My dog chased everything.

It was a nightmare for me – with my cats at home, or out on walks, at friends’ houses – she was after every cat that crossed our path (and every squirrel, chipmunk, etc.). It kept me from relaxing in our home, enjoying our walks, and – most of all – it kept me from truly enjoying my dog!

Sometimes at a dog park I’d hear someone say “oh yeah, my dog chases such-and-such, but he wouldn’t know what to do if he caught one.”

Well, I knew exactly what my dog would do. Because I had seen it.

Fortunately it wasn’t a cat, but the poor little squirrel’s life was over right before my eyes. (That was a tough one to explain to the nature-lovers on the trail where we were walking.)

And I didn’t want to see that happen again – with a squirrel, a cat, or anything. My dog was also aggressive with other dogs. I didn’t want to bring my dog to friends’ houses for fear of what she might do.

To top it all off, if we were out for a walk in the woods and my dog caught the scent of something, off she’d go. No matter how much I called, she wouldn’t come to me.

One time I literally searched for hours, in the snowy woods, and gave up. Through some miracle she came running just as I was reaching my car to head home.

Needless to say – I had my hands full.

I tried every conventional training method out there.

• I tried to be the alpha dog. Didn’t work.
• I tried to use treats to distract my dog. Didn’t work.
• I tried using clickers – my dog freaked out more.
• I even – gulp – used a choke collar. It scared my dog – and…you guessed it…it didn’t work.

That’s when I stumbled across a little-known method for working with dogs that did something that none of the other methods did.

The concept was so simple, that I couldn’t believe I had missed it. And once I learned how to use it in the way that I trained and played with my dog, It changed my life, and my dog’s life, forever.

The KEY is to understand that at their core, your dog is a HUNTER.

You’ve probably noticed that this website is called “Prey Drive Dog Training” – well, the “prey drive” is just another name for your dog’s “hunting instinct”. And no matter what kind of dog you have – your dog has a hunting instinct.

For some dogs you barely see that hunting instinct in action. For others – like my dog – it’s happening all the time.

Why would your dog be chasing anything?

Because your dog is on the hunt.

Hunting is nature’s way of helping your dog deal with the stress and energy that they experience in the world.

So if your dog sees a cat and is excited by it, what will your dog do? Hunt it! Chase it!

If your dog is scared of a cat what will they do? Hunt it!

(Unless they’re so scared that they run and hide, or roll over in submission)

And if your dog is completely over-stimulated by a cat? You guessed it…hunt it.

All of that is your dog’s PREY DRIVE in action. It gives your dog a way to do something with all of that excitement, fear, or complete over-stimulation.

When does it stop? Well if your dog just chases, it never stops. Your dog will just chase and chase and chase. If your dog catches what they’re chasing…well…remember the little squirrel?

(And, to tell you the truth, after my dog caught that squirrel – do you think that she sat back and relaxed, feeling satisfied? Hell no! She started looking for more squirrels!)

And when your dog is in hunting mode, not only are they not listening to you, they most likely can’t even HEAR you. They’re so focused on the object of their desire (poor little kitty) that you have vanished for them.

There’s one more important reason why this happens that I’ll share with you here:

When your dog is all charged up, they are ATTRACTED to prey.

But guess how your dog feels about things that seem more like another hunter, or a predator?

They are repelled. Your dog literally doesn’t want anything to do with them. And guess who seems a lot like a predator to your dog? I’ll give you a hint – they stand upright on two legs, have big eyes, really big teeth, and a loud booming voice…

Yep – it’s YOU.

So that’s another reason why when your dog is chasing, hunting – they’re not interested in you. Not listening. And definitely not responding to your commands.

But everything changes when you learn how to tap into your dog’s prey drive, their hunting instinct.

Once you know how to tap into the circuit, your dog learns that when they feel that excitement coming from a cat, a squirrel – whatever – that YOU can actually help them resolve it.

So now when your dog sees the cat, your dog will LOOK TO YOU to figure out what to do. And you’ll be able to give your dog something way more satisfying than chasing that cat, or squirrel, or deer.

You do that enough, and a few things will happen:

1. Your dog won’t even notice the cats/squirrels. Or, if they do – they will look to you for instructions on what to do. And you’ll have an answer for them that’s way more satisfying than any cat could be.
2. You’ll have much more of a connection with your dog. You’ll understand deeply how they experience the world – and be able to stay connected with your dog no matter what is going on.
3. That means – no matter what is going on – your dog will LISTEN to you.
4. Your dog will have a higher and higher threshold for the things that the world throws their way.

How long will this take?

I’m going to be totally honest with you here.

Every dog is different. Some dogs will get there in a matter of weeks. Some dogs take longer time to fully get there. It’s an ongoing process.

However, here are some things that I know for sure, after having used these methods with hundreds of dogs:

When you learn the core exercises for tapping into your dog’s prey drive, you will notice big changes right away.

Things like:

• Your dog will pay more attention to you
• Your dog will be excited for the new games/techniques that you’re using – and to interact with you
• Your dog will be more relaxed, in general
• You will feel more confident, understanding exactly why your dog is doing what they’re doing, and knowing exactly how to respond most effectively.

And the most important thing is: It’s fun – for you, and your dog.

Way more fun than alpha-rolls or clicking those little clicker-thingies.

The first exercises lay the groundwork. You are giving your dog a new experience of you, so that they learn to be in tune with you, to see you, to hear you, to feel your presence – even when they’re energized by the world.

Then you channel all of that into obedience work, so that your dog will respond to you no matter what’s going on. Things like:

• A down-stay where your dog is anchored to the ground, attentive, waiting to know what’s next.
• Your dog will come when called – no matter what. You could throw a ball for your dog, and call your dog back mid-chase.
• Heeling next to you, on or off-leash, as focused on you as you want your dog to be. Personally I like to let my dog sniff around most of the time, but I want to know that when it counts, she’s looking right up at me wondering what’s next.

One thing that’s really unique about prey drive dog training is that you learn how to work with your dog no matter what state your dog is in.

Why is this important?

I hear it all the time – “My dog comes when there are no distractions around, but as soon as there’s a cat in the room, it’s like I’m not even there.”

Sound familiar? It’s because usually we owners are not part of that circuit that I was talking about earlier. The hunting circuit.

Using the simple, special techniques that I demonstrate, you become part of that circuitry. Your dog will learn what it feels like to sit, down, stay, and, most importantly, come to YOU when they’re all energized.

Suddenly, it’s like you have a direct line to your dog’s brain (and, probably even more important, to your dog’s heart) all the time. Cats or no cats! Squirrels or no squirrels! Etc.

Imagine being able to give your dog a quick command that brings their attention directly to you no matter what’s going on in the world around them.

Imagine what it would be like for your dog to see a cat – and to look up to you, wondering what to do next.

Or, even better, your dog looks at the cat, and then just goes right back to nap-time, or whatever else your pup was doing.

My dog, Nola, huntress and terrorizer of all creatures great and small, became a dog who was sociable, relaxed, and responsive whenever it was necessary. People would remark on what a “good dog” she was – and I’d say “if you only knew what she *used* to be like!”

I remember one particular moment so clearly that shows you just how much Prey Drive Dog Training helped me – and my dog.

Nola and I were walking down a city street, and all of a sudden this squirrel came out of nowhere and jumped onto a tree that was about 3 feet away from us, making all sorts of chirping noises. Nola stopped…and looked right up at ME, with this look that said something like “now we get to play, right?”

Now that in and of itself would have been awesome. But the story doesn’t end there.

You see, Nola and I were having a grand ol’ time – maybe too much fun according to that squirrel. Because while we were playing with each other, the squirrel suddenly jumped down from the tree, ran over, and CLIMBED UP MY LEG!

And here’s the interesting thing: Nola didn’t even care! She stayed completely focused on me, and our game – it was as if the squirrel wasn’t even there. Of course I was a little like “what the heck?!” – it was that surprising. But then I dived right back in to the game we were playing, and the squirrel went on its merry way.

I’ve heard stories like this from hundreds of people who have used my system. Things like:

“More connected with my dog than I’ve ever been.”

“My dog doesn’t even care about cats any more.”

“People ask me what I did that helped my dog change so much.”

You can learn exactly how to do this with your dog, with my Prey Drive Dog Training Course – called “Natural Dog Training: The Fundamentals” – available online, or on 2 DVDs.

Your dog’s Prey Drive is the magic key to controlling your dog’s behavior

I have taken my years of experience in teaching others, and created a video instruction series that teaches you exactly how to tap into your dog’s prey drive, with easy, proven steps to transform your dog’s relationship to cats, squirrels, other dogs, and to help you feel more connected than ever.

n the first set of videos (or the first DVD) – “The Basics” (nearly an hour’s worth of instruction):

• How to safely give your dog an outlet for their prey drive – and have FUN doing it.
• How to help your dog relax, even when the environment around them is chaotic and stressful.
• How to turn your dog’s attraction for something else (squirrels, cars, dogs, cats, etc.) into an even STRONGER attraction to you.
• How to turn your dog’s aggression towards other dogs/people into PLAYTIME with you.
• The RIGHT way to play tug-of-war with your dog – and a way of combining fetch and tug-of-war to give your dog the MOST SATISFYING playtime that they’ve ever experienced.
• Best of all,  you will become comfortable working and playing with your dog no matter HOW energized your dog is.  Your actions become natural and effortless, and consistently attract and satisfy your dog’s deepest nature.

The second set of videos (or second DVD) – “Mastering Obedience” (also an hour) shows you how to use your dog’s prey drive for:

• Sit
• Down
• Down “at a distance” (where your dog will hit the dirt, even if they’re far away from you AND chasing something else)
• Stay – the kind of focused, attentive stay that lasts no matter WHAT distractions there are in the environment
• Heel – where your dog walks at your side looking up at you, magnetized by your presence, both on and off leash, when you WANT your dog to do so.  Otherwise, your dog will walk on leash without pulling like crazy, just meandering within the limits of the leash that they’re on.
• Come – the kind of “Come” where your dog will come back to you, excited and energized, no matter what is distracting them – even if they’re in mid-chase of something enticing.

All of the work is done on an extra-long leash – so you can focus on working with your dog, and your dog learns “obedience” without having to rely on feedback from a leash.

It’s like training your dog to be off-leash and on-leash at the same time!  All you have to do to transition from “off-leash” to “on-leash” is…pick up the leash.  Trust me, it’s MUCH EASIER than trying to do it the other way around (transitioning from on-leash to off-leash).

All lessons are presented in an easy-to-follow, step-by-step process that takes you from one thing to the next.  There’s no guesswork – you just follow the steps that I show you on the DVDs and you WILL get from where you are now to where you want to be.

Take it from a dog trainer who’s had to deal with LOTS of prey drive

Since I started my site about using prey drive in dog training (naturaldogblog.com), my site has received millions of visits from people all around the world looking for help. And all of my experience with teaching other people how to use Natural Dog Training went into the production of these videos.

I want you to have a practical, simple way to get the same kinds of results with your dog that I got with my dog.

And while it can take some time to get to the “perfect recall” – almost everyone who uses my system reports that their dogs become calmer, more focused on them, more relaxed – very quickly after implementing the techniques that I teach in Natural Dog Training: The Fundamentals.

In fact, I guarantee that you will see a difference in your dog’s behavior within 30 days of using my training system – or I will refund your purchase price.  (you have to use it, though, to see a difference – just watching the videos won’t be enough)

Try it out, risk-free:

If you have a hyper dog, with lots of energy – or a problem dog who chases cats, squirrels, or gets into fights with other dogs – or simply want to develop a stronger emotional bond with your dog, then my video series – Natural Dog Training: The Fundamentals – is perfect for you.

But don’t take my word for it – try it for yourself, and see how much of a difference it can make in your dog’s life (and your life) when you know how to USE your dog’s prey drive.

I guarantee that you’ll transform your relationship with your dog, and that you’ll both be happier for it. And the cats in your life will thank you.