02/09/2026
Sometimes the “naughty” or unwanted behaviours you’re seeing are actually clues for how we could be fulfilling our dogs better 👀
If your dog wants to chase birds, runners, cars, bikes or anything that moves, it can be easy to focus only on stopping the behaviour
It’s worth asking:
What was this dog bred to do?
This guy is a Vizsla - a hunting breed bred to work, search, chase, point and retrieve
So instead of only suppressing those instincts, we can give him an appropriate outlet for them while still building rules around the game
That’s where a flirt pole can be such a useful tool
Notice I’m not asking him to sit
The game simply doesn’t restart until he offers four paws + his bum on the ground
Once he does, he gets his “YES” termination reward marker - meaning that behaviour is finished and he can immediately access his reward: the chase
So while he’s highly stimulated, he’s learning:
👉 Moving things are not automatically available to chase
👉 Offering a sit and waiting for your marker makes the fun start again
👉 Four paws on the ground works better than jumping
👉 He can think and make good choices even when aroused
👉 Engaging with me doesn’t mean the fun disappears
At the same time, he’s getting an outlet for the behaviour he naturally wants to perform… chase, stalk, catch and interact with movement
This applies across all breeds too
A herding breed may need appropriate outlets for controlling movement.
A gundog may need searching, retrieving and chasing.
A terrier may love digging, grabbing and shaking.
A sighthound may have a huge desire to chase.
There’s been many years of breeding to make create dogs that are specifically good at those things
It’s to give them somewhere appropriate to express them, then teach them where those behaviours are and aren’t allowed
And no, giving your dog a structured outlet for chasing won’t make them chase more
In many cases, fulfilling that behaviour appropriately makes training around real-world movement easier because you’re no longer asking the dog to suppress that instinct 24/7
Fulfil the dog in front of you. Put structure around the outlet. Then train what you want around the real thing
