I know they’re not seasonal…..deer that is….but this is the time of year that they become more mobile, crossing dual carriageways, looking for those fields full of long rich spring/ summer grass to graze or somewhere safe to have their young and these areas are often quite close to us.
What often starts out as meaningless fun, letting your dog chase after a deer, thinking ‘oh well he/she will never catch it’ can turn into one of the hardest behaviour problems to cure and can often end with devastating results (a friend of mine’s dog ran after a deer straight across the A380… the deer made it… the dog did not).
The problem with letting your dog chase after anything is that the chase excites them, releasing endorphins to their brain, which in return gives them a mental ‘high’ and subsequently makes them want to repeat the behaviour again and again and again.
So be vigilant and look out for deer and if possible try to discourage them from going into chase mode.