Border Collie Tex lives to run.
In a perfect world, Tex would have been adopted by last year’s winner of the Boston Marathon.
But no. Tex is one family’s dog.
There is a mom (she does Pilates twice a week), a dad (he plays golf on Sundays) and two kids (both on various after school sports teams, depending on the season).
Everyone comes home from work or school exhausted. No one has the time or the inclination to take Tex for a walk. So out into the backyard he goes.
The children and their friends happen to like being in the backyard, too. They play there. Sometimes they run around.
When they run, Tex runs.
After them.
Dog owners will often tell me that their dogs have a “high prey drive” because their dogs chase anything that moves.
Prey drive, according to Dr. Nicholas Dodman, is the motivation to chase, catch and kill small creatures.
To some degree, all dogs have a level of prey drive because their ancestors needed to hunt and kill in order to survive. Dogs that have been bred for herding, like Tex, our Border Collie,, have a high prey drive, although most Aussies have a “soft mouth” and usually just nip rather than bite.
Tex has been known to consider joggers, skateboarders, cyclists, school buses, the mail truck, and cats, as potential prey, or at least, worthy of a good chase.
Dogs that are born with a high prey drive are biologically driven to do this. It is the responsibility of dog owners to take precautions with their driven dog.
In Tex’s case, his owners did the following:
1. Put up a fence – not an invisible fence but an honest-to-goodness seamless wood eight foot stockade fence around the entire backyard.
2. Supervise the dog with the children in the yard.
3. Teach the children – and their friends – to stand still and not look at Tex if he chases them. That means no screaming, no running, no flailing arms or legs.
4. Only the parents are allowed to walk Tex on leash, under absolute control at all times.
5. Use clear and consistent obedience training for Tex.
6. Channel that compelling chase instinct into frisbee or flyball!
Comments