How To Stop Puppy Chasing Cat

[ChocDood]

Hi

From the advice and tips of members here, my 10 week old puppy is progressing well. He has learnt the basic commands, is toileting outside and making good progress in puppy school. There are a couple of minor problems such as taking branches back to our floor mat for a good chew, taking laundary down and play biting. I'm not too fussed with that as it is under control and he seems to be growing out of it.

The problem i dont have a solution for is he loves chasing my cat whenever he sees him. It has been the case since day 1 and the cat is becoming more and more afraid of him. I think he just wants to play but my cat is not interested. My cat is showing aggression, hissing and pawing at him, but he just doesnt get it that the cat's not interested. Have you encountered this and what can i do? I'm not looking to have them to be best of friends but to just stop him terrifying the cat.

Cheers

alvin

[Jacquiboss&scoop]

Hi Alvin

If puss is an inside cat only try having puppy on lead in the house and correcting before he goes to chase ( when the ears go up and he gets tense preparing to pounce ) , in a lot of dogs cats running sets off their prey drive inciting them to chase it is almost impossible to stop them once they start but with good timing you can get them before they do

Correction with a bah ,growl no, if he goes to take off and click treat when he is indifferent to the cat and sitting with you quietly

Because he has already gained reward from chasing puss this one will be hard to extinguish it could be worth getting a trainer out to see and advise you at home

Breed can be a factor in this behaviour as well a sighthound is going to be harder to control the prey drive of than a pug would be

You may have to accept that the cat and dog should never be out in the yard together with out being controlled as small animals are prey and if puss runs the dog will chase this can end up with a lot of heart ache , if your pup is a large breed a paw squashing can be enough to hurt the cat badly

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

One way to get my dog all excited is to say "Puss puss puss" which is what I would say to get the attention of any cats silly enough to be in my back yard at night, before I let my dog out. And now it's conditioned - words - cat chase - exciting.

I'm undoing it by saying the words when there is no cat, I just want her here so I can put the lead on. Her least favourite thing.

Suggestions for breaking the habit - have rattly tin for distracting noise, pump up water sprayer jet for distraction (no need to aim for dog's head, just close on the ground or fence nearby or on the butt is good enough) and the command "leave it" which should be followed up by your dog's favourite reward if the cat is left. Eg fresh roast chicken or beef, or play or whatever the dog LOVES (ideally more than chasing the cat).

And what Schmoo's boss (or serf) said - try to get your dog's attention with the great "leave it" reward before the chase is fired up.

Ie you have dog on lead, you bring him into the room where the cat is, and you tell him "leave it" and good dog + treat for every time you can get his attention on you and the (treat) reward instead of the cat. Stand between him and the cat to block his view and get his attention on you if you need to (body blocking). Body blocking and treats is what I had to do to get my dog to leave horses on the city beach alone. Seems to be working, as long as we then go the other way to where the horses are. Practice lots. It won't happen overnight, but it should improve. Especially if he associates leaving your cat alone with loads of treats and pats and good human attention.

[ChocDood]

My cat's allowed in and outdoors. It always starts with Milo, the dog, wanting to sort of 'say hello' to the Droopy the cat. Droopy will then tense up and start hissing at Milo and if he gets too close for comfort will give him a few swipes of his paw. Upon seeing this, Milo will get all excited, sometimes barking. Initially, Droopy would stand his ground and with me calling for Milo, he would be left alone and graciously move to somewhere higher. Lately, it seems that Droopy is freaking out, not wanting to go near Milo, and runs off whenever they are close by. Needless to say, this sets off the chase. He seems to be trying to have fun but as Milo's a standard labradoodle, he will be way bigger than droopy soon so i want to nip this in the bud.

Ive been trying the treats methods and Milo fully focuses on me with the treats. Most of the time while we're indoors, Droopy will be on the sofa and i will hold the treat near to Droopy. Milo will be fixated on the treat and not even notice Droopy there! Droopy will be just relaxing about one or two feet away, looking disgustingly at his greedy brother Milo! I will continue with this and hope through time, they will be able to be left alone together.