Chasing, whether it be cats, cars or even people, is something most dogs love to do. Dogs generally see this as something fun to do, and don’t mean any harm by it, but, the fact is, that by chasing they invoke fear in others and can cause unintentional accidents.
Allowing your dog to chase anything is an irresponsible thing to do. Behavioral problems like chasing are more than just annoying. Solving this problem is possible though, but it will take some effort to correct.
It is not as simple as just yelling at or hitting your dog after it has chased something. You might think that doing this would make it less likely to do it next time, but it rarely does. It’s instincts will kick in again next time around and the pain it suffered last time will be soon forgotten. Taking a proactive approach, rather than a reactive one, is much better.
Don’t let your dog be in situations that that make it easy for him to chase his favorite things. With dogs who regularly chase after things, this may mean having to keep it on a leash or within a fenced yard. Keep your dog and those in the surrounding area safe until you learnt to predict his behavior and you have him trained to obey your commands.
Recognizing what your dog does immediately before it starts chasing something is the most important step. It is common for dogs to give some indication, such as a prolonged stare or a lifted leg, before they set off after something. Once you know what it is that your dog does, you can act before it does. You should be able to find this out fairly quickly as dogs are creatures of habit.
To stop a dog from chasing, it needs to learn to obey your commands. At the very least, your dog needs to respond to two – sit down and come here. Once your dog understands these skills it will be easier to stop him from chasing.
So, how do you train a dog to obey voice commands? First obtain the toy or treat that it likes the best. Place your chosen item 10ft from the dog and wait for it to start approaching it. Then either command it to come or sit down. After it has done what you want, say okay and let it have the toy or treat.
Get a friend to help you, once it has mastered this part of his training. Have your friend jog by you whilst waving a toy or treat and see what the dogs reaction is. If it starts to chase then give the dog the command to either sit down or come. Once it obeys your command, give it the reward.
Patience is necessary, but, with a little persistence, this approach always works. Just stay positive, patient and stick with it and you’ll get there.
