game

An abused Lab mix (looks just like a Lab) was dumped at our house a few months back. We have gained his trust and fallen in love with him. He is such a good dog! The only problem I have is that we are rural and their are a lot of rabbits. I still walk him on a 26′ retractable leash. He does great until he sees one and no commands will stop him. It is all I can do to hold him back on his lead. The vet said he is about 60 lbs but is very strong and has the strength of a 100 + lb dog.
I’ve researched this on line and have found that this is natural behavior for a lot of dogs and even highly trained ones seem to forget they are when faced w/ a rabit chase.

He doesn’t chase cats- loves them. He’s "adopted" the neighbor’s kitten, even gives it a bath.

I’ve read about a toss game you and another person can play w/ a stuffed, AKC approved rabbit. Basically, you choose a command word and when the dog minds and returns to you, you give it a treat.
The other option involves using a dog whistle to distract them so they will listen to your command.

Have any of you had this problem? How did you solve it?
Dog has a massive kennel/ run, the problem is when we go for WALKS.

{ 9 comments }