# Poodles chasing deer ?



## Feralpudel

Dexter would if I let him. Given the opportunity, he has taken it. It can become a habit. I can't say I blame him--I can see how they would be fun to chase. Plus they hang out in our back yard all the time, taunting him. 

So what are you looking for in a standard? Color, temperament,...?


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## cliffdweller

I am going to look at a 1 year old silver female sometime next week.

I am looking for a dog that has potential to be "outdoorsy", agile, that has a moderately high activity level and that, hopefully, will like the water (since the ocean is about 20' outside the back door). I am interested in watching/helping an "older" dog that has had limited life experience blossom when it is allowed to explore its own being in a natural environment.

I had this experience with what you all call my "heart dog". She was a 5 year old Weimaraner that was returned to her breeder by a man who claimed she would not hunt. She had been abused and would shut down completely in the presence of men. I suppose she had spent most of her 5 years in a kennel. She came to me; I taught her to swim and I would turn her loose on the remaining game after every field trial -- no pressure. Once she found herself, she was amazing ! 

This dog I am going to see bears a slight resemblance to that "heart dog".

But, I've loved them all, and have no doubt that I will love this one too, no matter what she decides to be. 

I am, however, _hoping_ that she doesn't turn into a bounding, barking, banshee when she sees the deer.


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## Feathersprings

we have a lot of deer on our property and Hoolie would chase if given the opportunity. I think it is the way they startle and run. Right on the other side of the fence from his yard are our Mini horses and he never barks at them though they do play through the fence and chase up and down.The horses instigate it as often as he does.I'm sure you could work with it she does though. sounds like you have a lot of fun with your dogs


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## cbrand

No, but mine are taught a very clear LEAVE IT and a solid reliable RECALL from the day they set foot out of my house. We don't just have deer in Colorado, we have bear, huge coyotes and mountain lions. In our state it is also legal to shoot dogs who are chasing livestock so I have to train my dogs well if I am going to be hiking off-leash with them.

In your search for a dog, I would look for a puppy with a lower prey drive. You can assess this by separating the puppy from its littermates and dragging a dishtowel around. You will see that some of the puppies naturally love to chase and that they are like white-on-rice on that towel. Others will play for a while but will give up easily. That is the puppy you will want.


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## cliffdweller

Thanks for the suggestion (and this knowledge) cbrand. I'm actually looking at a dog that is a year old and looks like she needs a home. Best I can tell, she's well socialized, but probably in a mostly "urban" (limited) environment.
Heh, heh, I think she needs me ~~~ a little walk on the wild side ...

It sounds as though she will be all right, though. Some of my concern is that we have big sliding glass doors, and the deer will come right up to the doors and windows to see what we are doing inside. I will be putting tape in a grid pattern all across these doors until I find out how the dog reacts. I never let my dogs run without supervision, and mostly keep them on a long line when out in the yard or walking around the neighborhood. There are lots of places I can take a dog to run here, where deer are not a problem.

Of two Weimaraner half sisters, one had no chase, but would lunge if the deer walked really close to her. The other (out of a field champion) was a confirmed and incorrigible deer chaser (--but she never lived here in Florida).
Used to being around horses, neither of these dogs paid the slightest attention to them.

These Key Deer will not startle and run unless the dog gets really excited and lunges and barks at them; they are used to people & dogs. They are small, about the size of a large dog, and protected. So it is illegal for a dog to run them and dogs can be shot for doing so.

Yes, Feathersprings, dogs are alot of fun, and I've learned alot from them. One thing I learned when I was active in field trials, was that I liked watching/judging the untrained puppies the most. That is, I liked watching the dogs do _their_ thing, not mine.


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## Feathersprings

We did the grid with tape when we got our Greyhound.. it worked well.  I have never participated in field trials but ran some earth dog trials with an untrained ,young, Mini wire Dachshund. I was impressed. 

It is illegal here also for dog to run the deer and wildlife and also can be shot for chasing livestock.. and If I wasnt a dog lover I wold have shot my neighbors new dog this morning for terrorizing our Mini Stallion!!! Instead I wanted to shoot the neighbor!


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## cliffdweller

LOL ... the "new dog" will hopefully decide to stop before you get in trouble .... What's "in there" by nature is really interesting.


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## cliffdweller

*update*

Rainy is here. So far she has done nothing but look, very intently. The deer cross about 10 -12 ft. in front of the glass doors. Outside, at night, she is afraid of them, but this fear appears to be decreasing (it's only been 2 nights). I think she's going to be fine. Maybe she'll even play with the fawns this Spring !


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## Rocketagility

Well we have deer everywhere up here and I thought I had my dog trained with an awesome recall off deer and bunnies and other animals. He has ignored horses, but reacts to cattle. I took him herding and he is easy to control when he works sheep. But the other month a deer popped out right infront of him probably within 10 feet and he took chase before I could even call him off. Well I could hear in the distance he was on this poor deers butt. he did finally come back in about 3 minutes. But I don't condon this behaviour and it is dangerous as a deer could turn and attach the dog. At least my mini came back right away.


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