dutch shepherd prey drive

Question
Hello, I recently adopted a 9 yr. old Dutch Shepherd who has some mild
arthrtiis. She is a sweet dog, yet somewhat aggressive with other dogs. (Not
people). My question has to do with her strong prey drive. I live on 5 acres
with millions of rabbits. Chloe loves chasing the rabbits. I dont let her,
becuase I fear it will exacerbate the pain in her hips. The one or two times
she has got off leash to chase them, she limps for a while afterwards.

My question has to do with how do I get her to stop being so fixated on the
rabbits? If I try to walk her, she pulls and tries to get off to chase them. She
simply cannot pay attention to me or walk well if tehre are rabbit smells, or
deer around. But I live in the woods.

Is there a way to redirect her atttention?

I always leash walk her, with a harness, and reward her with treats when she
responds to me. But this barely has put a dent in her main interest to pull
away and chase. How can I compete with rabbits!?

Thanks!
Hilary

Answer
She may be too overwhelmed with distractions for some of the standard advice to work.  What you need to do is keep calling her attention to you.  When you see a distraction coming, start talking to her so she is focused on you.  I don't see how you can spot the next hot rabbit trail in front of you.  

This sounds to me like a good place for a head collar.  The leading brands are Promise,  Haltie, and Gentle Leader.  They have a strap going around the dogs nose looking something like a muzzle.  They work by pulling the dogs head around.  No other way gives you such great control with so little force.  They are a very effective alternative to the harsh corrections other training collars need at times.  I was once given a 15 month old, intact, male Lab that had no training at all.  I was able to make him walk nicely in a slip collar, but my old joints wouldn't have taken much of that abuse to both of us.  A Gentle Leader was just that.  He very quickly gave up his pulling.  Last I heard, he was working as a dog guide in Texas.  

Thank you for giving her a home.  I hope my advice works for you.  Post back with anymore questions.  

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