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My DDR/Czech GSD was chased off by a deer.

12K views 147 replies 31 participants last post by  hunterisgreat 
#1 ·
LOL. I may be making way too big of a deal out of this. I was throwing his ball across the yard into the wooded lot as I always do. All of a sudden I hear a huge ruckus and out he comes as fast as he can with a 75lb doe hot on his heels. These small whitetail around here are not aggressive like a mule deer. We assumed she was protecting her fawn.

My question is this. He is almost 11 months old and doesn't act scared of anything and has shown a good amount of protection drive. Why was he afraid of a little doe? Shouldn't he have fought back if the deer attacked him? He didn't even bring his ball back. Is it that he is young? Is this part of the slow to mature part?

As I said it may be no big deal. I just have a problem with my supposed to be big bad male DDR/Czech "fight til death" buddy turning tail and running in fear from a deer.
 
#4 ·
has he ever encountered deer before?? Maybe something new ..

I have a herd of deer that are here every day, behind my fenced in yard (husband feeds them)..my czech/ddr girl doesn't chase them, she is so used to them being around, along with turkeys,woodchucks, squirrels, rabbits IN the yard, she doesn't even bother with them..I don't consider her a wuss because she leaves them alone, but I don't think she'd back off from one that challenged her either..Not saying your boy is a wuss at all, he's young, mine is 6 years old and has basically grown up with the wildlife here, plus I have chickens she hangs with..

I wouldn't worry about it, you don't want him chasing deer anyhow, here a dog can be shot for running wildlife.
 
#5 ·
LOL, yes, at 11 months, he is just a baby, and not ready to take on a defensive/protective role.

Czech/DDR dogs mature notoriously slow. So he won't be an adult until he is 3 or 4 years old. Maybe he will be a more cautious type of dog, or he may be a different dog, with nerves of steel - give him time to grow up.

As an example, I do IPO/protection training with 1/2 Czech dog. Evem at 16 months of age, the trainer and I could see that he had a lot of potential inside, but he was still a somewhat unsure pup. Too much pressure in training, and he 'tuned out' - I let him mature at his own pace, and didn't put him to test again until he was 3 years old - very different results! No worries about his mental strenghts (not that I had any to start with). :)
 
#6 ·
A startle reflex is instinctive, just like when a human jumps if someone pops a balloon behind the head most times. It's how fast they bounce back that really shows their nerves, but even then there are certain weaknesses that may or may not be overcome. Your dog may be the complete opposite if the same scenario happens tonight, or he may be leery around deer for the rest of his life. Either way, it's part of who he is for better or worse

I've never seen Delgado scared of anything, but last week we had a major thunderstorm and while both dogs were outside there was a loud BOOM that literally shook the house and scared the bejeebus out of me. Both dogs hightailed it back into the house in a flash, but two seconds later Delgado was back at the door wanting to go back outside again. Just because they are startled doesn't mean they are weak nerved. This is the same dog that sat through a Canada Day fireworks show at 5 months old and ended up dozing through part of it! The noise caught him offguard, that's all

BTW - Delgado is DDR/Czech/WG working line
 
#9 ·
Then you have nothing to worry about in that regard IMO :)
 
#11 ·
Ha, I'd want my dogs to be used to deer and not be startled by them, but I'd prefer they not choose to tangle. Deer can have wicked sharp hooves, and you also have to contend with antlers on the bucks which can get downright aggressive in rutting season. I'd rather avoid the vet bills. :rolleyes:
 
#15 ·
I think it was a smart move on your dogs part. Have you ever seen the damage a deer does to a car? They are not small animals and if she was protecting her young, then she meant business. Good thing here is that hd might have just learned a lesson and not chase any deer, a very good thing.
 
#17 ·
My opinion of your dog's response is "smart boy" LOL. Getting in between any mother and her young can be very dangerous, and I'm sure your 11 month old could tell the doe was dead serious about her intent. Live to fight another day... I have a 11 month old half DDR boy who is just a big goofy lug right now; at that age they still have a ton of mental and physical maturing to do. I wouldn't have an issue if my boy responded the same way; I'd take him back to the area and play fetch the ball like crazy to make another positive association there.
 
#18 ·
I may have told this story before, but here goes.

Friend was out on a search with his GSD. Came across a baby deer bundled deep in grass. Dog attacked baby deer. Before handler could get a word out, Momma deer came out of nowhere and slammed into dog, sending him flying!!! Dog never looked at another fawn again!!! And we come across them a lot on Wilderness searches.

Momma deer are deadly to dogs. I see no reason a dog if any age should pick a fight for no reason. Your dog showed appropriate response. Would you want him to challenge a momma bear???? No. Chose to fight another day. Unless said momma bear was attacking you. Then hopefully he would stick around.


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#21 ·
Love Devils advocate!!! but I would rather my dog and myself be safe. If I was threatened, different story. I don't like rewarding stupidity. By dog or human. If there is no immediate need to engage, I would prefer my dog to use their head and be safe than engage a ticked off bear for the sake of being brave. Seems like a waste to me.


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#20 · (Edited)
a mother protecting her young is an entirely different item than a run of the mill every day deer
i think the hormones are entirely different and they will kill another animal if they can so your dog was wise and like others said probably saved you a big vet bill or even worse having to dig a grave

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEZOmgInmj0 for example...
 
#22 ·
Two years ago we had our young shepherd on leash at the end of a 10 mile (round trip) hike. JUST 1/4 mile from the car a doe deer became fixated on the dog. She wanted that dog. She flanked us, chased us, got in front of us, rushed us. My husband was warding her off with his walking stick, I was running uphill draggng the dog who curiously wanted to go meet this creature (not even barking at it, just a "I want to be your friend" vibe). I certainly wished he would have run from the deer thereby helping me run up hill for 1/4 after 10 mile hike! She didn't appear to have a fawn. I think she wanted my dog to be her fawn. Very scary. That was pretty much the last time I hiked because I tore my meniscus during that or shortly thereafter. Never been up to mountain hiking since.

I would rather my dog retreat to me than tangle with wildlife and get injured or killed.
 
#26 ·
Blitzkrieg, just wait till your pooch meets with Mother Goose, a big old Canada Goose sitting on a clutch of eggs.
All dogs run from geese, you notice I didnt mention them..lol. Seriously she has tried to go after a few..the dog has an unhealthy obsession with all birds. I wouldnt mind if she backed off but to turn tale and bolt..no thanks. We have all seen it, the other animal postures up or charges. The dog either backs off and circles, engages, or bolts completely.

I never said I want the dog to immediately engage the other animal like a mindless bull terrier, but to bolt? Not ok for me.
 
#24 ·
I think it depends on what kind of dog you want. If you want a loving pet then you want the dog to run. Those people would call the dog smart. If you want a personal protection dog then I would want the dog to be cautious but stand it's ground and bark. Id rather a dog be stubborn and get hurt than one that gets nervous and run. Those people would call the dog fearless.

Besides if that Deer or any other animal was running for you then your dog would just be running right past you with its tongue hanging out wishing you luck. I wouldn't want my dog to run from anything unless called off. If he's unsure I'd want him to fight rather than flight.
 
#25 ·
So you would prefer your dog to engage in a fight and get injured when there was no immediate threat to you, just cause you don't want him to back down from things??

I get it if the deer attacked/charged YOU! But in the OP post it didn't. Huh. Interesting.


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#28 ·
there was no "you" in the scenario. The dog dashed into the brush to fetch a ball and was surprised by a hostile , doe protecting deer .
Good survival strategy , pick your wars .

Anyway , seen this often enough , dog playing on flat , field , fetch the ball well enough. Same dog , same ball , toss that into a corn field , into heavy bush , dark building and see what happens to the dog. This is one of the things which eliminates dogs from use in law enforcement (hesitation , refusal)
 
#31 ·
yes , know of a dog that had his eye struck , had to be removed and sewn shut. My brother was head of Parks (landscape) for the Toronto Islands --- in spite of do not feed signs , people still feed the geese. One year a boy was chased , and , well , he lost something rather private and rather important . These are powerful birds that can give a good blow with their wings .

Fairy tales , before they were bowdlerized , were dark and grim and cautionary tales .
 
#44 ·
I wouldn't trust a dog that would try to bite in all situations. If there was a play fight and the dog approached with a warning bark that is one thing but to just go for the bite and skip the warning? That is a liability I wouldn't want.
 
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