Out of control with strong prey drive (squirrels)

squeakermama · 12-03-2011, 08:42 PM

I have a 1 1/2 year old spayed female Shepherd. We live on a completely fenced off one acre lot with our home setting in the center. We have about 13 mature pecan trees that come with a good supply of busy squirrels. My girl Kako has become VERY obsessed with them. She will spend the entire day running, chasing and barking at them, and never seems to get tired of it. It's now come to the point where she is salivating and not listening to us at all. She now no longer is coming when called. She is a smart girl and is great on lead and but not so good off. She has zero food drive so using treats seems not to work for interest. I do have a dog run and when she is in it the behavior is of course not as strong but still she is fixed on them. I'm lost as what to do or if there is anything I can do. Is this strong prey drive just in there? Is there anything I can try? It seems like working her doesn't curve the behavior at all. Would getting her a buddy help? Any advice? Thanks.

onyx'girl · 12-03-2011, 08:51 PM

Take her off your property and work with her. She is probably bored and the squirrels are entertainment. Have you tried a tug, ball that is for training only...or very high value treats for training only?
Get her away from your home and work with her, track her and she will eventually see that you are more fun than zoning in on squirrels.
A buddy will just multiply the problem...

Rerun · 12-03-2011, 08:56 PM

A buddy is definitely not a good idea, if the buddy doesn't come with squirrel radar, he'll more than likely pick it up from your dog and then you'll have two dogs feeding off eachother getting more amped up.

How was the obedience training before the squirrel issue got out of control? Or has it been like this for a long time? How much time is the dog spending out in the yard with the squirrels vs how much time you devote to training? For now, I'd keep the dog on lead when you're in the yard so you have control. Use a long drag line (15, 20 ft) if you need to, supervised of course so pup doesn't get tangled up in the yard, and this way when the dog ignores you, you can get the end of the line and reel her in.

This is only going to be managed (not fixed, managed) via lots of training. Your dog needs to think you are better than the squirrels, and if the obedience training time has been put in, honestly, and the dog is still blowing you off, you may want to think about looking into an e-collar (a remote trainer).

germanshepardmissouri · 12-03-2011, 09:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by squeakermama

I have a 1 1/2 year old spayed female Shepherd. We live on a completely fenced off one acre lot with our home setting in the center. We have about 13 mature pecan trees that come with a good supply of busy squirrels. My girl Kako has become VERY obsessed with them. She will spend the entire day running, chasing and barking at them, and never seems to get tired of it. It's now come to the point where she is salivating and not listening to us at all. She now no longer is coming when called. She is a smart girl and is great on lead and but not so good off. She has zero food drive so using treats seems not to work for interest. I do have a dog run and when she is in it the behavior is of course not as strong but still she is fixed on them. I'm lost as what to do or if there is anything I can do. Is this strong prey drive just in there? Is there anything I can try? It seems like working her doesn't curve the behavior at all. Would getting her a buddy help? Any advice? Thanks.

we have the same problem, but squirrels play with my gsd too, they like to tiss form the trees, so I let my female loose at them, she never catches them, but is fun to her

squeakermama · 12-04-2011, 08:39 PM

Well I found a special K-9 store over on the other side of town and picked up ANOTHER bag of training treats. Guess what? She likes these!!

I was shocked and very happy. Also pulled out the correction collar again. So I worked with her for a short time this evening on my property. It's cold and raining so the squirrels were comfy tucked away but she still was looking up into the trees. So I would let her wander and then call her and reward her with a treat when she came to me. Never did have to use the collar once. Hoping she continues to respond to the training treats. My plan is to work with her more off lead and gain some control when she is lose. Thanks everyone for your input.

Cheerful1 · 03-20-2012, 01:14 PM

This will be our first Spring with Joey (6-years old). We're having a new fence and gates installed in the back yard so he can play outside without a leash. However, we're worried about the squirrels that currently run across the back fence. The new fence can only be a maximum of 6' high.

He goes nuts with squirrels when he goes for his walks. How can we keep him from wanting to jump the new fence to go after the squirrels?

Is there any kind of natural squirrel deterrent that's safe for dogs?

This may sound like a dumb question, but will the squirrels avoid the yard once there's a dog on patrol?

sashadog · 03-20-2012, 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cheerful1

This may sound like a dumb question, but will the squirrels avoid the yard once there's a dog on patrol?

Not in my experience. Squirrels are surprisingly smart and will learn that the dog can't reach them. We don't have squirrels on our lawn anymore but you better believe they still love our trees and fence

They are truly the bane of my existence... We talked to AC about it a while back to see if there was anything we could do about them and so far we haven't found anything.

Bismarck · 03-20-2012, 01:57 PM

little story...
when i was a kid, there was a squirrel we called ricky ticky tavi (or however it's spelled), this squirrel would come when it was called, and would run up your leg to get a nut that you held. really a great squirrel.
the neighbor didn't like squirrels. he got a humane trap, and trapped him. took him 10 miles away and released him in washington park.
about a week or two passes and this squirrel made its way back.

just fyi

12-03-2011, 08:42 PM	#1 (permalink)
squeakermama Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Rockwall, Texas Posts: 28	Out of control with strong prey drive (squirrels) I have a 1 1/2 year old spayed female Shepherd. We live on a completely fenced off one acre lot with our home setting in the center. We have about 13 mature pecan trees that come with a good supply of busy squirrels. My girl Kako has become VERY obsessed with them. She will spend the entire day running, chasing and barking at them, and never seems to get tired of it. It's now come to the point where she is salivating and not listening to us at all. She now no longer is coming when called. She is a smart girl and is great on lead and but not so good off. She has zero food drive so using treats seems not to work for interest. I do have a dog run and when she is in it the behavior is of course not as strong but still she is fixed on them. I'm lost as what to do or if there is anything I can do. Is this strong prey drive just in there? Is there anything I can try? It seems like working her doesn't curve the behavior at all. Would getting her a buddy help? Any advice? Thanks.

12-03-2011, 08:51 PM	#2 (permalink)
onyx'girl Crowned Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: SW, MI Posts: 17,605	Take her off your property and work with her. She is probably bored and the squirrels are entertainment. Have you tried a tug, ball that is for training only...or very high value treats for training only? Get her away from your home and work with her, track her and she will eventually see that you are more fun than zoning in on squirrels. A buddy will just multiply the problem... __________________ Jane~ Kept by Onyx, Kacie and Gideon v Wildhaus aka Karlo

12-03-2011, 08:56 PM	#3 (permalink)
Rerun Crowned Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Indiana Posts: 5,608	A buddy is definitely not a good idea, if the buddy doesn't come with squirrel radar, he'll more than likely pick it up from your dog and then you'll have two dogs feeding off eachother getting more amped up. How was the obedience training before the squirrel issue got out of control? Or has it been like this for a long time? How much time is the dog spending out in the yard with the squirrels vs how much time you devote to training? For now, I'd keep the dog on lead when you're in the yard so you have control. Use a long drag line (15, 20 ft) if you need to, supervised of course so pup doesn't get tangled up in the yard, and this way when the dog ignores you, you can get the end of the line and reel her in. This is only going to be managed (not fixed, managed) via lots of training. Your dog needs to think you are better than the squirrels, and if the obedience training time has been put in, honestly, and the dog is still blowing you off, you may want to think about looking into an e-collar (a remote trainer).

12-04-2011, 08:39 PM	#5 (permalink)
squeakermama Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Rockwall, Texas Posts: 28	Well I found a special K-9 store over on the other side of town and picked up ANOTHER bag of training treats. Guess what? She likes these!! I was shocked and very happy. Also pulled out the correction collar again. So I worked with her for a short time this evening on my property. It's cold and raining so the squirrels were comfy tucked away but she still was looking up into the trees. So I would let her wander and then call her and reward her with a treat when she came to me. Never did have to use the collar once. Hoping she continues to respond to the training treats. My plan is to work with her more off lead and gain some control when she is lose. Thanks everyone for your input.

03-20-2012, 01:14 PM	#6 (permalink)
Cheerful1 Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Long Island/Pennsylvania Posts: 353	This will be our first Spring with Joey (6-years old). We're having a new fence and gates installed in the back yard so he can play outside without a leash. However, we're worried about the squirrels that currently run across the back fence. The new fence can only be a maximum of 6' high. He goes nuts with squirrels when he goes for his walks. How can we keep him from wanting to jump the new fence to go after the squirrels? Is there any kind of natural squirrel deterrent that's safe for dogs? This may sound like a dumb question, but will the squirrels avoid the yard once there's a dog on patrol?

03-20-2012, 01:57 PM	#8 (permalink)
Bismarck Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: San Diego Posts: 399	little story... when i was a kid, there was a squirrel we called ricky ticky tavi (or however it's spelled), this squirrel would come when it was called, and would run up your leg to get a nut that you held. really a great squirrel. the neighbor didn't like squirrels. he got a humane trap, and trapped him. took him 10 miles away and released him in washington park. about a week or two passes and this squirrel made its way back. just fyi

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