Clarify prey drive levels Behaviour

Hi
There's lots of talk of prey drive in the wolfy breeds & i'd like some clarification on levels of it please.
Kiesha loves to chase rabbits but shows no interest in sheep, cows, horses ect. She also lives with a cat & has no problem doing so.
Is this classed as a low prey drive or medium as she will kill the rabbit?

Please define

1/ Low prey drive =

2/ Medium prey drive =

3/ High prey drive =

Thanks

As I understand it....prey drive is not to do with What they chase, but how often and how controlable etc.

I have a friend with a Saluki, when she is loose in the fieldshe will chase and kill a rabbit if she is not being watched...however, if you see her and call to her, she will stop mid chase. Also she lives with Rats and Rabbits at home and loose, with no issues and no chase (She will cuddle up to them)

Umm hard one this so i think i will but my dogs into the catogories and explain why.

Tofi my nans Lasa has a low pey drive. He used to chase the chickens but it was a game and both sides didn't take it that seriously.

Lucy my old coker (RIP lovley girl) had a medium prey drive. She would chase and mean it but if she ever caught anything she then didn't know what to do.
Kiska my Husky has a strong prey drive. She will chase and knows what to do when shes caught it. Victims of this have been 2 guinea pigs and 2 ferrets. She also has a thing about cows. Cassie would also be in this cat but her prey drive has been encouraged as she works, this does mean we have more control over it though.

Not sure if that helps at all.

Thanks Tassle & Raz.
So going by what ive told you about Kiesha, what would you say her prey drive is classed as?

How much control do you have over her if she is chasing rabbits? Does she have to go through the chase (and possibly kill) the rabbit or can you stop her mid stride?

If you can stop her I would say medium if not I would say high. I would class a low prey drive as a half hearted chase or a toy chasing dog.

I have never attempted to stop her but doubt she would come back mid chase.
My wee collie would not come back mid chase but also lived happily with cats for 14 years, i never thought of her as having a high prey drive.

I don't think it matters what they live with - mine live quite happily with Rats running about and ignore them...they also have lived with Cats and ignore them...but woe betide one who strays into the garden (thats territory and pack!)
....Maybe you mean chase instinct...that tends to be very highly developed in collies....two of mine will chase rabbits forever, but have no idea what to do if it stops - I wouldn't call that prey drive...they will just stop and wait for it to run again! I can also call them back mid chase.


In a lot of cases it is the training that will overcome these things....Again...my friend with her saluki was told she would never have it off the lead...we worked on it and yes...it took a long time but she has a fantastic life now with great runs off lead.

Oh i dont mind her chasing rabbits, is that bad of me?

I don't think so...mine have a fantastic time chasing rabbits....its part of being a dog....but I wouldn;t want it to go so far as they would keep going into a dangerous situation (ie.under a fence or over a road)..

I'm a control freak I have to be able to stop them for my sanity!

Mine would chase and kill - rabbits , chickens and sheep but they are now adult dogs and are trained not to chase I can succesfully interupt this behaviour but it has taken lots of time, patience and frustration! and I have had to train them individually to begin with. I would not trust them if I wasn't around! I would say they have a high prey drive

Sorry but just to clarify - Kiesha will chase & kill a rabbit so is this is considered a high prey drive even tho she is not interested in sheep, cattle ect.

I would classify that as high prey drive....personally.

Thank you Tassle, it will be interesting to see if others feel the same.
I ask mainly as when we get a companion for Kiesha i would be as willing to view rescues as well as pups & some rescues state (high prey drive) Now if that is only as in will chase & kill rabbits i dont see that as a problem, if it means will chase & kill anything then thats more of an issue if you see what i mean. Hence why i asked for clarification.

Have you had her from a pup?

No, she was approx 12 months when we got her.

Ok...good luck with looking

Liz I would try to stop Kiesha from chasing as much as you can, inuits don't have good recall at the best of times, to encourage chase is to instill the bad recall, I lost Kain through prey drive, I would urge anyone now not to encourage chase of any kind...
I used to wish I had a dog that looked all cute up the park chasing squirels ect, now I regret I encouraged the look see...just my thoughts on it x

As I understand it, prey drive can be exhibited with toys, passing cars etc. - it`s the instinct to chase moving objects. Collies and GSD`s can well have high prey drives, but this is channelled into work - the collie`s obsessiveness actually helps with herding, as does the GSD`s reactiveness with man-work etc. A high prey drive is not, per se, a bad thing. It`s only bad if it`s causing you problems.
Hunting down the odd rabbit is not indicative of a high prey drive IMO - but constantly looking for them while ignoring you would be.

I work three of my dogs in our field. We do have a large rabbit infestation and I do take advantage of their prey drive to hunt and kill them (sorry if that's offended anyone)

However, they do have very good recall and will stop mid chase if given the 'leave' command. If they ever have to be around livestock, they're leashed.

If she will chase, kill and eat an animal then I would say she has a high prey drive.

One of mine has a high prey drive, they will chase most small furries given half a chance and have in the past caught and killed a rabbit etc. The other two I would say are medium - they show the inclination i.e. if we are out walking and they see a deer/horse/sheep etc they are very interested and pull but they can be distracted and if they pick something up you can get it off them easily. Just this morning we were walking all four and came across something lying on the floor (which I think might have been a squirrels tail from the very brief glimpse I got of it). My youngster picked it up and I told him to drop it (which he did ) but my OH was walking a couple of steps behind and hadn't seen it and in an instant one of our others was on it and swallowed it before we could even tell them to drop it!

Our Aussie on the other hand loves chasing rabbits and squirrels but doesn't catch them (he came across a rabbit in a bush once and after a curious sniff ignored it) but even off lead he can easily be recalled, even if he sees a horse/deer etc.