Suddenly got the hunting instinct!

[Solo2]

Rollo turned 1 yesterday and over the last 2 weeks he's suddenly gone from being very laid back about small moving furry/ feathered things to totally addicted to them! This morning, he ran 2 fields away, chasing a hare and if we walk anywhere near a rabbit warren, he gets completely obsessed. In all case, he'll ignore me and won't return until HE chooses!

Is this a passing phase or the start of the rest of his life? Is it adolescence? What can I do to come back rather than disappear off? Obviously it's not safe for him to keep going, as there are roads and railways lines beyond the fields. But calling to him or waving an exciting toy or food, isn't working.

Ah - this sounds like an identical case of what happened to Mouse a few weeks ago, with squirrels/rats etc! Someone recommended a book called 'Stop', which I got - its been quite helpful.

Will try and bump my squirrel thread for you!

Thanks Elibean. Just read your thread and looked at the book on Amazon.

One issue springs to mind for me - Rollo wears a muzzle ALL the time when out and about, to stop his scavenging/pica behaviour (this had led to terribly stomach issues for months last year). His absolute favourite game with me, which we play on every walk, is for me to throw stones that he runs after but of course he can't then pick them up/retrieve. So he can't learn to fetch anything and bring it back - only to chase after something.

So I've got to somehow make the throwing stones/hoop game so constant that he doesn't get distracted by a real, live creature but prefers to keep chasing what I throw....tricky....