Help! I have just returned from a walk, during which my 4 year old black bitch purebred lab chased, caught and killed and tore apart a small deer. She has always brought me only dead animals nearly dead animals in the past and has always dropped them when asked. Her recall is kinda ok with a whistle. I've never seen this savage behaviour in her before and we have had her from a puppy. I take her 'hunt' training with dummies and play hide and seek with her toys at home to satisfy her hunting instinct. This episode has left me really shaken. Is muzzling the only solution?
Holy wow! I'm sorry I have no advice or experience, I just wanted to tell you to hang in there. Shoowee.
Welcome to the forum. She should not be off lead until your recall is better than kinda okay. You should be able to call her back, even if a deer is in sight. I admit it will be hard work because the freedom to follow her prey drive has been reinforced time and time again in the past. But with persistence it can be done. Practise recall with higher and higher distractions until it is rock solid. In order that you prevent walkabout use a long line.
In some places, running deer is treated the same as chasing livestock, and is a serious offense. In Oregon, chasing stock used to be an automatic death sentence for dogs. It is still very serious, but not automatic. Chasing deer and elk are both very bad, and likely to get a dog shot by law enforcement.
Deer chasing dogs get lead up here in the wild North too. Legally by Wardens and illegally by pretty much every other hunter. It’s also a big deal. The herd around my territory suffers greatly from deforestation, spraying, coyotes and bad winters so they are very protected. I’ve had an ex roommate who’s puppy I lived with get this exact treatment by a citizen. He said it was the best and worst moment of his dogs life all at the same instant. He understood though why it happened. The dog was raised like a beach hippy and had zero recall. Shame really, she was a beautiful being.
Hi @Johnny Walker Is there a reason why the authorities don't penalise just the owner of the dog.and require the owner to keep the. dog on long line. Shooting the dog is a harsh remedy if one includes the dog's welfare in a measure of social welfare.. If the shooter can see the dog, then following home would seem to be possibility. Or alternatively capturing the dog? Are dogs not routinely microchipped in North America?
It is common for dogs to be microchipped in the USA. I think it would be very difficult to follow a dog in the woods though. Shooting a dog for chasing deer is extremely uncommon. Chasing or harassing livestock is more common, and more likely to get a dog shot. Most farmers probably are not to eager to do that unless they have had serious ongoing problems.
Hi have just seen your post. I advise getting advice from a dog behaviourist . Hard to do this on your own . We are working with one as our 18 month old has very strong chase drive
