# prey drive



## supysmom (Oct 10, 2011)

hello. my spoo charlee will be a year old next month. she has been obsessing over my rabbit and nipping more and more at the cats. is there something I can or should be doing to curb this behavior?


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## Pluto (Jul 8, 2012)

I don't think there is a simple thing you can do to curb this behavior. It usually comes down to having basic obediance down really well, so that when the dog gets excited and goes after something you can put them in a sit stay or a down stay. 

So you work on having her stay in her place (rug/bed/etc) when just hanging around the house, and give her lots of praise when she does. We randomly drop really good treats in front of our girl on her rug when she is staying in her "place", and I think you could apply the same in instances where yours gets distracted by the cats/rabbit. So if she sniffs at the rabbit cage, tell her to come, and sit. Or from a distance down and stay. Then reward her. If her ears perk up and the cats, distract her by calling her to you and having her do "push ups" (down, sit, up, sit, down, up) with praise and treats.


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## murphys (Mar 1, 2012)

I would make very sure that the cats and bunny have a safe place to go to where Charlee cannot go. I'd be very hesitant to leave Charlee alone with the cats and the bunny without that safeguard in place. In our home we have Fritz (standard poodle) and a cat (Mandy). We have had Mandy for 10 years and Fritz for 3 months. Fritz is 10 months old and has a low prey drive. Still, we have a baby gate across the stairs to the second floor when we leave the house. Mandy can come and go upstairs, Fritz cannot. This is after several steps where Fritz first saw Mandy only in our laps, then he was on a short leash, then a longer leash, then confined to the downstairs when we were home and the kitchen when we were gone to where we are now. Baby steps. We took our lead from Mandy and Fritz's reactions to each other. My brother and SIL's poodle is not allowed in the same room as Mandy.

Charlee should never be allowed to chase the cats or the bunny.

Pluto's suggestions above sound like they might work for when you are home.


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## Indiana (Sep 11, 2011)

I think one of the most important things you can do is be really careful that it doesn't escalate from here, by doing lots of training now to get your dog as reliable to your commands as possible; by consistently reinforcing that the rabbits and cats are off-limits; and by making sure that any exposure to your rabbits and cats is set up for success...that is to say, that you arrange it so that Charlee is under your control and she is rewarded for her calm and controlled behaviour and she is never in a situation where she can chase them. It's tough! I know, I have 3 cats and only one of them is unafraid of the dogs, so they never chase her. But think about bird dogs; they are trained to go after the birds only when they are given the signal, and they are expected to sit and stay for all the other distractions (other birds, other hunters, other hunters' dogs, other hunters' birds...). So obedience work really works! Even with a strong prey drive. It does take a lot of commitment though.


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## BorderKelpie (Dec 3, 2011)

All good suggestions, but don't forget proper exercise, too. When a dog (or kid lol) doesn't get enough exercise, bad behavior erupts. I have a pack of herding dogs, high energy, high prey drive, etc and a flock of chickens. So far, the only chicken I ever lost to one of my dogs was the one dog I never considered a problem (my daughter's extremely laid back shih tzu - who knew?). Super obedience, proper exercise and safe places for the 'prey' animals. 

Best wishes.


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