How to Tame Prey Chase Drive in a Dog
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What Is a Prey Chase Drive?
Prey chase drive, or predatory chase drive, is an overwhelming desire to chase things, such as other dogs, small furry animals, cars, bikes, scooters, etc. The movement of the “prey” triggers the dog to chase, similar to a reflex, and is a part of normal dog behavior. Some breeds have higher predatory chase drives than others, especially working, hunting and herding breeds. In this article, we will look at how to tame prey drive in a dog.
Aside from being a natural behavior that is left over from their wolf ancestry, chasing is fun for a dog and triggers the pleasure centers of their brains. This behavior can go from fun, like when your dog is chasing after a tennis ball to a real nightmare for you if the drive becomes too high and your dog begins displaying inappropriate behaviors associated with prey drive. Negative effects of predatory chase drive can include:
- Chasing/hunting/biting/killing cats and small animals
- Focusing on and stalking other animals
- Chasing cars, bikes, skateboards or other moving objects
- Inability to focus on anything but moving things
How to Tame Prey Drive in a Dog
Owning a dog with a predatory chase drive can be quite a nuisance if the drive is mild. If your dog’s chase drive is high though, it can be dangerous should they ever find an opportunity to chase and harm another animal. But fear not, all is not lost! Learning how to get a dog to stop chasing cats is attainable. You can work with your dog to make sure that they don’t hurt themselves or another animal because of their need to chase moving objects.
Keep Them Safe and Secure
Dogs with a high chase drive need a safe place to be contained when you are not at home to prevent them from escaping and harming another animal or person. Dogs with a bite or kill history may be legally declared potentially dangerous, dangerous or vicious dogs and be humanely euthanized, so it is very important to keep your dog under control and safely secured at all times. Crating your dog indoors, installing an outdoor dog run and installing proper fencing are all good ways of how to tame prey drive in a dog, how to get a dog to stop chasing cats and preventing problems from happening. You may also need to put a lock on your gates to prohibit anyone from entering your yard without permission and accidentally or purposely letting your dog out.
Do the Behavioral Work
Training exercises are an excellent way of how to tame prey drive in a dog, and there are several exercises you can do with your dog at home, with the most important being establishing control over your dog when they are off leash. As with any command you teach your dog, keep the Three Ds of dog training in mind – Distance, Duration and Distraction. You want to start training a new command with as few distractions as possible and have them hold the command for short durations while you stand close to your dog. As your dog gets better over time, start to increase the distractions, duration and distance until your dog can perform their commands reliably no matter what is going on around them. How to get your dog to stop chasing cats without exercising the Three Ds will be difficult. Your training will be fragile and will break down in the presence of a heavy distraction, such as a small dog running by or a bicyclist to chase.
Exercise 1: Encourage Eye Contact
There are a few things that need to happen in order for your dog to begin acting on a chase response. First, they will scan their environment for things that interest them, then they will lock eyes on their target, the target will move and the chase begins. In order to prevent the chase from happening, we must break the cycle. To break the first step (scanning) and/or the second step (focusing), and tame prey drive in a dog, we should first begin working on encouraging our dog to give us their full attention when we ask for it and to check in with us frequently before acting. If you can’t break your dog’s hyper-focused intense staring, you will not be able to redirect them later.
Teach Your Dog “Watch Me”
First, take a training treat in your hand and hold it between your fingers. Then bring the treat up and hold it between your eyes. Wait for your dog to glance at you. When your dog finally glances at you (the treat), click with your clicker to mark the moment they looked at you and give them a treat. Do this several times, then add the verbal cue “Watch Me” as you bring the treat to your eyes. As your dog starts offering the behavior faster and faster, start having them hold your gaze for longer and longer periods of time. As your dog improves, begin practicing in areas that are slightly more and more distracting until your dog reliably holds your gaze no matter what is going on around them. With enough training to tame prey drive in a dog, you will be able to cue your dog to watch you should they begin hyper-scanning their environment and focusing on an animal, person or object too much.
Teach “Check-In” to Tame Prey Drive in a Dog
First, take your dog to an empty field or park and attach a long leash (15’- 25’). Completely ignore your dog and wait for them to give you their attention; this could take a while. As soon as they look at you, praise them with playtime! Let them chase you around the field (a positive-chase), give them extra special treats, and lots of love and affection as if looking at you is the best thing they have ever done in their entire life. To get your dog to stop chasing cats, practice this often and soon your dog will learn that looking at you is better than wandering off on their own. After your dog is learning to focus on you more, you can begin practicing basic obedience to tame prey drive in your dog during your park sessions.
Exercise 2: Drop Down
To tame prey drive in a dog who is already in the “stalk process: of the prey-chase-cycle, and they are focusing intently on what they want to chase”, you will need to break the stalking behavior. To do this, your dog will already need to reliably know how to lie down. When your dog is beginning to stalk, cue them into a down and drop treats between their feet to break the stare. Then drop the treats to the side so your dog looks away. Then clip your dog’s leash and walk them out. When your dog is at a safe distance, reward your dog excitedly by praising enthusiastically and throwing a ball (a “good chase”) or playing with a tug toy.
Exercise 3: Come Away
For this exercise, we want to encourage our dog to come from a chase back to us. Before you begin, your dog should have already learned the Come/Recall command. To start training this method to tame prey drive in a dog and to get your dog to stop chasing cats, put your dog on a long leash (25’) and use a low-value toy that your dog will chase if thrown, but will not be overly interested in, such as a towel. Throw the item, then call your dog back to you while they are in pursuit of the item. If they ignore your request, gently tug the leash (you do not want to “snap” them backward, you are merely using it to redirect their attention). When your dog leaves the item and returns to you, reward them with a “good chase,” this time allowing them to chase after you as you run and play with them. If your dog ignores or continues the chase, the game ends, and it’s time to go home.
Handling Emergencies
How to tame prey drive in a dog involves having the right equipment that will help you on your journey to rehabilitating your dog, especially when accidents happen. If your dog should have a predatory chase drive outburst while you are out with your dog, the trigger may simply be too much for your training to break through. In the event your training fails, it would be wise to use a few training aids to help you break the intense focus and get your dog redirected back and focusing on you. Training tools such as “Stop That,” which is an air canister that emits a loud hissing noise while releasing calming pheromones may help break your dog’s focus. The use of training collars may be helpful to tame prey drive in a dog, but should only be used under the guidance of a professional experienced trainer.
Managing the Drive at Home
If your dog is chasing other animals in your home, such as cats, it is important to supervise all interactions between your dog and your other pets. Any time you cannot physically be there to supervise them, such as while you are at work or asleep, your dog should be contained in some way. Crate training is an excellent way of how to tame prey drive in a dog, and ensure the safety of all of your pets while you are gone.
How to Get a Dog to Stop Chasing Cats
When your dog and your other pets are allowed to interact, it is important to provide an escape route for any prey pets. Cats will benefit from a tall cat tree, shelves, or other tall furniture items to climb on top of to get away from your dog. Some other creative ideas are putting up baby gates in doorways that are high enough to allow a cat to run underneath it. This is especially beneficial if your dog is medium to large in size because they will not be able to fit under the gate. If your dog likes to jump, you may need to add a second baby gate above the first one to discourage your dog from jumping over the gate.
Exercise 4: Teach “Leave It”
Teaching “leave it” is a great tip on how to tame prey drive in a dog and how to get your dog to stop chasing cats. To teach “leave it,” first put a treat on the floor. Tell your dog to “leave it,” and cover the treat with your foot if your dog tries to get the treat. As soon as your dog looks away or otherwise leaves the treat alone, use a clicker and click to mark the moment they left the treat alone and give them praise, affection or a different treat. Designate other household animals as “leave it” and once your dog has mastered the command, they should completely leave their brothers and sisters alone.
Since chasing is a natural canine behavior, it will be helpful to have appropriate outlets for your dog to express it, such as by playing with toys, playing fetch, tug o’ war or by enrolling in fun sports that’ll curb your dog’s need to chase. Good luck! Hopefully, these tips on how to tame prey drive in a dog and how to get your dog to stop chasing cats will help you achieve a more well behaved pet.
