So it's day 3 of our new rescue dog who is adorable, utterly affectionate and is settling in beautifully. Dogs Trust reckoned he was lab/collie cross type and he's certainly somewhat lab-ish in appearance and size. However, having now taken him for several walks his obsession with squirrels is very apparent.
I've done some research this morning and if I google american cur dog he is the absolute spit of many of the images, right down to the wonky white flash down his nose. And they are bred to hunt tree squirrels.
I absolutely want to be able to walk him off-lead (not done yet) and thought my biggest challenge would be getting him to know his name, ignoring people with food and being motivated to come when called. ACtually I now don't think those things going to be a problem at all. He's already coming when called in the house and garden and from a long lead and seems very responsive to a 'leave' command. What I do think will be a problem is if he sees or smells a squirrel he'll be off and I suspect will take no notice of me at all. So, he's likely to go too far away from me or blunder into some tangle of brambles/fencing where I can't help if he gets stuck/injured. He's already broken some garden fencing chasing one - the desire to get the squirrel was much stronger than assessing any obstacles.
I have no experience of tracking or hunting dogs and don't know how best to deal with this. I'm assuming if the instinct is that strong then it's a question of working with it rather than attempting to train it out of him.
Where we live has a very very large squirrel population! And they're largely pretty tame. This morning my dog tried to climb several trees..
Any advice hugely appreciated!
If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.
The doghouse
Advice needed please! My rescue dog is a squirel hunter!
gymmummy64 · 20/09/2012 11:04
thank you so much for all your replies, I'm really grateful!
I will look for the book GOLD, thanks for the recommendation
happy from what I've seen his levels of obsession with squirrels far outstrips his levels of skill - in fact I'm better at spotting them than him because I just use my eyes rather than pretend to be a bloodhound 
Thanks for that pimmsgalore, I don't know what his high value treats are yet just that it's not the ones Dogs Trust gave me. He won't eat them! Do tell me about your dog's teenageness - mine is estimated to be just over a year old
Floral I think we need a safe field too. Unfortunately all our walking places close by tend to be full of small children (not a problem but he's a bit boundy at the moment) and of course squirrels.. He seems to squint at birds and cats long enough to decide they're not a squirrel and then loses interest.
He's a big boundy dog though, I think he needs to be off the lead else I'll never tire him out. Do need him back though!
When we got our he was estimated by the rescue to be 3, but then he has had 2 big growth spurts in the 6 months we have had him (so big that even the vet noticed he was taller). He has gone from 15kg to 31kg and now vet thinks he is 18months.
Teenager attitudes are :
when you call him he looks at you and decides whether he feels like it or not.
when you say leave it he looks and asks why?
he often barges past us at the moment
he is chewing everything he can (although he is not teething)
oh and suddenly deciding the hoover is his enemy and it must die (through barking, chasing and jumping on it and me) 
The vet said this morning that he is just testing his boundaries and being a teenager, as in you say I need to get up why should I. Maybe I should call him Kevin from now on.
However, on advice of vet, we have taken everything back to basics and it is starting to work. After an hour of stopping every time he pulled on his lead and waiting for him to sit and wait this morning he is now back to behaving in a normal manner and not pulling me over into the mud We are also being very firm with him, he has to ask permission to even move at the moment and this is working
High value treats for mine is sausage or cheese, he was very skinny and battered when we got him so he could have as many as he wanted but am trying to slowly reduce them now he is at a more normal weight
Yup, had exact same scenario with ours!
I got 'STOP' and it was helpful, mostly in that it taught me to distract a lot more, work on basic obedience a lot more, and generally de-program our dog from equating walkies with squirrelies.
He still chases them (and rats, which he often catches and kills - but will then drop on command) but far, far less. He's 18 months now, the worst chase stuff was around a year.
I used to distract him with a whistle, or clicker, as soon as I saw a squirrel - if you wait till he gets that glazed look, its too late 
I let my high prey drive terrier off only in spaces where it would be appropriate for him to hunt.
So trying to kill Mr. Squirrel in front of a load of primary aged children at the local park = Not good. Don't try this, the children do not like it 
Chasing rabbits in an open field by an industrial estate where factory owners have reported that rabbits are causing problems for them = fine. Although he has yet to catch one. He's more interested in chasing the other dogs
I don't encourage him to hunt. It's not my thing, but equally he is a terrier, it's in his nature, I wouldn't brand him a murderer if he ever did manage to catch anything.
You can train for it (and I am currently training emergency recall using a whistle and chicken wings to stop my terrier attempting to scale the sea wall in search of foxes) as suggested above but you need to be aware that if your dog has a high prey drive he might never be 'cured', what can you offer that is more fun than chasing and killing his lunch?
Thanks for the advice pimms. Dog is crashed on the sofa at the moment which is a great improvement on previous 2 days but I know the 'what's next' will return the minute I get up from where I'm sitting mumsnetting working from home.
I will definitely try some games. We did do a 'where's DD2' this morning and he was so pleased he'd found her (not hard, she was in bed fast asleep) he leapt right on top of her. She has a raised bed! I would not have thought it possible!
The rescue said not to start any serious training until he's really settled in which they said was min 2 weeks. I'm itching to start lead walking training as my arms are sore!
Cleanin I'm wondering if a high prey drive comes with a high prey-tracking and catching ability? From what I can see he's like Chou's springer - lumbering and noisy. I can't imagine any self-respecting squirrel being caught by him. I am very conscious that the children/squirrel mauling combo would not be a good one...
It's very amusing watching him do his bloodhound act on some long and complex scent trail while the squirrel is sitting plain as day a few metres away though
I would have started lead training from day 1 tbh. Set boundaries and start as you mean to go on. I'm sure the rescue mean don't attempt to try and train him how to do triple somersaults just yet, not don't try for basic manners
I think if you want your dog to hunt or track there does have to be some training as well as natural ability. My Dad owns three lurchers, two of which are natural hunters. I have seen them stalk rabbits very quietly and strike at the last possible minute. Being lurchers they are fast enough to catch them, but they only manage to catch one every 3 or 4 months or so between the three of them, so if that is all the results you get from natural ability I can't see why people would bother?
I know a few students at the college I am in have talked about attending tracking clubs with their dogs, so there must be training clubs available for these types of things.
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