Prey Drive

[Just Midol]

Is it just me or are there two distinct types of prey drive?

Type 1) This appears to be the drive Montu has. The desire to chase anything that movies. Grab it, run around with it... whatever.

Type 2) This is the type the huskies have. They have no interest at all in toys or anything else. But the minute a prey ANIMAL comes into the picture their drive intensifies to levels that owners of ordinary dogs will never imagine

I can't harness Gizmos or Lilys drive as they simply don't give a toss about toys. Lily doesn't even know what to do when I have the rag out - she usually just lies down. But when a bird lands she is suddenly in hunting mode.

Any thoughts?

[emmabelle]

Any thoughts?

What does she do when real bird feathers are near her? I picked up a load of feathers from off the strip when I walk my dog and he loves them. Goes crazy to get them.

Would it be possible to modify a fly ball by adding feathers to it and seeing if that had any result for you?

[dogdude]

I think it can have a lot to do with the dogs history of building on its natural instincts.

I used to take one of my Bull Terries rabbiting with me from a pup, and he would start moaning in delight when he saw me getting the gear together. If he saw a rabbit in the car, he would nearly go through the windscreen to chase it. Everywhere we ever went in the car, he was fully alert, looking for rabbits continually.

My other pup never went rabbiting, but I used to play ball alot with him........and he was ball obsessive, and couldn't give a toss about rabbits.

Could it have been that your dogs built their own drive, and have built on it to a point that it is so powerfull, far beyond what a rag could provide?

Have you tried tuggies that have a "natural" covering or similar?

[Lablover]

Is it just me or are there two distinct types of prey drive?

Type 1) This appears to be the drive Montu has. The desire to chase anything that movies. Grab it, run around with it... whatever.

Type 2) This is the type the huskies have. They have no interest at all in toys or anything else. But the minute a prey ANIMAL comes into the picture their drive intensifies to levels that owners of ordinary dogs will never imagine

I can't harness Gizmos or Lilys drive as they simply don't give a toss about toys. Lily doesn't even know what to do when I have the rag out - she usually just lies down. But when a bird lands she is suddenly in hunting mode.

Any thoughts?

Its Friday night, I am more confused than ever. Are Montu, Gizmo and Lily all huskies?. Never ceases to amaze me, WHY sled dogs pull? And their satisfaction, as a result.

[Just Midol]

dogdude, it's possible it's related to their history. I don't know anyones history except Montus here though so can't expand

emma, Gizmo eats feathers but wont chase them.

lab, Montu is a working like GSD. Giz is a rescue sibe, Lil is from a breeder (sibe).

[corvus]

As I understand it, hunting behaviour is not just an on-off thing. There are different behaviours that make up hunting behaviour. Different breeds have different parts of hunting behaviour emphasised or bred out. For example, herders stalk, but don't get much further. Sighthounds just chase (although obviously they can and do kill if they get the chance). Some dogs have the full set: stalk, chase, bite, kill. You could even add eat and/or seek at either end. Anyway, a dog that just wants to chase is engaging in only one part of hunting behaviour. A dog that just wants to kill is usually engaging in the full set.

My mother has a little Swedish Vallhund that I have seen literally tear a hole in a garage wall trying to get at a possum. If it smells like a prey animal, he just wants to kill it. He is so fast on those Blue-tongues he's snapping his mouth shut on them before you realise he's no longer plodding sedately at your side. My mother spent weeks trying to desensitise him to my rabbits when they stayed with her and it never happened. He could not forget for a second that he wanted to kill them. He's not interested in toys. When he's off leash, he wants to hunt. That to me is real prey drive. Everything else is just bits and pieces of it.

You just have to think outside the square with these dogs. This little Vallhund would do anything if he thought you were going to help him bring home the bacon. But he's incredibly smart and you can't fool him more than once. What you've gotta do is find something he thinks is amazing and build it up. Keep it hidden so he only gets to sniff if he does the right thing and only gets to bite if he does something amazing. Get the real thing. A whole bird wing, or a birds nest is often pretty good, or I'll post you some rabbit fur. They might not want to chase something, but I bet they want to rip it to pieces. This Vallhund of my mother's would do just about anything for a mouthful of rabbit fur, too. Having said that, I know someone whose Basenjis thought she was insane when she went running around the yard with a bird nest on a rope.

[Just Midol]

As I understand it, hunting behaviour is not just an on-off thing. There are different behaviours that make up hunting behaviour. Different breeds have different parts of hunting behaviour emphasised or bred out. For example, herders stalk, but don't get much further. Sighthounds just chase (although obviously they can and do kill if they get the chance). Some dogs have the full set: stalk, chase, bite, kill. You could even add eat and/or seek at either end. Anyway, a dog that just wants to chase is engaging in only one part of hunting behaviour. A dog that just wants to kill is usually engaging in the full set.

My mother has a little Swedish Vallhund that I have seen literally tear a hole in a garage wall trying to get at a possum. If it smells like a prey animal, he just wants to kill it. He is so fast on those Blue-tongues he's snapping his mouth shut on them before you realise he's no longer plodding sedately at your side. My mother spent weeks trying to desensitise him to my rabbits when they stayed with her and it never happened. He could not forget for a second that he wanted to kill them. He's not interested in toys. When he's off leash, he wants to hunt. That to me is real prey drive. Everything else is just bits and pieces of it.

You just have to think outside the square with these dogs. This little Vallhund would do anything if he thought you were going to help him bring home the bacon. But he's incredibly smart and you can't fool him more than once. What you've gotta do is find something he thinks is amazing and build it up. Keep it hidden so he only gets to sniff if he does the right thing and only gets to bite if he does something amazing. Get the real thing. A whole bird wing, or a birds nest is often pretty good, or I'll post you some rabbit fur. They might not want to chase something, but I bet they want to rip it to pieces. This Vallhund of my mother's would do just about anything for a mouthful of rabbit fur, too. Having said that, I know someone whose Basenjis thought she was insane when she went running around the yard with a bird nest on a rope.

Ahh, you've nailed it sort of.

They don't care much for the chase, or the stalk... But they do it because they know it'll help them get to the item to kill and eat it (Gizmo eats, not sure if Lily does.)

We've got chooks here so I'll try some of their feathers.

[MonElite]

Its also interesting to see them work in a pack.

I have choocks here that we let out once day to hav the whole yard and I observe the dogs.

Divani will stalk and round them up, where Rex will just stand in a strategic point and go for the "kill"

he actually doesnt kill them of course but its interesting to see different actions by the members of the pack and which part of hunt they more participate in.