1. You spend 1-2 hours a day picking grass and herbs for your bunnies
2. You bought a book about herbs you can find in the nature and learned what they are good for (stomach issues, colds etc.)
3. Your bunnies live free in your home with you or have a cage almost as big as your own house/apartment
4. In the wintertime you spend at least 5 euros a day for vegetables for your bunnies
5. You often/always spend a minimum of 100 euros in a month for vet bills
6. You don't ever/seldomly go on holidays because you can't leave them for a few days
7. Pet store bought bunny houses and tunnels were not good enough (or your bunnies are just too big for them) so most things are self made
8. Your bunnies have toys (..that they never play with)
9. They have a box for digging (... that is just used as a toilet and they never dig in there)
10. You spend several hours in a week cleaning up their cage so that it's perfectly clean at all times

We all know the story. You are having a lovely stroll with your dog on the meadow or in the forest and a deer pops up right in front of you and your dog and in one second your dog is gone. He doesn't hear you, he doesn't hear anything anymore. You start to panic and run after your dog which is chasing the deer, so scared he might run to the street and get hit by a car. You try different things, your hysteria and panic is all in your voice, you scream your dogs name, you scream "No!" or "Stop!" but nothing works.

For most dog owners the picture above is their worst nightmare when they are out with their off leash dog.

Can you actually stop a behavior that is completely a natural instinct? The answer is yes! Read on and you'll find out how.

What are some of the reasons you should never to let your dog chase an animal? The animals are in great danger getting hurt by the dog, your dog might run onto a street and get hit by a car causing danger not only to himself but also to other people.

Let's first start with the different stages a dog goes through before he starts to chase an animal:

1. Stopping and standing still with a stiff a bit raised body in the front, kind of a majestic posture
2. Sniffing in the air with a highly raised snout (and his tail is raised high up, one front leg lifted) he is very alert
3. Gazing and fixating his target
4. Pouncing
5. The chase begins

These last stages usually fall away with most dogs, they are usually kind of clueless what to do if they reached their target but it depends on the dog, usually smaller animals and rodents will get killed by most dogs but larger animals like deer or boars stay might stay unharmed.

6. Reaching the target and get a hold on the neck or anywhere the dog can reach
7. Getting in a good bite and not letting go
8. Shaking head until the animal stops moving and eventually dies

These stages are not much different from how wolves hunt.

The reasons your dog wants to hunt and chase animals:

1. He is bored
2. He has had successful hunting experiences before (yes, even one good experience is enough)
3. His natural instincts
4. He doesn't have a good recall
5. It's so much fun for the dog
6. You own a specialized hunting or herding breed

A pack of wolves hunting and catching up to a buffalo

So let's get practical, what are some things you need to work on as the dog owner so it will never happen again?

1. Your recall: always call your dog the same thing, not one day "Sam!" other day "Sammyy" then "Come here Sammyy". This will confuse your dog and he wont know what to do. Dogs listen to the tone of your voice and what it sounds like when you call his name, he doesn't understand your words. Train on your recall until it works 90 % of all times, with lots of yummy treats like meats, cheese and foods your dog loves. You can also shortly play with him when he comes to you as a reward. Keep it positive and never punish your dog if he didn't come to you immediately.
Whistles are also a great tool because like I already wrote, your dog listens to the tone of your voice and if you have any kind of an anguish or fear in your voice after he runs away, it's very probable he wont want to come to you.

2. Your timing. Timing is everything if you want to prevent your dog from hunting. You need to watch for the first signals before it's too late, standing still, (raised tail, front leg lifted), sniffing in the air and fixating his target. Check out the pictures below to get an idea.

3. Not being aware enough of your surroundings. While you are constantly checking your phone, your dog is  every second aware of his surroundings. Try your best to spot that animal before he does.

4. Where do you walk your dog? Do you bring him to that field where you know hundreds of rabbits have their home and might jump up from the holes any minute? Or that deep forest in the middle of nowhere, where you somehow always spot a deer or boar? The best is to change the places you walk your dog. If it's close to your home and you absolutely need to walk your dog there, please try to leash your dog at all times.

So.. How do you stop a dog from hunting animals?

First off, which tools are you going to need?

1. A long leash of up to 10 meters which you will hold at the end (just in case!), later you can shorten it and let it on the ground and step on it if needed. You'll also need a harness to attach the long leash, never attach a long lead on a collar.

2. Yummy treats to practice that recall, it needs to be worth it for the dog to come to you. If you say now "But the dog should come to me automatically, I don't want to use treats", well in this case you should ask yourself this question: Would you go to work every day just to be nice to your boss without getting paid at all? I didn't think so ;-)

3. A fun toy your dog loves, but try to mix it up so it wont get boring. Also don't always take a ball and throw it, this only works out his hunting and chasing abilities, also you might risk getting a ball-junkie if your dogs only exercise is running after the ball (I will make another blog post about ball-junkies, stay tuned!)

4. A name tag with your address and phone number (in case something goes wrong). But it's still the best to get your dog micro chipped.
 
Optional but really helpful as well:

5. Whistle

6. Clicker

The 6 steps to how to get your dog never to chase and hunt animals again:

1. Keep your walks interesting, don't let your dog get bored and start drifting off and find something more interesting than you. Use the toy and play with him every once in a while. Do some tricks or just do the regular "Sit", "Lay", "Wait", or anything he already knows to keep that mental stimulation up. Let your dog jump on things like fallen tree logs and make him sit or even lay down. 

2. It's also great to work on that mental stimulation even before the walk. Easy ways you can work on your dogs mental stimulation without much effort and wont take up much of your time, for an example you can put his food in a treat-ball and he has to use his paws or snout to get his food out or you can try hiding his food or treats all around the apartment and let him search for them.

3. Work every day further on that recall until it works even with high stimulation present (like other dogs, maybe bike-riders, joggers, anything your dog finds stimulating).

4. Try to desensitize him to wild animals, especially those he likes to chase, could be deer, boar, rabbits.. You can go to an animal park where dogs are allowed and let him see these animals from time to time (but don't let him get too close to them, some might bite through the fence or have diseases!)

5. Stay aware of your surroundings at all times, try to not go out at dusk or dawn when the wild animals are most likely to be wandering around. Also try in general to not go to places where there might be a lot of wild animals.

6. Your timing. Keep an eye on your dog and when he starts to do the warning signals grab or step on the long lead immediately. Try to even stop him and snap him out of this hunting behavior before it starts. Whistle or call your dog, do anything. Get him out of this hunting state of mind.

Let's start with an obvious one, the lovely Golden Retriever. Not only are they physically one of my favorite breeds, they have one of the sweetest temperaments.
The Golden Retrievers originate from Scotland and were once used as a hunting dog, retrieving ducks and other birds from the water, hence the name Retriever. Nowadays they are used less for hunting and more as family- and companion dogs. Most Goldies love playing fetch and are great swimmers. Because of their intelligence and their loving nature they are often used as guide dogs, rescue dogs and therapy dogs.

The Siberian Husky is an active dog breed, originating from the USA, that has many wolf-like characteristics in their appearance. They were bred as sled dogs and they love cold weather (and rolling around in snow) and are not suited in very hot climates because of their thick coat. They are usually very friendly towards other dogs and are in general very playful with high exercise needs.

The Australian Shepherd is another energetic dog breed, also originating from the USA, even though they are called Australian Shepherds. They are a herding breed, mostly used to herd sheep but also larger farm animals like cows and can be also taught to protect and keep watch of the house and yard. There are many color coat versions, like the blue merle, red merle, red tri, black tri and so on. These dogs are very intelligent and need a lot of exercise. They do great in any kind of dog sports, be it agility, obedience or dog dance, Aussies learn fast and definitely have a "will to please" (their owners).

The Akita (Akita Inu) is an ancient dog breed originating from the northern mountain region in Japan. They have a thick double-coat similar to the Siberian Husky. Akita's are an independent, confident and dominant dog breed, usually wary of strangers but loving and friendly around their families. Once the owner has earned their Akita's respect, they are loyal to their owners for the rest of their lives. The most famous Akita was "Hachiko", every day Hachiko picked up his owner returning from work, from the train station Shibuya in Tokyo. One day his owner died and Hachiko kept waiting for his owner, every day hoping for his return. For 9 years he kept returning to the train station until his own death.

The Bernese Mountain Dog is a large dog breed originating from the region of Bern in Switzerland, they were bred to herd cattle, as watchdogs and companion dogs. These dogs are very intelligent and easily trainable, and do well in dog sports such as obedience. They have a very calm nature, need a lot of exercise and are over all friendly. They aren't suited for apartment living and should have a large yard (that they can watch over). They are great family dogs, who love children and are kind to strangers, given they have been well socialized.