How to stop your dog chasing cars, bikes and animals

Chasing is a natural behaviour.

Some dogs have a need to chase, stop and catch moving things. The sight or sound of things moving quickly can make them start chasing. 

Many dogs have a strong natural need to chase, linked to how they’ve been bred. This is sometimes called a prey drive.  

For instance, greyhounds were bred to run after fast-moving objects, so this behaviour may be a strong instinct for them. However, a dog’s breed doesn’t guarantee how they’ll behave. All dogs are individual, and any dog may have the desire to chase.

Dogs with an urge to chase often enjoy learning chase games with toys or treats. This can help them to use up their energy in a positive way and feel fulfilled.

Some dogs find it exciting to chase and try to catch things, like wildlife or cats.  

Dogs sometimes struggle to think clearly when they’re excited. They may struggle to follow training or concentrate as well as they usually do.  

You can help your dog by:

• Regularly practising training, like recall, in calm, quiet places away from distractions.
• Building up to practising these exercises in busier places where there may be other things that they’re interested in.
• Choosing quiet times and places to walk so you can avoid things your dog might like to chase.
• Checking the area before letting your dog off-lead, or using a long line attached to their harness. Look for things that could hurt your dog, like barbed wire or broken fences. If anything looks unsafe, keep them on a lead.
• Clearly marking any fences, windows or glass doors to stop your dog running into them if they’re not concentrating while they’re chasing.

Your dog may feel frustrated if they can’t chase something that is moving nearby because they’re on a lead. This may cause them to pull hard while trying to chase after it.  

A dog who feels frustrated when on a lead might be more likely to chase moving things, and less likely to come back, if let off the lead.  

You can help your dog by:

• giving them something else to focus on when they’re on a lead, like playing with a toy or sniffing for treats
• choosing quiet times and places to walk your dog to avoid things they might try to chase
• making sure any fences, windows or glass doors in your home are clearly marked to stop your dog running into them or injuring themselves if they try to chase.

If something is loud or fast while moving it might frighten your dog. They may chase it to make it move away.

A common example is dogs who chase cars or scooters. As the dog chases the fast-moving thing, it quickly disappears. The dog may think it was their chasing that made the moving thing leave. From their perspective, the chasing worked, so they may be more likely to use this behaviour in similar situations.

You can help your dog by:

• Choosing quiet times and places to walk your dog to avoid things they might chase if they feel frightened.
• Practising simple training in calm places, like recall, or rewarding your dog for looking at you when you ask them to.
• Keeping enough distance from things that worry your dog. Stay far enough away so your dog can stay calm. Each time they see or hear something they’re worried about, give them a tasty treat.

Puppies who miss out on early recall practice may need extra help as they grow up. They might also need to stay on a lead or long line in exciting places while they learn.

Start in quiet, low distraction areas and gradually move to busier areas as your dog comes back when called more consistently.

If your dog doesn’t come back to you when called in calm, quiet areas, they won’t be able to do it in more distracting places.

Your dog may want to chase more if they’re bored or full of energy.

As chasing is often fun and exciting, it can become self-rewarding. This means the more your dog does it, the more they’ll want to do it in the future.

Plan your routine to prevent your dog from practising unsafe chasing. Give them plenty of other things to do to use their energy in safe ways.

Some safe fun activities could be:

• toy play – particularly chasing thrown toys or playing tug games
• sniffing at home or in the garden - try hiding some treats or toys for your dog to find
• food puzzles – these encourage your dog to use up energy through problem solving.

Considering your dog’s age and how their needs may have changed might help you reduce their urge to chase.

Pain or discomfort can affect dogs at any age, but some health problems happen more often in certain life stages.

Older dogs may feel the need to chase due to changes in their hearing or eyesight, which might make them feel less confident and more easily worried.

If your dog starts to feel painful due to conditions like arthritis, they may feel worried about things like people or dogs getting too close and chase them to make them move away.

Young dogs are often full of energy and can be very interested in moving things, which might make chasing more tempting.

When dogs are excited, frightened or frustrated, they may find it difficult to concentrate, making them more prone to accidents, like:

• running or jumping into things like fences, glass doors or low windows that they haven’t seen because they’re focused on the thing they’re chasing
• slipping or tripping while they’re moving quickly
• hurting themselves by pulling hard on a lead or long line.  

You can reduce the chances of your dog hurting themselves while chasing by:

• Clearly marking low windows or glass doors using stickers or stick on frosting.
• Regularly checking all fences and gates are sturdy, in good condition and tall enough to prevent your dog trying to escape.
• Using non-slip mats on smooth or slippery floors to help your dog keep their grip.
• Using a long line with a well-fitted harness. This helps spread the pressure if your dog suddenly reaches the end of the line. Do not attach a long line to a neck collar or head collar. If your dog runs to the end of the line, the sudden pressure can cause injury.

Some dogs find chasing farmed animals fun and exciting. Other dogs may chase if they’re worried and trying to make them move away.  

Although chasing is a normal behaviour for dogs, it’s dangerous for farmed animals. Even if your dog doesn’t touch them, getting too close can make farmed animals panic and hurt themselves or lose their pregnancies. This is called livestock worrying and is illegal under the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) Act 2025.

You can help keep both your dog and farmed animals safe by:

• Making sure young puppies get familiar and confident with farmed animals if they’re going to be around them regularly. They should always be on a lead while you’re doing this.
• Check with your vet that your puppy is safe to walk on the ground after their vaccinations, and has had flea and worming treatments. If your puppy hasn’t been vaccinated yet, they can be held securely off the ground to safely introduce them the sights and smells.
• Keeping your dog on a lead whenever you’re near farmed animals, even if you can only hear or smell them.
• Avoiding fields with farmed animals by checking signs or maps before you walk.
• If you can’t avoid walking through a field with farmed animals, stay as far away from them as possible.
• Making your garden secure so your dog can’t escape into nearby fields.

If your dog starts to get too interested in farmed animals, you can encourage them away by:

• throwing them some treats or toys
• asking them to do something simple, like sitting, for a reward
• moving them away using the lead.

Cars can move quickly and appear with little warning. Your dog may find them unpredictable, worrying and confusing which may lead to chasing.

Roads can often be busy with lots of smells, sounds and fast movement.

As well as seeing cars and their lights move quickly, your dog may:

• hear car engines and noisy traffic moving nearby
• smell car fumes
• feel vibrations from heavy traffic.

You can help your dog by staying away from roads as much as possible.

By keeping your dog on a lead, you can guide them away if they’re getting stressed by nearby cars.

When training around cars or traffic, you should:

• make sure your dog is on a lead
• keep your dog at a distance from cars that they can stay calm and concentrate on training
• use rewards like treats or toys to encourage them to be calm.

Introduce puppies to traffic from an early age, starting at a distance they can see it, but remain calm. If your puppy isn’t vaccinated yet and can’t be walked, you can let them see traffic from the boot of the car or while you’re holding them.

Fast movement is exciting for many dogs. When something like a bike, jogger or scooter moves past quickly, dogs can become overexcited, making it hard for them to think or listen.

Other dogs may feel frightened of fast‑moving things, and chase to make them move away. If this seems to work, the dog may become more confident about chasing over time.

You can help your dog learn and keep everyone safe by:

• Keeping a distance where your dog can stay calm when they see bikes, scooters or joggers. Walk them where they’re less likely to see bikes, scooters or joggers, and you have room to move away quickly if needed.
• Using a well-fitting harness and lead to prevent your dog chasing while you’re on walks or training. Using a double-ended lead to attach your dog’s collar and harness can help you guide them away from things they want to chase.
• Using tasty treats to reward your dog for calm behaviour any time they see a bike, scooter or jogger.
• Playing fun chase games with treats or toys to let your dog use chase behaviours in a safe way.
• Introducing puppies to joggers, cyclists and scooters from an early age.

Seeing small animals move can make dogs feel excited, because they enjoy chasing.

The more your dog chases and enjoys it, the more they’ll want to chase in the future. This is unsafe for your dog and stressful for the animal they are chasing.

You can help to keep everyone safe and prevent chasing by:

• Avoiding places where your dog may see things to chase, like parks with lots of squirrels or areas where you regularly see cats.
• Walking your dog at times when you’re less likely to see animals that your dog would like to chase. For example, cats and rabbits are often most active at dawn and dusk.
• Keeping your dog on a lead or long line to prevent them chasing cats or wildlife.
• Blocking your dog’s view of animals they might see through windows or fences using plants, objects or stick on frosting.
• Clearly marking low windows or glass doors using stickers or stick on frosting to make sure your dog can see and avoid running into them.
• Ensuring all fences are sturdy, high enough and in good condition so there are no weak points or sharp edges.

If you come across an animal that your dog may chase, it may help to give them something else to do. You could try:

• asking them to look at you for a reward
• throwing treats for them to chase and find
• giving them a toy to chase and play with.

Dogs may want to chase other dogs for a lot of reasons, including:

• trying to make another dog move away if they’re feeling worried or frightened
• feeling frustrated that they can’t get to another dog or make them stop moving
• struggling to socialise properly if they didn’t get much practise meeting, greeting and spending time with other dogs at a young age
• wanting to play - chasing is often a good, fun way for dogs to play, but only if they’re all enjoying it
• seeing them as a fast-moving animal that they’d like to chase and catch
• chasing after another dog they want to mate with, if your dog is unneutered.

Depending on why your dog is chasing other dogs it might be helpful to:

• Keep your dog on-lead and walk them in quiet areas, at quiet times, to avoid other dogs.
• Reward them for staying calm when they see other dogs.
• Let them meet and spend time with familiar, calm and friendly dogs to help reduce frustration.
• Encourage your dog to interact in calm ways without chasing, like going on a walk with another dog or spending time sniffing together.
• Let them play chase games with familiar dogs. Make sure both dogs are having fun, and give them plenty of breaks to walk calmly and sniff in between chase games.
• Teach your dog to wear a muzzle to keep everyone safe.
• Consider whether neutering might be helpful with your vet, as it might reduce some chasing behaviour.

There are lots of reasons your dog may feel the need to chase cars. It could be because:

• they feel worried or scared by cars moving quickly and chase to make them go away
• they feel frustrated because they can’t catch or stop the car
• they have a strong urge to chase, and the sight or sound of a moving car starts this behaviour
• they have a health problem and chasing helps them feel better or safer.

Chasing is not always a sign of aggression. Some dogs like to chase after moving things but will stop when the movement stops or what they were chasing moves out of sight.

However, some dogs like to chase, catch, and play with things that move. This can be a safety problem, particularly if your dog likes to chase other animals or people who are running, cycling or using scooters.

It’s important to take steps to keep everyone safe by preventing chasing, like:

• keeping your dog on a harness and lead or long line
• teaching your dog to wear a muzzle
• walking your dog in places and at times where they’re less likely to see things to chase.

Dogs with a strong urge to chase can learn to run after and catch specific things, like toys or treats. This can give them a way to use their natural chase instincts.

However, you’re unlikely to train a dog with a strong prey drive not to chase at all. So you’ll always have to take safety precautions. Things like:

• keeping your dog on a harness and lead
• teaching your dog to wear a muzzle
• walking your dog in places and at times where they’re less likely to see things to chase
• clearly marking low windows or glass doors using stickers or stick-on frosting to make sure your dog can see and avoid running into them
• only letting your dog off-lead in secure areas like gardens or private hire fields
• making sure all fences are sturdy, high enough and in good condition so there are no weak points or sharp edges your dog may hurt themselves on.

Some dogs have a strong instinct to chase when they see moving things. When they see something to chase, they often become excited, which can make it harder for them to listen to you.

Chasing and catching things is also fun for many dogs. They may not want to stop chasing if they think running after something is more rewarding than coming back to you.

You can help your dog come back when they’re called by:

• keeping them on a long lead so you can guide them back if they’re not listening to you
• practising their recall when they’re calm, using tasty treats and their favourite toys to reward them
• making sure they know their name by saying it regularly and offering them a treat.

You shouldn’t let your dog off-lead in public if you’re not absolutely sure they’ll come back when called. This is important for everyone’s safety. It’s also important because it’s illegal to let your dog be dangerously out of control.

If you let your dog off the lead in private areas, make sure these places are secure so they can’t escape. You’re responsible for your dog if they escape a private area.

If your dog can’t be let off-lead, you can help them exercise and use up some energy by:

• using a long line – this is an extra-long lead to let your dog move around safely
• hiring a private secure dog field where you can safely let your dog run free
• playing chasing, sniffing and tug games to use up some of your dog’s energy and let them safely enjoy chasing behaviour.

Although training can help to reduce chasing, it may not stop it completely.

How long the training takes to improve your dog’s chasing depends on several things, including:

• How strong your dogs’ need to chase is.
• Whether your dog has a health problem which is making the chasing worse.
• How your dog feels when they chase. Strong feelings like fear or frustration can take longer to overcome.
• How often you train and how much your dog enjoys it. The more often you can do training, and the more your dog enjoys it, the quicker they’ll learn.

There are lots of reasons your dog may want to chase joggers or cyclists, including:

• being worried or frightened by fast movements and using chasing to make people move away
• feeling frustrated at not being able to catch or stop movement, causing your dog to chase after fast moving people
• having a strong urge to chase, which might be triggered by seeing or hearing fast-moving people nearby
• having a health problem which makes them feel the need to chase to feel better or safe.

Herding is when a dog works to move animals together, keep them still or make them move in a specific direction. This usually needs specialist training, but some breeds of dog, like Bearded Collies or Border Collies, can have a natural talent for it.

Although your dog is unlikely to be able to herd without training, some dogs may show similar behaviours, like:

• following and watching movement
• blocking moving animals from moving past them
• making other animals move away from them.

Dogs who show herding-like behaviour often need lots of activities because they like having a job to do.

Here are some suggestions:

• food puzzles, toy play or sniffing activities
• doggy sports, like agility, swimming or scent work
• chase games with toys and treats.

It’s against the law for a dog to frighten or chase sheep or other farmed animals.

Under certain circumstances, a farmer is allowed by law to shoot a dog that is chasing farmed animals, but this is very rare.

The best way to keep your dog safe is to:

• keep them on a harness and lead when you’re walking in the countryside
• teach them to wear a muzzle if they seem worried, frustrated or excited around farmed animals
• keep some exciting toys and tasty treats to hand to keep they're attention when walking or training near farmed animals.

There are lots of reasons your dog might chase cats. The reason for chasing will affect what happens if they manage to catch the cat.

Some common reasons for cat chasing are:

• Finding chasing fun – these dogs may not actually want to catch the cat and may lose interest when the cat moves out of sight or stops moving.
• Wanting to play – some dogs enjoy being around cats and will run towards them to greet and play. Although they might not want to hurt the cat, they could accidentally injure or frighten them.
• Being worried or frightened – cats can look, smell and sound strange to a dog who’s unfamiliar with them. These dogs might chase to make the cat move away. If the cat doesn’t move away quickly, the dog may hurt them while trying to protect themselves.
• Feeling frustrated – if your dog sees a cat but isn’t able to reach them, they may become frustrated. If they do eventually find a way to reach them, they may become overexcited and hurt them due to the buildup of frustration.
• Having a high prey drive – some dogs see cats as small, furry, fast-moving animals that they have a strong urge to chase and catch. These dogs may hurt or kill the cat if they catch them.

Most cats prefer to stay away from unfamiliar dogs and find being chased stressful. It’s illegal to let your dog be dangerously out of control, so it’s important to stop them chasing cats.

If you’re worried about your dog chasing cats:

• keep them on a harness and lead in public
• keep treats and fun toys to hand to keep their attention if they see a cat
• teach them to wear a muzzle so they can’t harm a cat if one gets too close
• check any private areas, including your garden, before letting your dog have access to them.