How to stop a dog from chasing wildlife?

The best way to stop your dog from chasing other animals is through training. If your dog has a high prey drive, it's essential to take steps to stop your dog from accidentally hurting themselves or other animals. Train your dog to “leave”. This command will often tell your pet not to pick up something, but it can also tell your dog not to run off. Make sure you say “leave” as soon as your dog spots something to chase. Then, reward your dog for giving their attention to you instead. Teach your dog recall, training your dog to come back to you when you call is suitable for their safety. Distract your dog, stay alert during walks so you can spot things your dog might want to chase before they do, then distract your pooch from the animal. Keep them on a lead, during walks, please keep your dog on a lead so you have more control over them. Secure your garden, ensure fences and gates are secure to help keep your dog safe and protect wildlife or other pets. Muzzle train your dog, wearing a muzzle will prevent your pooch from hurting other animals.

We also want to make sure we manage situations where your dog’s chase behaviours might kick in, such as keeping them on a lead around wildlife. Remember, it is our responsibility as dog owners to make sure that our dog does not cause a threat to wildlife or chase other people or dogs too. Start working on building up your dog’s focus and recall, but in less distracting environments first. If your dog won’t come away from another dog or will go after someone throwing a tennis ball instead of coming back to you for example you know there is going to need to be a lot more practise before you will be able to reliably recall them away from something like a squirrel. Keep your dog on a harness and long-line lead while working on their recall and teaching them to focus on you around possible chase distractions. This will stop them running off but allows for some freedom too. Make food rewards an active part of training by using big treats that you can roll and throw along the ground to be chased as a distraction.