Lynn is wild for wildlife! (barking, pulling)?

A

Amanda B

New member
I live out in the country. I usually walk my dogs of a morning, and there are deer and rabbits all over the place. Lynn pull super hard and barks and whines hysterically when she sees wildlife. And its like she goes deaf and cannot hear me. I do highly doubt she would do anything, even for a treat because she is so worked up over wildlife. Even if no critters are out she still does that sometimes when we get to where they usually are.

Ruckus is good, but her barking gets him stirred up, and then he is pulling with her!

Thanks for reading
 
A head collar like the Halti will stop the pulling. The more they pull the more they face you since this controls where the head is.

You have to get her to not work herself up. Put her in a sit position and enforce it. She can watch, but not bark and not jump and pull--you need to train her. Last thing you need is for her to break free of you and run into traffic and get hit because she's concentrating on the deer.
 
If you are having trouble controlling your dogs it might be an idea to invest in some training devices to help you regain control, and help to control their behaviour around wildlife.
I would recommend a halti type head collar in this situation, but you can also get no-pull harnesses as well.
The reason I would say to choose a halti first is because this collar gives you control over your dogs head, so you can focus her attention elsewhere. It makes walking and training much easier.
The no-pull harnesses are good, especially because they are much easier for dogs to wear, but they can still pull when they want to- and in your case I think its better if you have control over their heads for the time being.
When your dog gets distracted by wildlife, tell her loudly to 'leave it' and keep on walking. When she behaves herself and doesnt bark, whine, pull, etc tell her what a good girl she is.
Hopefully, given time, you will be able to walk your dogs peacefully without needing any aids, just keep telling your dogs how good they are when they behave themselves.
 
Hha...my dog is the same...although he is more of a silent stalker, but when you see the look on his face in presence of a squirrel there is almost nothing that will take his focus off and keep him from wanting to chase it. One thing I have found helpful if you are lesh walking is as soon as you see your dog staring, you walk the other way and take her with you (in fact this can sometimes even work off leash if you have a dog who has bonded well with you).

So every time we see a wild animal and my dog zones in, we do an abrupt turn and walk the other way, then when he is back to focusing on me, I say "good" (and give a treat) and then we turn back towards the squirreland if he goes back to staring down the squirrel we turn right back. We keep repeating this and suprisingly it has really worked!! He is starting to look at me when there is wildlife present.and he is responding because it is becoming a pattern!

Another thing that helps is my dog gets frequent "pack walks" off leash with me and some friends. this is where he is free to chase and just be a dog. The squirrels are smart enough to run up a tree anyway, and for him to be able to just be a dog is very healthy for him. He is learning when he is and isnt permitted to chase.
Remember, prey drive is a really good trait for a working dog. You can teach him to track, do flyball, aligility, herding, etc. This way he will have an outlet where he can unleash his natural insiincts in a healthy manner. Best of luck!
 
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