Seeking the motivation from Tricia Wills, Dog Trainer in Exeter, Devon and the South West
To a dog, hunting, chasing, running, nipping and herding are inherent dog behaviours, in some breeds the instincts are more focused and ingrained in their nature. In other instances their instinct may be to chase off what seem to be intruders – people from their zone – the more a dog succeeds the more it is rewarded.
A dog possesses some extraordinary intense senses through sight, smell and hearing and these can trigger a natural likelihood to chase.
Day to day living with this predatory type of behaviour can become a big emotional burden to the dog owner, whilst outdoors seeking an enjoyable leisurely social time out walking their dog.
These sometimes embarrassing, at worst dangerous, stimuli reactions by your dog can be incredibly frustrating. If they are ignored as just being overtly playful – the stimulus will grow and so will the social and emotional consequences for you as a dog owner. A long term understanding of the facets of stimuli via the breed and instinctive dog behaviour in these occurrences are of paramount importance.
The dog chasing behaviour instinct is a quite high ranking instinct in the dogs psyche. Quite simply it is seeking ‘prey’. This prey-seeking can manifest itself as the targeting and the pursuit of moving objects: cars, bikes, cyclists, joggers and other dogs and in the worst case scenario livestock. Within adverse circumstances these chasing and predatory actions will be dangerous.
Seeking a solution to the mystery of reducing the thrill and understanding what your dog’s stimuli to the chase actually is, will be key! Complexities to this dog behaviour can be unravelled by seeking motivators for alternative processes to chase. We have a responsibility as dog owners to ensure that other dogs, wildlife, livestock and people are not, and do not, feel threatened.
My 25 years + of my interpretation of the psychological profile of many dog breeds and their instinctive behaviour in these situations are critical to administer an appropriate treatment plan for you.
Contact Tricia Wills – Exeter and Devon Dog Trainer: 01392 811723 • 07932 743982 • info@triciawills.co.uk
