Behaviour
He launches at the cyclist, runs the fence after cars, vanishes after cats. The chase is its own reward, which is why it never fades on its own.
Worth knowing. A dog who chases shadows, spots of light or flies that are not there, or who suddenly started lunging at cars as an adult, may have a compulsive disorder, an eyesight problem or pain. Before any plan, see your dog's vet.
You are walking along the pavement and a cyclist goes by. Your dog hits the end of the lead with his whole weight, and you are left hanging on with your shoulder half out of its socket. Or you have a dog in the garden who races the length of the fence after every car, barking, and who once got through the gate and ended up a metre from the wheels. Or a dog who, off lead in the park, spotted a cat and was four paths away before you could blink. Of all the problems on this list, chasing is the most dangerous, because it ends in the road. It is also the hardest to shift, because for the dog nothing in the world beats it.
Because they move. Every dog carries the hunting sequence he inherited from the wolf, one step after another: spot, stare, stalk, chase, grab, bite. People made the breeds by keeping or removing parts of that sequence. Herding dogs kept the stare and the chase, without the bite. Sighthounds kept the chase. Terriers kept the whole chain, right to the end. All dogs, though, have the bit that says "something is moving fast, go after it", and a car, a bike or a cat hits that button squarely.
For the plan, this is what matters most: the running is its own reward. He does not have to catch the car to enjoy it. The chase is the best thing he knows, and every car he goes after gives him a full dose of exactly the thrill he wants. That is why "he chased another one and nothing happened" gets it backwards. Something did happen: one more rehearsal.
"Chasing" covers several different things, and it is worth knowing which one your dog is doing.
Straight hunting. He goes quiet, drops low, locks his eyes on the target, then he is off. No barking, no fuss. This is the most dangerous kind, because you get no warning, and a dog in that state no longer hears you.
Frustration on the lead. He barks, leaps about on the lead, thrashes, hackles up. The target is a cyclist, a jogger, another dog. This is more "go away" or "I want to get there and can't" than hunting. Trainers call it reactivity, and you see a lot of it in dogs kept on a short lead who never get to reach what they can see. It is worked on differently from hunting and has its own page.
Fence running. The dog in the garden who runs the fence after every car and every passer-by has learnt something: he runs, he barks, and the car goes away. A hundred times a day, for years. A fence he can see through is what makes it possible.
Boredom. A young dog with nothing to do, living on a busy road. Chasing is the only interesting thing that ever happens to him.
Fear. Less often, a dog rushes at what frightens him to drive it off. With cars, it shows up mostly in dogs taken in off the street, for whom cars really were a danger.
A game that got out of hand. You let him run after the children on their bikes "because they're only playing". It is the same piece of the sequence and it gets practised the same way.
Punishment, and the shock collar above all. He sees the cyclist, goes for it and gets a shock. What he takes from that is that cyclists bring pain. From then on the next cyclist is both prey and threat, and the dog who used to just run after them starts biting. We have seen it often enough to say so plainly: put a shock collar on a dog who chases and you get a dog who attacks. We do not use them, we do not recommend them, and several European countries have banned them.
Yanking the lead. It stops him there and then. What stays with him is the link between cyclists and pain in his neck, plus a dog who barks at bikes from 50 metres away.
Shouting his name. A dog in full flight cannot hear you, and if you shout his name twenty times for every cat, it turns into background noise.
The extending lead. Eight metres of run-up and a plastic handle that snaps or slips out of your hand. A 25-kilo dog on eight metres of extending lead is in the road before you can hit the brake.
"Let him run, he never catches them." Cats have trees, cars have wheels. The first time he follows a cat out of the park and across the road, it will not matter that he never caught it.
Wearing him out with a ball. A hundred throws are a hundred chases: something moves fast, he runs after it. A dog who does that every day is being trained to chase anything that moves, and he gets fitter for it. Balls are not banned. They just do nothing for the chasing.
Waiting for him to grow out of it. He will not. Every year of chasing only makes him better at it.
The plan has three parts running side by side. He stops getting to practise the chase, he learns what to do instead, and he gets a hunt he is allowed, with rules you set.
He is going to notice the bike whatever you do, and that is fine. What you want is for him to look at you once he has noticed it.
For the moments when the lead is not in your hand, you need a "down" or "stay" at a distance and an emergency recall.
Most people skip this part, and without it the rest is hard to hold together. He needs to run after something. If you do not give him the chance, he will find his own.
| Day | What you do |
|---|---|
| 1 | Harness and fixed 2-metre lead. Extending lead in the bin. New route, away from the cycle path. Garden dog kept off the road-side fence when alone. |
| 2 | "Yes" plus treat at home, 10 repetitions. First five minutes with the flirt pole: stay, chase, leave it. |
| 3 | First "look and get a treat" session 50 metres from the cycle path. Emergency recall starts at home. |
| 4–7 | One session a day at a distance, a few dozen repetitions. Flirt pole daily, 3 minutes. Emergency recall at home, 20 times a day. |
| 7 | If at 50 metres he looks at the bike and then at you without being prompted, move to 40 next week. If not, stay where you are. |
Chasing is rarely medical. A few things are still worth checking before you start:
Tell your dog's vet what he chases, since when, what his body looks like while he does it and whether he has ever had an accident.
Mantrailing is hunting with the nose, on a long line, after a person who is waiting at the end with a warm welcome and something tasty. For a dog who chases cats, it is the very same sequence, given a job. He picks up the scent from the scent article, settles on a direction, works the trail nose-down like a stalk, speeds up over the last few metres when he senses the person close, and makes his catch when he finds them. Except that it all happens on a lead, with you behind him, and the "prey" wants to be found. At our sessions we see dogs with "a chasing problem" who turn out to be among the best on the trail, because they have exactly the engine it takes. They still notice cats. What they get, once a week, is a whole hunt with a proper ending, and a dog who has had his hunt has fewer reasons to go looking for one in traffic. Search games in the garden do the same on a smaller scale, every day.
Our assessments happen outdoors, on the long line, and we start by finding the distance from which your dog can still think. The plan starts there, and so does his first trail.
What dog owners search for most often on the internet about this problem, with the short answer.
Because they move fast, and every dog carries the wolf's hunting sequence: spot, stare, chase, grab. He does not need to catch the car; the chase itself is the best thing he knows. Dogs kept in a garden add fence running on top: he runs, barks, the car leaves, so as far as he is concerned it works. Every chase is practice for the next one.
First make it impossible: a 5 to 10 metre long line in the park, never off lead near roads. Then teach him to look at the cat and turn back to you, rewarding the look with meat from a distance where he can still think, and close the distance over weeks. Alongside that, an emergency recall on a whistle and a hunt he is allowed: a flirt pole, searching for toys, a scent sport.
No, and for this problem in particular it is dangerous. He sees the cyclist, goes, gets the shock and learns that cyclists bring pain. The next cyclist is both prey and threat, and the dog who only used to run starts biting. We have seen it often enough to say so plainly. Shock collars are banned in several European countries and we do not recommend them.
Usually not. If he goes quiet, drops low and goes, that is hunting. If he barks, leaps on the lead and his hackles are up, that is frustration or fear held back by the lead. Both turn dangerous if he reaches the person, and both are worked on from a distance, without punishment. If he has ever bitten or pulls you off your feet, work with a specialist.
No. Throwing a ball is the same chase: something moves fast and he runs after it. A hundred throws a day give you a dog trained to chase moving things, with better muscles. Balls are not banned. The hunt that helps, though, has a start and an end that you control: a flirt pole with "stay" and "leave it", searching for toys, trailing a person.
A behaviour that appears suddenly or changes for no apparent reason can have a medical cause. For full details, consult your dog's own veterinarian.
They often come together: the same causes, plans that complement each other.
You call him five times in the park and he looks at you like a stranger. Recall is built at home, with plenty of fun, long before you need it.
Arm at full stretch, aching shoulder, dog panting with his tongue out. Pulling on the lead is the most practised habit of all, because it works for him every single time.
Chewing, barking, racing round the house at ten at night and still not tired. A dog like that tires through his head, and you see the change within days.
He sees a dog 50 metres away and explodes: barking, lunging, deaf to you. Off lead in the park he's a different dog. Reactivity is worked on from a distance, over weeks.
An assessment session tells you where you stand and which plan makes sense for your dog. The behaviour programme then works step by step, reward-based only.