polly09 Posted November 20, 2009 Share Posted November 20, 2009 Hi all, I have a new puppy, 12 wk old mini schnauzer - very active and beautiful - wants to play with my two friendly cats but soon escalates into disaster and over excited chasing - when can I expect her to back off - I dont let them free together but would like to some time . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted November 20, 2009 Share Posted November 20, 2009 Hi all, I have a new puppy, 12 wk old mini schnauzer - very active and beautiful - wants to play with my two friendly cats but soon escalates into disaster and over excited chasing - when can I expect her to back off - I dont let them free together but would like to some time . Without training, she won't back off. If they run, she's programmed by instinct to chase. You need to teach the pup to leave the cats alone and not to respond to the triggers to chase. Start with interactions on leash so you can control her. Reward her for the behaviour you want eg. igorning cats, behaving quietly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Archie~ Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 I have the opposite problem, my cat stirs up the dog!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aidan Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 I trained my cats to get somewhere high as soon as the pup became excited, pup had nothing to chase, fun ended promptly. A lot of the escape strategies for cats don't work with smaller breed pups (e.g a small pup can go through a cat door too), but this will because cats can jump very high. A drawback is if you don't like cats on your kitchen benches, dining table etc You also need to teach pup to settle around the cats. There is no sense having a cat on your table with a pup racing around indefinitely below. A short tether or crate can be used to good effect. Have a cat in the room, click and treat the pup every time she is calm. Ignore her when she is not. I'm inclined not to let the excitement build too much though, if that is happening you need a different strategy, have someone hold the cat much further away (or even on a harness and leash). What you are looking for is the pup settling more readily every time she is exposed to the cat, until eventually she does not get excited at all. If pup is never allowed to see the cats as prey, they eventually settle in as part of the family together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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