# chasing deer



## HerdingStdPoodle (Oct 17, 2012)

*Chasing Deer*

Hi Searcher,

Thank you for your post! Chasing deer can be a real problem, and you certainly are not alone. What worked for my Louie is this: Recall---Recall---Recall. Everyday (consistently) work on your recall! This can be a fun thing---when you are at a park or yard or pasture or store or anywhere---and remember to bring treats! Often, I am out in a large pasture and he is running after a duck or on a scent trail or whatever---and I wait until Louie is distracted---and then I call in a Very Loud Happy Voice "Louie---Come!" Louie leaves whatever he is doing and runs directly toward me and has to sit in front of me! He immediately gets a wonderful treat and a huge hug and "Good Boy!". He feels so very proud of himself that he is a "good boy" and we proceed. I may do this three or more times a day. At first, I worked with him on a short leash and then a long leash, but soon, we were working off-leash. The "Come" is such a critical command. Poodles are so smart. It's a fun game and consistency is the most important! Start small and go big! The trick is to make it more appealing to come back to you than to chase the deer.
HerdingStdPoodle


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## WhosMyFluffyPuppy (Jan 12, 2013)

I second what herdingstdpoodle did. When I was having trouble with recall, I took a step back and worked on recall on a short leash, then a long leash, then a 50' rope, then (hold my breath) no leash outside. And each time we did recall it was the happiest thing ever with the tastiest treat my dog ever wants (freshly boiled chicken liver). I definitely need to constantly practice recall with the high value treat to make it work. Like herdingstdpoodle said, the recall has to be more rewarding than chasing the deer. 


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## HerdingStdPoodle (Oct 17, 2012)

*Chasing Deer*

WhosMyFluffyPuppy;

Do you buy chicken livers at the store and then just boil them? Are they small chicken livers and how long do you boil them? Are they in plastic containers in the meat/chicken department?

I use Zuke's Mini Naturals "Fresh Peanut Butter Formula" from Zuke's ? Healthy, Natural Treats for Dogs & Treats for Cats
HerdingStdPoodle


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## MaryLynn (Sep 8, 2012)

You would do well to increase the level of obedience that you have. High prey drives, especially when they get such a fun chase can be really hard. Work in all areas of obedience, but especially recall.

Good luck, and find out when bow/gun hunting season is in your area. During that time if this problem isn't under control keep a leash on at all times, not worth the risk.


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## Searcher (Aug 7, 2009)

Recall is what we work on the most & every day. Both on & off leash. I have a lot of varied treats of low, medium & high value. We also have the "Really Reliable Recall" (Leslie Nelson) that we have been working on for over a year now. I can call her off most things like squirrels but the deer seem to be too much. And of course, most of the time we don't run into them. Fortunately we aren't in areas that have hunting. I know it is a lack of proper training but don't seem to know what to try that I haven't already.


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## WhosMyFluffyPuppy (Jan 12, 2013)

HerdingStdPoodle said:


> Do you buy chicken livers at the store and then just boil them? Are they small chicken livers and how long do you boil them? Are they in plastic containers in the meat/chicken department?


Yes to all the above  the dh just dumps the container into a pot of boiling water until they are cooked through (pink and not bloody). We store the extras in the freezer. 

Searcher, instead of recall to get your dog to stop chasing the deer, have you considered what my trainer calls "emergency" down? If I yell the DOWN command (no hand signals), no matter what Darku is doing or where he's facing, he does down and stays down, which can be 100' or more away. It won't get him to come back, but it DOES stop Darku from chasing and gives me the opportunity to get him. 

"Emergency" down is trained the same way as recall, first at short distance, then at increasingly longer ones, and when they immediately down (don't use hand signals) without moving towards or away from me, I run up to them always happy, profuse with praise, and a ton of treats.

"Emergency" down was taught to us on case Darku got loose and is about to cross a busy road, to get him to stop. You might be able to get your dog to do this instead of recall?



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## liljaker (Aug 6, 2011)

Exactly what my telephone trainer (a retired trainer from my area who I befriended years ago) impressed upon me.....RECALL..RECALL..RECALL... until rock solid. I work with SUnny every day, although he also has prey drive, he will run if scared and had some scarey early on escapades, so I have to really work it to get a proofed solid recall, and even then, if scared it may not hold. But, I work it every day.


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## PoodlePowerBC (Feb 25, 2011)

Good luck with this  
My last Spoo Roscoe had a huge prey drive, he would chase anything with wing or hoof or fin!!! I tried EVERYTHING!!! He swam across the lake after ducks more than once, we lost him in the woods once for an hour  He was great ... until he got the scent! If he started to run, he never heard a thing! We finally had to resort to an e-collar. It was the only thing that "broke his train of thought" It saved his life, I'm positive!! A touch of the vibe button, and he looked to me, so I could get his attention and keep it. I realize that a LOT of people don't agree with the e-collars, but One dog's prey drive is NOT necessarily the same degree as another dog's prey Drive. I haven't used the collar on Russell since he was 18 months old, rarely even needed to hit the vibe when he did wear it. My voice is all he needs, not matter what the critter or situation. Roscoe needed that collar till the day he died at nearly 6 years old.


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## Searcher (Aug 7, 2009)

Quote <"Searcher, instead of recall to get your dog to stop chasing the deer, have you considered what my trainer calls "emergency" down? If I yell the DOWN command (no hand signals), no matter what Darku is doing or where he's facing, he does down and stays down, which can be 100' or more away. It won't get him to come back, but it DOES stop Darku from chasing and gives me the opportunity to get him."> end Quote

This command has been neglected & I need to work on it. Emergency down is one I haven't trained well, I go from beginner steps (close to us) to super advanced (jumping to too much distance) & skip the in between steps. I need to be get real serious about it. New idea on what to use, thanks. 

I also have to get on top of recognizing her "I smell deer" motion to catch her before she starts her chase. 

We will also work on solidify her recall. Wish we could find a good trainer for off leash work. Have found trainers seem to stop with the on-leash or do off-leash in such a confined space that it doesn't apply in reality. Does anyone know of any retriever trainers in NW Washington that don't use harsh methods?

Does anyone have any suggestions for a vibration collar that is for smaller dogs? All the ones I see are so big & heavy. This is the one area (along with snake avoidance) that I would consider its use. 

Thank you & keep the suggestions coming. We know we have a lot of work ahead of us.


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## WhosMyFluffyPuppy (Jan 12, 2013)

Searcher said:


> This command has been neglected & I need to work on it. Emergency down is one I haven't trained well, I go from beginner steps (close to us) to super advanced (jumping to too much distance) & skip the in between steps. I need to be get real serious about it. New idea on what to use, thanks.


You got me thinking more on what I do with Darku to practice the recall and emergency down. Sometimes, outside in our fenced yard, my spouse and I have the dog chase one of us and rile him up; then, one of us yells "come!" Or "down!" We started this on a long untethered rope with the chasing then command, and then when that was solid did it without the long rope. 

When it was just one of us and the dog, the other way I practiced was to take his favorite fetch toy and play fetch until he's super excited about it. Then I'd throw it without the fetch command and he'd start the chase, but before he can get to the toy I'd yell "come" or "down".

In both instances we reward with lots of treat and more praise than normal. This is how we still practice today. Maybe this can better simulate the excitement of chasing a deer? Hope this helps!




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## msminnamouse (Nov 4, 2010)

What she clearly wants to do is chase the deer, that's a given. So when you see deer, recall her and for a successful recall, allow her to chase them for a short distance. She'll learn that she can chase them with permission but not without. In time, and with general practice on recalls not in this situation, she's become reliable because impulse and stimulus control will be conditioned.

Don't take any recall for granted. Find a way to ALWAYS reward them. It doesn't have to be food every time, either. For example, Ginger likes food but I'll switch it up with applauding her since she loves attention, an ear rub since she loves those, running from her since she likes to chase, etc.


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