we are practically able to teach him ANYTHING, except how to stay calm in the presence of anything that runs. When in the presence of any wild animal (or cats) he becomes almost unrecognizable.

His ability to listen and respond on command disappears, he gets extremely frustrated and anxious, pulls violently if on a leash, and the adrenaline rush he gets tunes out the world around him. He will lunge and growl at squirrels through the window and has run off on us after deer, coyotes, and bears (which is a terrifying experience).

At this point enough is enough. He is our wilderness adventure buddy, and we value his presence on the trail and in the woods, but this behavior is becoming a dangerous and frustrating habit, and as we live in a small cabin in the woods, we need to be able to gain his attention and take control of such situations. He was stray before we adopted him, and is an extremely adept hunter, so our best guess is that he may have hunted to feed himself during his time as a stray, and as a result, the behavior has become ingrained in him.  

What can we do to stop this behavior, calm his demeanor, and turn his attention toward us when faced with wild animals? 


Certified Dog Behavior Consultant Sue Brown has created two excellent resources to help you with your unruly dog: an impulse control online mini-course, and an online dog training course. Both of these options will really help you get started on controlling your dog!

If you’re considering getting another pet, check out our article about introducing high prey drive dogs to kittens and cats. You may also want to check out Predation Substitute Training.


 Step One: Welfare and Management for Dog with High Prey Drive

Before embarking on any training plan, it’s important to ensure that the dogs’ needs are being met. In this case, it’s important to ensure that Konrad has ample time and space to exhibit species-typical behavior like searching, chasing, catching, and dissecting. This may be well-met using flirt pole games

The first step to most major behavioral problems is management. If Konrad is allowed to go outside and chase squirrels or catch bunnies, that’s rewarding for him. We need to reduce Konrad’s ability to practice the predatory sequence. While it doesn’t sound like the issue with Konrad, this means implementing rules like:

  • Leashed walks only.
  • Free time in areas where no prey animals are around. 
  • Supervised time in the backyard.
  • Basically, no free access to prey animals.

It’s important to note what your dog perceives as a prey item. Dogs that view bears, deer, elk, other dogs, cats, or humans as prey items are obviously much more dangerous than dogs who act out their instincts on bunnies, squirrels, and toys. 

No matter what training route you take, don’t forget the importance of practice in dog training! Helping teach a dog to be calm around prey animals takes a lot of practice.

You can give your dog healthy outlets for exercise by playing dog training games, and impulse control games


Step Two: Training Games to Help Dogs with High Prey Drive

You’ll hear me talking a lot about impulse control. That’s because most of what we humans view as “naughty” dog behavior is actually pretty normal dog stuff. Our job as good owners is to teach our dogs what we expect from them – and then help them work through situations that challenge them.

Dogs with poor impulse control are more likely to act immediately on their instincts, rather than slow down and remember their training. Think of it like teaching your dog to slow down and think through their actions. For dogs with high prey drive, this means a dog with good impulse control should be able to look to his owner for direction rather than lunge to chase the squirrel.

Try these 9 games to teach your dogs impulse control or these 13 dog training games. Using a variety of these games will give your dog more chances to learn how to slow down, rather than simply react instinctively.

You’ll especially find “Ready, Set, DOWN” and “Look At That” useful when working with a dog with high prey drive.



Look At That Techniques For Dogs With High Prey Drive

So how do you actually go about controlling dogs with high prey drive? Other than strict management, I like to implement “Look At That!” games with dogs with high impulse control. “Look At That!” (LAT) games are common for fearful, reactive, or aggressive dogs as well. Check out my “Ask A Dog Trainer” post on reactivity for more details.

The basic idea of LAT is to expose your dog to his “trigger” at very low levels. For Konrad, that might mean having him on a leash across the field from a bird, deer, or squirrel. The goal is to teach your dog that when he looks at the trigger, he gets a reward. Eventually, you start to teach your dog to look at the trigger, then look at you, then get a reward.

This rather simple principle works because it teaches the dog what to do when he sees his trigger other than his underlying impulse. Paired with good impulse control, LAT can be a pretty magical training tool. We’ll start easy.

  1. Have your dog on a leash in a boring area (like your living room). Use a clicker and some tasty treats or a favorite toy. Have a friend handy.
  2. As your friend walks into the room, click and reward your dog for looking at them. Repeat this 10-20 times (at least).
    • This stage is important, even though humans aren’t your dog’s trigger. You’re perfecting YOUR timing and clicker/leash/reward handling skills. You’re also getting your dog into the pattern of seeing something interesting, and then looking back to you for a treat.
  3. After both you and your dog are feeling pretty fluent at stage 2, you’re ready to move on. At this stage, let your dog look at the fake trigger (your friend) for up to 2 seconds. Click and treat if your dog looks back at you. Our goal is for your dog to look at the trigger, then look back to you as if to say, “Hey, you! I looked! Where’s my treat??”
  4. Get really good at step 3. Then move on to increasingly distracting environments. If your dog is having a hard time remembering to look back at you, go back to step 2 for a while. It’s ok to make a noise to get his attention, but we don’t want to rely on that. We want the look at the trigger, then look at owner sequence to be automatic.

For dogs with high prey drive, it might be important to set up some fake scenarios involving prey items to work on this training. Since you can’t control where the squirrels are, this requires a bit of creativity!

Want more personalized help? Check out our different remote and online training options. We have something for everyone!


Step Three: Teach Your Dog a Rock-Solid “Come When Called”

It’s also imperative to work on come when called (recall) for dogs with high prey drive. Practice come when called often and in a wide variety of places. Use really high-value rewards (tug toys or fantastic treats). It’s important to make come when called a highly ingrained habit and an exciting cue for your dog to hear. The more you practice in increasingly distracting areas, the more likely you are to succeed in the real world.

Read more about teaching your dog to come when called here.

Start out making this super-duper easy. That means doing recall training inside your home. Then inside your home with some distractions. Go outside in the fenced yard. Practice outside with some distractions. You get the idea. Be sure to keep an eye on both the Distance and Distraction of your recall training.

For example, don’t expect your dog to be able to come when called from a quarter mile away when she’s romping in the dog park just yet. Start out 5 feet away from your dog. Then 5 feet away from your dog near mild distractions. Slowly, slowly move your way up in distraction and duration. Never increase both Distance and Distraction at once!

We want to set your dog up for success. That means making it easy. Practice with your dog attached to a long line, especially at first. That way, you can grab your dog more easily if need be.


Step Four: Set Up Practice Scenarios For Dogs With High Prey Drive

Like working with reactive dogs, dogs with high prey drive need a setup to successfully work on Look At That exercises. While you might be able to go to the local park to use squirrels, their fast movements and unpredictable behavior might send Konrad over the edge right away. Likewise, you might be able to go to a pasture and use horses, goats, cows, or sheep. That might work at first, but dogs with high prey drive also need to work on not chasing fast-moving things.

This is where we get creative.

I’d suggest trying to use something like real buffalo hide or sheepskin attached to a string. With your dog on a leash, start using the inanimate object for some look at that exercises. Ask a friend to twitching the string and fur, making it move. Continue to work on look at that. If your dog starts struggling, make it easier. You can do this by increasing the distance between you and the toy or by making the toy move more slowly.

Eventually, build up to the furry temptation flying through the air, “scampering” up trees, or racing along the ground – all while attached to a string. You can also start working on look at that using real-life prey items. Try to find parks where you can maintain a “safe” distance from the squirrels.

Again, the “Ready, Set, DOWN!” exercise will be helpful for working on teaching your dog to think when excited.


The bottom line – it’s possible to train your dog with high prey drive to pay attention to you.

Using a combination of impulse control, recall training, and LAT techniques, your dog can learn to ignore prey items. Keep an eye on the Distance and Distraction levels, and make sure you’re succeeding often. If you or your dog gets frustrated, go back a few steps.

Want more personalized help? Check out our different remote and online training options.


four steps to control your dog with high prey drive |journeydogtraining.com

22 thoughts on “How To Control Dogs With High Prey Drive”

  1. This is so awesome! Thank you. Now I know what to work on next with my Husky X. He is almost similar to Konrad, but not to the same extent. I live in an area where all the dogs are practically hiking off leash but mine just can’t be because I loose him as soon as something exciting comes along. I think this will help a lot!

    Reply
  2. I have a 5 yr. old German shepherd. She was in a puppy mill in California and was transferred to a kill shelter. Our organization in Omaha called HUGS rescued 3 dogs.. she has a very high prey drive including small dogs. Other than the high prey drive she is very friendly. Very difficult to walk her in our neighborhood which is loaded with small dogs. It takes all my strength to restrain her. Any thoughts.

    Reply
    • Ron, that sounds really tough. For the safety of the other dogs in the neighborhood, you may want to start conditioning her to wear a muzzle. I’d also recommend a head halter or front-clip harness so that you can control her better. Then, the Ready-set-DOWN game can help. Let me know via email if you’d like a private training session over video call for more help.

      Reply
  3. Hello Kayla, I adopted a rescue dog from Lebanon 5 weeks ago. She is loving and affectionate with humans, is not agressive with dogs and walks well on leash EXCEPT when she sees squirrels and there are plenty where I live. She goes frantic, won’t respond to any of my commands and when I try to control her by pulling on the leash or touching her to get her attention, she tries to snap at me. She litterally becomes another dog. I realize she has not been here for very long and I need to work with her but the snapping issue worries me. What would be your recommendations to address this? Thank you!

    Reply
  4. I just pet sit and she stays in the house with me for 8 hours. When she sees a squirrel outside, she scratches the screens on my windows and goes crazy, please help, I love having her here almost everyday. She is a German Shepard mix, 6 years old and very gentle and loving except for seeing squirrels, which are always around.

    Reply
  5. Kayla,
    I’m so happy I found your website and your training advice. I have one question about the article “How to Control Dogs with High Prey Drive”. I understand management and no access to wild prey like squirrels; also, I will follow all the training tips/games you’ve so patiently laid out in the article. What is your advice about playing with balls? Jake, our 3 year old rescue GSD, loves his ball almost excessively. I have used this attachment as a training tool as well as for exercise in our yard. How can I incorporate it into this prey-control training? Also, is chasing the ball (which he does retrieve and bring to me) exacerbating the “chase the squirrel” adrenaline rush?
    I know of course that I can be doing much more to help him control his impulses. He has a good start but we need to take it to the next level!
    Thank you so much for your obvious talent for and dedication to training and education.
    Sincerely,
    Susan Myers

    Reply
  6. Hello! I have an adorable 6.5 month Lakeland terrier. He is our third. I recently had him neutered as the breeder said several in his littler seem to have overdrive in Prey Drive.
    I am wrestling with weather to muzzle him when we go to the dog park. Unfortunately he goes into overdrive when he plays with bigger dogs especially puppies. Only certain dogs but with regularity… goes for their mouths and it is not good! Otherwise he is very social and happy with other dogs. And we have no other problems with him.

    Goes into a frenzy and when you get him off the other dog it is impossible to distract him. He barks for a long time in frustration and anger. Then calms down…

    Any suggestions reusing a muzzle. He needs to run and play but I am now petrified to let him into the leash free areas.
    Thanks,

    Reply
  7. My Schnauzer-Boston Terrier mix goes NUTS when she sees a deer, moose, squirrel, gophers, rabbit, but doesn’t react in the slightest when she sees a horse, cow, goat, sheep, chickens. We take her for evening drives in the countryside, so she sees all of these.
    Why does she only react to Deer? It’s absolutely insane! My legs get ripped to bits! She’s only 35 lbs, but when she’s going crazy it’s hard to keep her off me!
    Help!

    Reply
  8. I have a Catahoula/ Dutch mix and he can be the sweetest dog. He is about 5 months. Unfortunately, he loves to go after our Chickens, ducks, baby goats and cats. He’s killed a duck and a chicken.We’ve tried all that we can and he doesn’t seem to care. He never learns. What would you recommend?

    Reply
  9. I adopted a Siberian Husky without realizing they have a high prey drive…my wife has goats and at first the dog basically ignored them but one day suddenly became aggressive towards one..the goat was backup up and defending itself against any advances byt the husky…the husky was responding by backing away but remaining curious..i took this as a “ok i am not sure what this thing is but its definitley not to play with” ..then without warning the husky lunged at the goat and grabbed its hind leg and began pulling i was able to get in between the two before any damage was done…now i have to supervise him on a leash when he is let outside but found out my wife “accidently” let him out when i was not around and he killed one of the baby goats..

    I do not want to give him up as he is indeed a smart and good dog all around but will i ever be able to let him roam unsupervised around the goats?

    Reply
    • Hi James, I cannot say for sure if your dog is safe, especially without doing an in-depth assessment with you and your dog. If you’ve tried the suggestions outlined in the article and aren’t seeing success, the next step would be to book a 1:1 consult with our team using the options in the menu bar above.

      Reply

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