Bull lurcher with with really strong prey drive

[ILoveCoreyHaim]

Hi, is there anything I can do or will it always be like this.

He cannot go off the lead. Tried working on recall and all he does is hunt. Last night I went to work and he pulled the kids dad who've as babysitting into a bin where he damaged his wrist, he's going to walk in centre. He dropped the leash and he took off. He has done this to me twice where he has actually pulled me to my knees. Once again then he got away and needed a vet as he broke all his nails chasing a rabbit. He has done the same last night and is limping.

Is there anything I can do. Coming out the front door I run a gauntlet of cats and I am terrified he kills someone's pet.

He lives with an English Staffordshire and a Yorkie who he is fine with. Totally blanks strange dogs and loves people and kids.

He is always leashed, refuses to wear a halti and with the harness I feel like I have no control. I don't think any leash will help, if he sees a furry he's going to chase it. He looks up every tree he passes sometimes jumping at them for a good look. He's been in the pound twice, I have a bit of history due to the prev owner who knew the prev owner who took him off the people who got him off breeder (back yard). Long story but this is the longest he's had a home. Had 5 in his 4 years so he won't be going anywhere.

You have my sympathies on this one. I have a terrier sighthound mix with a strong prey drive, but he's 10kg. That's hard enough to manage so I can only imagine how hard he is. I have a lot of strategies that are making small improvements in his ability to focus on me rather than hunting when out. I don't have time to write much now but tomorrow I'll put down a few ideas. Depending what you have tried you should be able to work on making him a bit more manageable day to day

Any help would be appreciated. I have given up working on recall as he's such a big dog if I don't get it absolutely right he could cause an accident but even leashed is a proven as he is strong enough to free himself by pulling dragging me to my knees. I was using food which seemed to work the best. He also has an obsession with sticks, well branches. If he gets a branch I can not get him back, of he gets a branch whilst on leash he refuses to drop it, If I try and remove the stick he gets over excited (someone's obviously been lifting him up on a stick).

I am happy to give him the exercise he needs and feel more comfortable keeping him leashed so I guess I need advice on walking a huge dog on a leash who has prey drive and stopping him from being able to pull me over when he sees prey

Ooh, yes, sympathies. Distraction is probably the key. Food distraction, if it works. Is there anyway you can persist with a halti? I found it was the only way to keep decent control of our old lurcher. And keeping him leashed may be the only answer. Can you can find somewhere secure he can run where he is unlikely to find any prey? We used to take ours to the local (absolutely dead) tennis courts in the park where he could run like a lunatic for a change from the garden. Sorry to not be much help!

There's no where within walking distance to let him run free. The halti when I eventually got him into it and went out he was thrashing about up on 2 back legs like a bucking broncho. He's just had absolutely no training. He apparently come from some teenagers who bred them and they were too big they thought for hunting so they passed them on. I suspect he's possibly been worked at some point (not off someone who knows what they are doing). I really don't think he would retrieve an animal if he killed. He killed a hedgehog in front of the kids last year whilst leashed. It was dark and I seen it at the last minute. He lurched for it and I wasn't able to yank him back in time.

When he has escaped with the leash attached he just runs and runs and runs extremely fast and aggressively like a greyhound on The track.

I would love to find a secure area. In the house he's brilliant.

Several issues here, OP. You definitely need to find a safe off lead space for regular exercise. Contact your nearest sighthound rescue and ask for the nearest. There are also increasingly privately owned/run secure fields bookable for time slots where you can have safe off lead play.

Sighthound prey drive, is in my view (we have four currently) too powerful to be over-ruled by a Leave command. I would work on your loose lead walking (that will improve with time and practice) and work with a trainer/behaviourist on strategies for managing this. Make sure he is always muzzled when you are out. Personally, I wouldn't take on a dog like this unless I already was experienced and had the resources in place and a long term plan to manage it. It's possible that things will/can improve but you are going to have to put a lot of work in.

One of ours had been working before she arrived and like yours was a specialist in vertical take off. We did classes, practiced, more classes, more practice - she still has her prey drive but she is so much more manageable now. Her loose lead walking has improved enormously and her recall (when not in hunting mode) is much better. You need to work on these basics and I'd also be looking at giving him plenty to do at home - at the moment it sounds like his walk is his main source of excitement. Plenty of clicker training will help to keep his brain working, and to keep him focused on you, which will in turn have huge benefits when out on your walks.

In the longer term, I'd think about channelling his drive into activities - he might be brilliant at things like flyball or even agility.

You will also find specialist help on the Lurcher Link forum - may be worth a visit.

That's the problem. I took him on to prevent him going back into the pound and had no idea how bad his prey drive was and I have limited funds and don't drive. He is walked 3 times per day in different directions to try and vary where he is going and seems quite content. I can go a month and not have a problem until I see a cat. I check the coast is clear before leaving and now the neighbourhood cats seem to know to hide. Last night I have since found out that the kids dad went out the back gate and a cat was at the end of the lane up on a wall and he didn't see it. When he opened the gate the dog instantly seen the cat, he wasn't expecting it and was pulled from the gate smashed into a wall and then tripped over the bin and fell which is when the lead was dropped. He doesn't normally walk him, I do. I don't live with him he watches the kids while I am at work on an evening. By then he's had his walks. Because it was fine he decided to take him out late on with the kids. He was shocked at how bad he is

Thanks I will check that link out.

My friend who has an immensely strong Stafford cross American bulldog had a lot of success with one of [http://dog-games-shop.co.uk/perfect-fit-fleece-dog-harness these]] harness, the front ring means if they pull forward they simply spin around. Might be worth a try?

Crap linking sorry, here

I have decided I am going to buy a muzzle when I get paid after reading the other thread about a dog killing a cat. He is insured but I would hate him being able to kill someone's pet. I don't know how he will take to it as he fights the halti on his face. Yes that harness looks good but I would be a bit worried he spins me around and I drop the leash. Due to me not driving I am unable to find anywhere where I would feel safe letting him run free. It would need to be somewhere with a very high fence as well so he will have to stay leashed. 99% of the time it's not a problem but it only takes one mistake on my part for a disaster to happen. TBH reading up on it it seems a very hard problem I will never be able to rectify, only try and make it manageable and that's a long shot. He seems happy enough with the walks and living with other dogs so has company as well as a garden he can lounge in (never seen a cat come in my garden). Yes he's a big dog who would love a run off the leash due to his breed but I think the safety of other peoples cats is more important or the fact he could cause an accident chasing an animal. Even if I did improve his prey drive/recall there's just no guarantee he won't take off. Even on the leash he is able to get away from me if he wants to so a muzzle is the best option to start with.

I've just seen something else he does on another thread. He zig zags on the leash sometimes and tries to go through my legs from behind me

Hi OP. This might be a bit mammoth but just a few ideas I hope might help:

Muzzle - I would agree with that as there is a risk that you might lose control of him. Really put the work in to slowly muzzle train him as otherwise it will add more stress to your walk if he's miserable with it on. This is quite a good page from the Blue Cross and also this Kikopup video.

Waist belt - When I walk strong pullers I always use a second lead attached to a waist belt like this one worn slightly low onto the hips. You are much more likely to be able to withstand a lunge after a cat using your core rather than a lead held in your hand. People always seem reluctant to try this but in my experience it's very hard for a dog to pull you over wearing one and you can even drop the lead in your hand if you are going to get hurt.

Harnesses and collars - Different harness and head collar options work for different dogs. Those dog games harnesses with a front ring are good. If he does not like the halti but you feel a head collar works, maybe consider a more comfortable one like a SWAG one and use a similar approach to muzzle training to help him accept it. If you use a back up waist belt and lead then it takes some of the worry out of trying them.

Off Lead Exercise - I'm going to really respectfully disagree with Scuttle on this (which is unusual because she's super luffly and very knowledgeable about hounds). Typically terrier or bull breeds are bred into lurchers to increase their gameness (tenacity) and stamina. Whilst a good burn off lead can knock out a grey or whippet, it's unlikely to have the same effect on a some types of lurcher. Giving a dog with a high prey drive, gameness and stamina, any opportunity to practice part or all of the prey sequence also gives them an opportunity to reinforce the behaviour and, in some cases, make them much harder to handle. They end up wired and wanting more, possibly also more frustrated when on the lead. For dogs that are kept on lead it's important to focus on developing a relationship with the handler and improving their general impulse control.

Understanding the prey sequence - it might be helpful to understand the prey sequence, which parts motivate your dog and the chemical reaction going on in his head when he is hunting. Whilst you might never be able to have a good go at following the training protocol, David Ryan explains it quite well in this book. For example when your dog zig zags, I would imagine he is tracking.

Managing him on the lead - definitely agree that a "leave it" command won't cut it with a high prey drive dog. It won't be a cure all but you definitely work on a command that will help him to focus on you rather than chasing behaviour. If you haven't already, you can start by teaching him a "watch me" command at home and then out and about with distractions, building up the time he will focus on you for. This takes time and at first you may struggle to get his attention at all outside, but gradually you may be able to get him focusing on you before he spots "prey" or before moving into the chase part of the sequence. Good tips here. Also, it will generally encourage him to look to you for stimulation on walks rather than always out into the environment.

There's no easy answer but at least some of this might help make your walks a bit easier!

Thanks I am going to have a good read through this. I definitely need something else to walk him in.

Off lead exercise - that is so right what you are saying and explains him to a T. I have a 10 year old full staff who is a walk in the park, walks off the leash not going further than a few feet in front and is so people orientated she is focused on pleasing you all the time so was extremely easy to train and has zero prey drive to the point she is cared of cats. he has traits of both breeds and that's what he is like off the lead, exactly what you describe. He just gets more excited and unpredictable and less likely to listen. When he has got off he runs and runs and runs to the point he damages his legs. Both times he has got free hr has had to see the vet.

Thanks I will read all the links when the kids are in bed