![]() ![]() Predatory behavior is indicated by distinct behaviors: hunting (sniffing, tracking, searching, scanning, or waiting for prey) stalking the attack sequence (chase, pounce/catch, shaking kill, choking kill) and post-kill consuming. It is distinguished from other forms of aggression by a marked absence of “affective arousal” (anger), and is a social survival behavior, not a social conflict behavior. Indeed, the motivation to chase prey objects is vastly different from other forms of aggression, which are based on competition for resources and/or self-protection. In fact, some behaviorists argue that predatory behavior should not be called aggression at all – that it is more appropriately interpreted as a form of food-getting behavior. When you throw a ball or a stick and he chases it, you are triggering his natural predatory desire to chase things that move. ![]() Our dogs’ predatory instincts are one of the things that makes them fun to play with. This poor bunny wasn’t so lucky, and Newton just did what dogs do. More often than not when our dogs chase small beings like squirrels and rabbits, the little critters manage to escape. Bassets were bred to chase rabbits, after all, and Border Collies were bred to chase things that move. I breathed a silent sigh of relief, and reassured her that while I understood her distress, Newton’s behavior was natural and normal. He dropped it immediately when I told him to, but it was too late, the bunny was dead!” “He chased and killed a bunny in my backyard!” Tiffany wailed. Newton and his vivacious, committed owner are two of my favorite clients, and I didn’t want to hear that Newton had done something irredeemable. In my dog trainer brain, “very bad” usually equates with serious aggression to humans. My heart skipped a beat as I glanced down at Newton, the black and white Border Collie/Basset mix sitting calmly by her side. “Newton did something very bad this week,” she said. Tiffany approached me shortly before the start of her weekly training class recently, clearly distraught. Don’t ever allow him to be placed in a situation where his predatory instincts can threaten the life of another human, especially a child. ![]()
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