Size Matters!

I was called to a case where a large dog weighing 50lbs had killed a smaller dog weighing only 10 lbs. The details of what happened were somewhat sketchy since my client was not there to witness the event. As best I could, I gathered information from third parties to try and understand what happened.

This is actually quite important because based on the facts I could give my recommendations for how to proceed with the large breed in the future presence of little dogs. It appears that the Chihuahua was a victim of Predatory drift. Predatory drift is related to predation, but is not the same.

Predation is defined as a sequence of behaviors fulfilled in order to acquire food (hunt).
The identifiable behaviors that are part of the feeding sequence are:
• Search (find prey, mainly by sense of smell)
• Stalk (sneak up as unnoticed as possible)
• Rush (move suddenly towards prey)
• Chase (run after the fleeing prey)
• Bite/hold/shake/kill the prey
• Dissect and eat the prey

All canids exhibit some or a few of these behaviors at a given time. Even our dogs that do not hunt for survival anymore can exhibit part of the predatory sequence; this is hardwired. Predatory drift, on the other hand, refers to an instinctual reaction that a dog might have when another animal, such as another (smaller) dog, is identified as
prey (food).

When a (small) dog feels scared or threatened by a larger size dog, either in play or in another type or encounter, the small dog might begin to act as prey by yelping in a high pitch tone, barking, running away from the large dog, etc. In turn, the larger dog may interpret this sort of behavior as coming from prey (another animal he might stalk, chase, grab, kill, etc.) and not a small playmate. Predatory drift happens very quickly, so quickly that preventing it is nearly impossible.

So as you can see by the definitions above, there is a different motivation (hunt/feed) than if the larger dog had injured  or in this case killed the smaller one as a result of aggression.  There are many definitions for aggression but for our purposes here, I will define aggression as:

The intent to harm as a result of protecting oneself or to protect a resource from others. Even though the definition above is very specific (again one can argue there are more “reasons” why animals can be aggressive) I think that with few exceptions they all fall within the realm of protecting oneself or protecting resources.

The situation described above with the two size-dogs had other interesting components. According to witnesses the large dog approached the small dog in a friendly manner, the small dog, which was on a leash, apparently started to move away from the large one.  I am not sure, if he yelped, cried and was even able to run since he was on a leash and the fact that the dog was mortally bitten in the stomach.


When dogs fight they normally do not bite the belly.  Most bites are delivered to extremities, the face including ears or the side of the body.  When dogs actually engage in food acquisition behaviors, they dissect their victim which it appears to be what happen in this instance.

Predatory Drift is actually more prevalent than people think it is.  When I was attending the San Francisco SPCA Academy for Dogs Trainers, I remember very clearly Jean (Donaldson) saying that everyone (in the industry) has had either direct experience with  Predatory drift or knows of someone that has. I also remember how one of our instructors at the Academy owned a Greyhound who was lovely and very well mannered. However, this gentle giant was never off leash at the dog park. Not so much because he would not come back as his recall was quite good and he was now a “retired” Greyhound, but because his owner was very aware of the chance of his Greyhound- a sight hound, engaging in Predatory behaviors towards smallish dogs.

While there are some breeds that can in a pinch exhibit predatory drift all of them as canids have the possibility. The difference (this is a real interesting part…) lies in which of the stalk & kill sequenced behaviors a particular breed will engage in more readily a consequence of the genetic make-up and the “job” or genetic bias of the breed.

Here is an example: Border collies and other sheep-herding dogs have a very “strong” stalking behavior (as a breed - of course there is always differences within individuals) but rarely will they go from the stalking all the way down the sequence to the kill.  They are not “finishers” an industry term.

What is also really interesting is that if they are engaging in a given behavior of the sequence, yes the sequence always take place in the same order… and one interrupts  the dog, it cannot move forward with the next behavior but has to go back to the beginning…  Love those Border collies!


In any event, the take home message is that we all should be aware and educate others about the real possibility of a small dog being injured as a result of Predatory Drift. In addition, it is my recommendations that we do our part in taking the necessary steps when our dogs - be it because of their size, small play companion and or breed to prevent this misfortune.

I will keep my recommendations to my client and his dog a suspense - suspense makes  life interesting, no?  At least until someone is curious enough to post on the blog asking for the answer. :)

How To Stop My Dog From Chasing Squirrels

Question:

Zora, my 16 month old Husky/GSD mix, is very well-behaved MOST of the time. However, when we go for walks, she spots squirrels, birds or cats well before I do. With no warning, she good-naturedly, yet violently lunges towards the prey. When she does this, I make her sit to calm herself, but when we resume walking she again lunges at the next animal she sees. I am afraid she will catch me off guard, pull away and run into traffic. I use a back-looped harness and this seems to encourage the behavior. I used a choke collar, but she pulled so hard I thought she would hurt herself. What is the best way to make our walks more pleasant and safe?

Many thanks!
Amy

Answer:

Greetings Amy,

Your situation is not uncommon. Zora’s predation is normal dog behavior. All dogs are predators, yet some appear to have the predation gene - more “developed” due to their breed (s) and/or because chasing - be it cars, rabbits, etc. - has been a possibility in their lives and they have found the activity very reinforcing.

Zora’s breed combo- Husky/GSD presents a double whammy in this regard as both her breeds are high on the predation/movement response scale.

I am afraid that your situation does not allow for a quick fix; if any. However, there are things that you could try to do in order to get her to focus on something else while on your walks with hopes of re-directing some of her predatory urges. Notice that I did not say, “get rid of” her predatory behavior because this is truly impossible - it comes pre-wired. :)

First off, I would ONLY walk a dog like Zora who has a strong predatory inclination with a head-halter. Anything else such as harnesses or collars will not allow you to influence her movements enough where you can exercise some control over them, and as a result you might get injured or as you pointed out she can get free and run into traffic.

In order to walk her with a head-halter you first need to get her used to wearing it comfortably. There are many brands out there and they differ on how they must be fitted so read the instructions carefully to make sure that the head-halter is fitted correctly.

This will ensure that it's comfortable for Zora and to make sure she cannot break loose. If you send me a follow up email, I can send you a training plan to help with desensitizing her to the head-halter.

Secondly, I am on the fence about having her sit after each chase attempt for a couple of reasons, and since you have not had success with this strategy I would encourage you to abort that and to try something different. My recommendations are below:

I do not know if Zora is keen on playing tug with you. If she is, play regularly with her daily, if possible. This should only take but a few minutes with added benefits besides curtailing chasing behaviors. However, make sure you only play with her by the rules in order to keep her arousal levels in check and to teach her some needed impulse control.

If you search my blog you will find a post on this. If she is not keen on playing tug I would also make this a priority. The advantage of playing tug often (while following some rules) with dogs in general, and particularly with dogs with high prey drive, is that we give them a legal outlet to practice some of the same behaviors involved in predation.

Other alternatives for substitutes of predatory impulses are using a whippet toy, (similar to playing tug but with a longer range) again I have written about this on my blog and to some extent ball tossing/chasing.

In addition to the above, I would suggest you walk Zora when she is EXTREMELY hungry (have her skip dinner or even two meals - she will not starve, before walks) so that you can have her re-direct her attention to you and the goods you are giving out- try this at least while you are trying to instill an alternative to chasing.

Do keep in mind that the more she is allowed to pull and lunge the stronger (and more permanent) the behaviors will be. So preventing her by using high-value food with a hungry Zora while you teach her an alternative behavior is my recommendation.

The goal here would be to teach Zora a specific behavior such as a U-turn instead of pulling and lunging after what attracts her.

The U-turn is your dog pivoting on the spot and turning around (on or off leash) on verbal cue so that you can more readily have her change the direction you are walking. In your case (and once very solid under easier distractions) when YOU spot the possible target for pulling.

You need to begin training her first in a non-distracting environment (say your living room) and only adding distractions as you find that she can respond to the verbal cue at least 9 out of 10 times under current distractions.

Wildlife or any moving object such as cars, if she also chases them, will be the very last criteria.

I like to train this behavior as a game by using an enthusiastic approach and paying with high rewards.

I recommend practicing this behavior once Zora has learned it not only in the presence of the high distraction but at times when there are no distractions so that the dog does not begin to associate the behavior – the U-turn with the presence of a high-level distraction such as a prey.

You mentioned that she pulls hard “without warning” I am pressed to tell you that there is even the tiniest behavior (s) that she is offering just before pulling. Perhaps it is small and to the untrained or distracted person difficult to spot. For this, I recommend that when you are walking her (with the head-halter as discussed above) you pay very close attention to her body language, especially pay attention to the position of her head and ears.

Most likely she is lowering her head just before lunging forward, or staring in the direction of the prey.

The goal here would be for you to be able to anticipate her lunging by watching for any visual antecedent to the lunging so that you can better re-direct before she is pulling and/or lunging.

As I said earlier this is a difficult behavior to work with so do not expect “miracles” too soon. In addition, consider suspending walks where the highest level of distraction/lunging occurs until you get some of the techniques mentioned in place. In order for any new and better alternate behavior to “stick” she needs to be successful so that you can reward (reinforce) many, many, many times! The more she gets reinforced for an alternative behavior (s) the higher the chances you will have in re-directing her lunging habit. I hope the above suggestions help.

Good luck!