What Is Prey Drive in Dogs (And Why It’s Not Just ‘Chasing Things’)
If you start to dig into what prey drive in dogs actually is, you’ll find a confusing mix of opinions and ideas. You’ll find that both in books, blogs, or social media on dog behaviour and training made by professionals and in the scientific literature.
For many professionals and scientists alike, chasing is the only part of prey drive that is considered worth talking about.
Prey drive is somewhat of an artificial term. We use drive to describe the amount of desire or motivation a dog has to do something. Dogs who love food and are easily trained with food rewards are often said to have a high food drive. Similarly, toy-loving dogs are said to have a high drive for toys or sometimes play.
Prey drive simply means that the dog’s enthusiasm is directed toward prey — almost always some sort of other animal species, or birds. It is exceptionally rare for dogs to see another dog as prey, and you can read more about that if you are interested by looking at my blog on predatory drift.
I described the concept of drive as an artificial term because it doesn’t have a well-defined meaning. There isn’t a measuring system that would allow you to go through and measure the amount of drive your dog has. How you assess it is going to depend a lot on your experience with prey drive in dogs.
If you’ve lived with a series of dogs who tend to ignore prey and now you have one who chases squirrels, you might describe them as having high prey drive. If you gave that same squirrel-chasing dog to somebody experienced at training dogs to work around prey, they might come back and say: This dog doesn’t have enough prey drive to be a working dog.
Desire or motivation is an internal feeling that the dog has, which we try to understand by looking at their behaviour. That’s why, if you read scientific papers, they don’t tend to talk about prey drive. Instead, they are more likely to talk about predatory behaviour.
Behaviour can be observed and measured in lots of different ways, making it far more useful for scientific study. Behaviour is open to a lot of interpretation which is why assessing how much drive a dog has is hard to do quickly. Ideally those assessments would be made by somebody who is an expert at working with dogs around prey as they will be better able to interpret the behaviour.
Let’s get back to chasing. Chasing absolutely is a part of predatory behaviour — but it is far from the only part. Long before a chase happens, most dogs will first search for prey, and some dogs will go through a process of carefully getting into position, eyeing and stalking to get closer before chasing.
Chasing tends to be what we humans see as the problem, but when we focus only on that, we are almost always late to the party. Most dogs have started their excitement about prey long before a chase is happening. That’s part of why it feels impossible to stop them.
We wait until they are fully locked in and then try to do something about the chase. If we noticed the stages before the chase, we’d be in a much better position.
The Predatory System: The Parts of Prey Drive Your Dog Might Be Showing
A great way to think about prey drive is as a complex system of instinct and learning. In some animals, that predatory system is what helps them find food and stay alive. For dogs, things are different. Domestic dogs have not truly been predators for many generations. While some individual dogs do supplement their diet by eating prey animals, it is more usual for dogs to be fed by people or to live by scavenging. That might make it sound like prey drive is being largely bred out of domestic dogs but nothing could be further from the truth.
Prey drive in domestic dogs has been carefully nurtured and modified through selective breeding to produce dogs who can help people in a variety of ways. From dispatching animals like rats to assisting with the care of livestock, prey drive in dogs is very much part of what working dogs are bred for. If your dog is a family member and companion, their prey drive might be stressful and inconvenient but it is something that is very much part of who they are. You may even be living with a dog who has had that side of them carefully bred for.
Since I wrote that blog, there are a couple of new things to add into the picture about why we should view prey drive as more of a complex system than a sequence where one stage leads onto the next.
In 2024, a group of Italian researchers published an ethogram describing predatory behaviour in dogs. They started with research into wolves and then carefully examined what dogs do using video footage. With that information, they simplified that long sequence into four phases.
Search In the search phase, dogs explore an area using their nose and eyes, often moving in wide zig-zags while sniffing the ground or air. As they start to pick up signs of prey, they slow down, become more focused, and their body language shifts to show growing tension and concentration.
Approach In the approach phase, dogs become intensely focused on their prey, moving slowly and carefully or following a scent trail with purpose. As they get closer, their body language becomes more controlled and deliberate—until the moment they’re ready to chase.
Chase The chase phase begins the moment the prey moves, triggering a fast, focused pursuit. Most dogs stay silent, but some may bark or shriek with excitement or frustration as they run. During chasing as well some dogs may pounce, stab down with their front foot, move to flank the prey and block their movements or rush at them. The phase ends when the dog gets close enough to catch the prey - or the prey escapes.
Bite The bite phase begins when the dog gets close enough to catch the prey. If the prey is still moving, the dog uses firm bites to bring it down; if it’s already down, the dog may retrieve it. After capture, some dogs shake, assess, or tug at the prey—but none were seen to dissect it. Throughout, dogs stay focused but silent.
They didn’t quite come up with something that might be a described as a system but an earlier researcher, William Timberlake had already done that. In 1997, he wrote a paper titled An animal-centered, causal-system approach to the understanding and control of behavior. His belief was that part of the reason people were struggling more with their pets was that studies into animal behaviour science had inadvertently made behaviour seem simpler than it is. In experiments, scientists have to study simple pieces of behaviour and they often looking for relationships between some change they made and what the animal did as a result.
That practice naturally led to neat, step by step beliefs like the predatory motor sequence. He felt as if that plus the fact that modern life meant that many people have less first-hand practical knowledge of animals from their day to day lives. Working in offices and behind computers cuts down on time in the natural world. And to many people, family pets are such a close extension of a family that it’s hard to remember that they are a different species – which is why it is so common for people to be deeply distressed if their beloved dog catches and kills a squirrel.
To Timberlake, one way to help with this situation was to develop an animal-centred approach to looking at behaviour. He believed that it was important to look at who an individual animal is and what their own learning and instinctive systems bring to the table when it comes to how they behave. A key fact for dog owners is that no matter how much we love our dogs, we cannot ever see things from their perspective.
We know from the work of Jaak Panksepp that all animals are emotional beings with similar emotions to those we experience. That isn’t in doubt. We can empathise with our dogs but can’t truly understand their perspective because our senses work differently. They also move faster than we could ever hope to. Their experience of the world is dramatically different from ours in ways that we just can’t hope to understand.
Nevertheless, we can use the knowledge we have to try and think about what their experience might be. If I’m walking along a path with my dog who is at screaming levels of excitement when there is ‘nothing there’ I could choose to see my dog as highly strung, anxious, difficult, disobedient. Or I could assume that since it is winter and the path has trees on either side of it that my dog is reacting like that because they can smell squirrels that are quietly in the undergrowth looking for food or are in the branches of the trees. I could also think about what the dog I’m walking has been bred to do. If I’m walking with a dog who has been bred to do a job that involves prey, then they will have a lot of instinct telling them that finding those squirrels is vital.
When Timberlake put all of those things together, he came up with a motivational frame work that could be applied to the instinctive systems of many animals. The one he published was about predatory behaviour in rats but I have modified it to use the predatory motor sequence and the findings from the ethogram to make it easier to see how complex predatory behaviour is.
For each dog, what behaviour comes out on the right hand side of the diagram is dependent on the dog’s motivation and what phase they are performing. Each of the coloured lines and arrows that links the parts of the diagram is influenced by the dog’s instincts, the behaviour of the prey, where they are and their prior learning. Learning will include training as well as the things they have learned independently as they go through the world.
The great news about all of this complexity is that it makes it clear that training matters when it comes to prey drive. Nothing about it is fixed or controlled entirely by instincts. Every part can change entirely due to learning – and that’s why good training makes so much difference when you have a high prey drive dog.
Signs of Prey Drive Often Missed or Misinterpreted
If you have always thought that prey drive is about chasing or biting then you are not alone. I researched this extensively for my master’s degree and I found that in both the scientific literature and the dog training industry, there was a strong focus on how to stop dogs chasing or biting prey.
There are other signs that many people miss – the earlier phases. Dogs who put their nose down and purposefully follow a trail or who dig their way into dead grass or who lift their nose into the air and pause are all searching. As are the dogs start barking and lunging when there is nothing there. Most dogs search for prey even the breeds that are traditionally thought of as sight focused dogs.
Just the other day I stood and watched a Greyhound using her sense of smell to search for squirrels. What she was doing was obvious to me because I’ve now watched thousands of dogs searching for prey. I was so fascinated that I started chatting with her owner to find out more about her. This particular dog was bred and trained, and raced. When she retired, she was found a new home where she now lives as a much loved companion. Her owner told me that she loves to chase squirrels – or any prey really that moves fast. I have absolutely no doubt that she does. She also uses her nose to search for them if there are none to see.
The other part that is commonly missed when it comes to prey drive is anything in that approach phase. That part where dogs are quietly getting closer to prey is often not considered to have anything to do with prey drive. It is quiet and controlled and so it is often missed. I was once on a course and one of the other participants, who had a Hungarian Vizsla mentioned that her dog did a ‘weird thing’ if there was a bird in the garden. When she described the dog’s behaviour, the dog was stalking and pointing. Those are parts of prey drive that that breed has been selectively bred for so her dog would do exactly what her instincts told her to do around prey but it just wasn’t noticed by her owner.
These missed early stages of prey drive are almost always what makes it seem random and unpredictable. When you don’t notice that your dog is searching out nearby prey, then it is normal to be blindsided when they are suddenly chasing an animal that you had no idea was even nearby.
Why Your Dog Shows Prey Drive With Some Animals but Not Others
I get asked a lot about why dogs will show interest in some prey and not others. It’s more common than you might think. The reason that your dog might chase some things and not others comes back to Timberlake’s point about learning.
For most dogs, prey drive is part of them becoming an adult. It tends to pop up in adolescence just like an interest in reproducing does. The detail of what dogs consider prey and exactly what they do about it depends partly on genetics and partly on experience.
Most dogs – especially when they are young – are likely to chase deer if they encounter them. That’s normal. But some species of deer at some times of year are less likely to run. Some of them may even run toward the dog or bark at them. If a young dog encounters that during the time when their habits around prey are forming, it might scare them and make them take deer off their list of prey animals. They may focus on animals that more reliably run away from them.
Often the answer to the question – ‘why these animals and not others’ – can be found by considering what happened when the dog was young.
The other huge factor is about what the dog is encountering in day to day life. The things they see and smell lots of will play a part. Animals and birds that the dog has a lot of access to might well trigger a predatory response but most dogs, with training, become easier to handle around the things they encounter a lot even if they see those things as prey and are excited by them. Whereas, exciting things that the dog doesn’t see or smell often can trigger a more obsessive response that is more likely to override training.
Sometimes, it’s not the animal itself that is what makes the difference to your dog. Sometimes it is where they are. Some dogs will chase any cat they see outside of the house but live peacefully and happily with their cat friends at home. Context is part of learning and dogs are perfectly capable of learning that cats in the house are their friends but cats outside are prey.
The scent and behaviour of the prey matters too. Your dog might happily ignore large livestock like cows, horses and farmed deer but would chase wild deer. The difference is going to be that livestock smell and behave differently than wild animals. A similar thing can happen with sheep. For some dogs, sheep who calmly hang out in fields are pretty boring but if they were to encounter a sheep who’d gotten lost in woods, was alone and both acting and smelling more wild, then they might see that lone sheep as more like prey.
So it isn’t just the prey, it’s also where the prey is and how the prey behaves that makes a difference – as well as your dog’s learning history.
Is It Prey Drive or Reactivity? How to Tell the Difference
This is such a great question and it is important to take your time if you are wondering which you are dealing with. The reason you might have this question is that big, emotional responses are common both from reactive dogs and from high prey drive dogs if prey is around.
The key thing that distinguishes between reactivity and prey drive is what your dog hopes to get out of it.
We’ve looked at prey drive in some detail and each part of it has the goal of in some way getting closer to the prey. Even if you have a dog who stops before they bite prey, they will still do things that will bring them closer to the prey. The goal of prey drive is getting closer to prey.
Reactivity is typically about your dog trying to keep something that they are worried by away. It’s all about creating space. They might bark to keep a dog that bothers them away from them. They might charge at a dog that is coming close to you or close their favourite toy to try and make the dog go away. The goal of reactivity is making space.
Does My Dog Have a High Prey Drive? How to Spot the Signs
Chasing is common in dogs and research published in 2025 about chasing showed that most dogs chase. Interestingly, the researchers found that chasing prey was not linked to how impulsive the dog was, breed or age – other than that puppies were less likely chase wildlife. The research showed just how normal it is for dogs to chase prey.
On their own performing any of the predatory behaviours we’ve been talking about doesn’t indicate a high prey drive. Those actions indicate that your dog is a dog. Chasing squirrels up trees or catching rabbits is just normal dog behaviour and doesn’t indicate an especially high prey drive.
To dig into just how high your dog’s prey drive is, rather than what they do, the thing to consider is what obstacles or hardship will they go through to do what they want to do with prey. The dogs with higher prey drive are going to do more – they might chew through leads or back out of harnesses or jump fences to go after prey. High prey drive dogs will get caught in things, rip themselves free and then carry on, sometimes ignoring injuries. Lower drive dogs will give up much more easily.
When I had my first high prey drive dog and was learning about those dogs, it became clear to me quickly that what I was dealing with was unusual for many dogs. That first dog I had loved to find and pick up hedgehogs. He was hard for me to handle if there was a hedgehog nearby. After a particularly trying evening where I’d been trying to move him away from one and he’d pulled me off my feet and I’d been hurt in the fall I sought help from a dog trainer.
The trainer smiled and said: “Don't worry – that’s really easy to fix.”
I was delighted and asked her what her magic method was. She replied: “Don’t try and stop him. The next time, let him go up to the hedgehog and when the thorns prick his nose, he’ll never go near another one.”
When I explained that if I did that, my dog would lift the hedgehog up and carry home, including into the house, she frowned and told me she had no idea how to deal with that. If the pain of the spines wasn’t enough to stop my dog, she had no idea what to do.
High prey drive dogs will not be put off by pain or hardship. They’ll go to great lengths to go after prey and that’s really how you tell. Their determination is a way better indicator than what they want to do with prey.
What to Do If You Think Your Dog Has Prey Drive
There is no ‘fixing’ it. Prey drive is part of what makes a dog a dog. You cannot train it away or make it go away by suppressing it. So what can you do?
The great news is that, as we know, prey drive can be highly altered by learning and training. You just need to shift your thinking about training a bit. Rather than thinking about trying to use training to prevent your dog from being interested in prey, think about using your training to help your dog learn to do things that are acceptable.
1.Work out what your dog most loves about prey drive and then find a way to use training to make that more accessible for them – and still safe. Here are some ideas:
Chasing toys rather than animals.
Using their nose to search for toys or hidden pieces of food.
Spending their time stalking and pointing – and then chasing a piece of food you throw for them rather than the bird they were stalking and pointing.
Holding and carrying a toy with them.
2.Help the training you are doing with toys and food be successful by managing your dog. It’s going to be harder to convince them that a toy is a great thing to chase if they routinely have the thrill of chasing rabbits. Use leads, long lines and fenced areas to help you strengthen the training that you are doing. Think of those interventions as a way to help your dog build strong, positive habits rather than as something you have to do permanently.
3.Help your dog to learn some self-control. Learning that they can control themselves even around prey is a great thing for high prey drive dogs.
If you can do those things, then any training you add on will go much better for you and your dog.
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Broseghini, A., Lõoke, M., Guérineau, C., Marinelli, L. and Mongillo, P., 2024. Ethogram of the predatory sequence of dogs (Canis familiaris). Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 279, p.106402. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2024.106402
Cooper, E., Zulch, H. and Mills, D.S., 2025. The role of breed versus personality and other demographic factors in predicting chasing behaviour in dogs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 282, p.106463. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2024.106463
McLennan, T., 2023. Does the attention a dog pays to their owner increase after the dog engages in activities that mimic the predatory preferences of that dog (Canis familiaris)? Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 263. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2023.105944
Wright, J.S., Panksepp, J., 2012. An evolutionary framework to understand foraging, wanting, and desire: the neuropsychology of the SEEKING system. Neuropsychoanalysis. 14(1). 5-39. https://doi.org/10.1080/15294145.2012.10773683
Timberlake, W., 1997. An animal-centered, causal-system approach to the understanding and control of behavior. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 53(1-2), pp.107-129. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0168-1591(96)01154-9
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Hi, I’m Tracey - founder of Best Dog Learning and Stuff and a huge prey drive enthusiast.
I’ve lived with high prey drive dogs for over 20 years, and I know first-hand how challenging and rewarding they can be.
I back up that hands-on experience with academic study: a BSc (Hons) in Canine Behaviour and Training and a Master’s degree with distinction in Applied Animal Behaviour and Training. I also hold an MA (Hons) in Philosophy, which shapes the ethical approach behind all my work.
Alongside working with thousands of owners of high prey drive dogs, I’ve contributed to the science too:
