How to discourage chasing birds

RoscoeT · May 21, 2009

Hello All,

My 6 month old YLF is coming along great with formal obedience, we're following the smartwork program.

While on our walks if she sees a cat, rabbit or squirrel she will want to chase it like any pup with high prey drive. If necessary I will correct back to heel but she is pretty good most of the time.

Sometimes while in the dog park there will be birds around. Ducks, sea gulls, pigeons, etc.

This got me to thinking, hypothetically.

How do you go about keeping your dog from chasing birds in the park without correcting for birdyness.

I realize the answer will likely be "strengthen your obedience". And she is pretty strong. It's more of a hypothetical situation where "my friends dog" might be chasing birds they have no business chasing.

I would imagine with formal training a dog would associate the correction for breaking heel or ignoring here. But with pups...

Anyone got an opinion on this?

RT

Fowl Play WA · May 21, 2009

I guess you could work on steadiness and leave it, but you're dealing with a young dog. You've got your hands full with that task. Personally, I wouldn't take the dog anywhere like that until I knew I could make the pup stay at heel.

RoscoeT · May 21, 2009

Fowl Play WA said:
I guess you could work on steadiness and leave it, but you're dealing with a young dog. You've got your hands full with that task. Personally, I wouldn't take the dog anywhere like that until I knew I could make the pup stay at heel.

I've got no issue here. I just wonder hypothetically what should be done to prevent bird chasing.

I mean cat chasing I will correct for no problem. But when we see pigeons, which I have trained with, I wondered.

Fowl Play WA · May 21, 2009

RoscoeT said:
I've got no issue here. I just wonder hypothetically what should be done to prevent bird chasing.

I mean cat chasing I will correct for no problem. But when we see pigeons, which I have trained with, I wondered.

Personally, I wouldn't want to make them stop, but the people in the park might have issues. Again, that's why I don't take mine anywhere like that. (Not that I have parks around with birdies.)

Lady Duck Hunter · May 21, 2009

When our dogs were young and they sawa bird they wanted to chase, I just let them without correction. They never could catch it and soon learned that lesson: a flying bird is always out of reach, but if we shoot it, then I can get it."

That's how I see it. Later, during formal training you might work on upland hunting and then they are able to understand that you sit when the bird flushes, not go off chasing after it.... but you teach that at the appropriate time.

The only time I might correct for chasing a bird is if it could get the dog injured, like running toward a street raod etc..and by the time that could ahppen I'd be sure that I had a great recall before I'd ever let him run off lead.

TexasEd · May 21, 2009

The only ones I would be worried abut are the ones that won't fly off but might defend a nest like a swan or goose or don't fly so well like chickens and some park ducks. Pigeons will fly away.

RoscoeT · May 21, 2009

Not really worried about them catching them. Just wondered about correcting birdy behavior. You usually want to promote bird interest, not discourage it.

TexasEd · May 21, 2009

keep him on the lead unless he is free to play until you are prepared to deal with that problem in other ways.

metalone67 · May 22, 2009

If a dogs OB is instilled into them, there should be no problem, heel means heel. I don't care if a flock of geese land in front of him he should be at heel untill given the release command. My oldest female I would make sit and throw wing locked pigeons around her, at first she would try to get them, but once the sit command was burned into her brain she wouldn't move. She did not lose one bit of the drive to find birds.
I believe it all starts with basic OB.

How to discourage chasing birds

RoscoeT

Fowl Play WA

RoscoeT

Fowl Play WA

Lady Duck Hunter

TexasEd

RoscoeT

TexasEd

metalone67

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