The Complete Guide to Doberman Pinschers by Tarah Schwartz

Author:Tarah Schwartz
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Doberman Pinschers; puppies; cub; cubs; dog; dogs; raising dogs
Publisher: LP Media Inc
Published: 2021-01-04T15:19:01+00:00

Dealing with High Prey Drives

It’s not uncommon for Doberman Pinschers, especially individuals from working bloodlines, to have high prey drives. While this can be helpful in training, it can make socialization with small animals quite difficult. The natural instincts of a dog with a high prey drive are often triggered by the fast movement of prey animals, so you should use caution any time your Doberman is around small animals while off leash. You should also be careful about allowing your new dog to be off leash in any unfenced area as it’s possible that he may be so focused on pursuing a squirrel or rabbit he may not hear your recall command. This could put him in danger of running into the road or through other potentially dangerous areas.

Your Doberman’s prey drive is not likely to be restricted to wild animals such as squirrels. Small dogs and cats can also trigger a dog’s prey drive, so even if your dog seems friendly toward such animals at first, he may become aggressive if they try to run from him. Socialization with small animals is best started at a young age, so if you’ve brought home a puppy, now is the time to get him used to being around small animals. If you’ve adopted an adult Doberman, you’ll need to be more cautious as he may have already developed that chasing behavior. It’s also possible that your Doberman may not ever be able to be around small animals while off leash. Some dogs have too strong of a prey drive to see any small animal as anything other than prey. If this is true for your dog, it’s important to manage his environment carefully to make sure he’s never in a situation where he could accidentally hurt another animal.

Controlling your Doberman Pinscher’s prey drive should be an essential part of his training. In order for him to behave reliably off leash, you want to discourage him from chasing small animals and focus on you instead. Never yell at your Doberman or jerk his leash to draw his attention away. If he’s focused on potential prey, he will probably ignore you anyway. Instead, offer him a high-value treat to encourage him to focus on you rather than trying to punish him for focusing elsewhere. It can be helpful to use a command such as ‘Look!’ to gain his focus, but this is best practiced first in situations without any distractions. After you have your dog’s attention, you can ask him to perform other tasks to keep him distracted. With practice and consistency, you should be able to gain your dog’s attention no matter how distracting his surroundings are.

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