Dog And Cat Issues

[Michelleva]

We have an almost 1yo shetland sheepdog as well as three cats. The two younger cats are fine and get along with the dog no problems, in fact they all love each other. The problem lies with my oldest cat, he is a scardey cat. He's scared of everything, especially the dog. He's been that way his whole life, so getting him to change is not going to happen, its just his personality. When he comes within close proximity of the dog his instinct is to flee the situation. He's an indoor/outdoor cat.

Now when Georgia sees the scardey cat she goes mental. She barks, wants to chase him just goes ballistic. How on earth can I train her to not be so obsessed over him? She is driving me crazy. The dog is currently recovering from patella surgery so has been confined to a big crate for a lot of the day. So she can't chase him, but that doesn't stop her barking, whining and generally carrying on a treat everytime she sees Oscar. She doesn't have the same reaction to the others. I think she sees him as weak because he won't stand up to her. With the other cats, she has great respect because she knows if she puts a paw wrong, she'll get a smack for it.

Any suggestions?

[Aidan]

I've got a lot of suggestions but they are a bit hard to convey on a forum. Do you play tug or fetch or other games with her that require control while she is in drive?

[Michelleva]

She does like to play tug of war games. She's not so much into fetch as such, but she loves chasing a soccer ball and goes crazy over it. She runs, barks and generally goes nuts over it. In fact anything that moves is very exciting for her, things like brooms or the vacuum, even the mower.

At the moment she's not allowed to run and jump so a lot of these games we can't really play with her atm.

I was just doing a bit of reading up about prey drive, and it definitely sounds like what this behaviour is. Now how do I use it for good and avoid having my cat getting hurt by her.

[Aidan]

I was just doing a bit of reading up about prey drive, and it definitely sounds like what this behaviour is. Now how do I use it for good and avoid having my cat getting hurt by her.

Best to get some professional help. Where are you located? PM if preferred.

[Michelleva]

I'm in Narre Warren, Victoria Aiden.

I had some success yesterday. Whenever the cat came near her, I got her attention with treats and got her to a multitude of things, like sit, drop, look at me, quiet etc and I really emphasised the quiet command and without fail she was quiet and totally forgot about the cat.

Now I need to keep being consistant.

[Aidan]

I'm in Narre Warren, Victoria Aiden.

I had some success yesterday. Whenever the cat came near her, I got her attention with treats and got her to a multitude of things, like sit, drop, look at me, quiet etc and I really emphasised the quiet command and without fail she was quiet and totally forgot about the cat.

Now I need to keep being consistant.

Any of the trainers and behaviourists who post here would be able to help, there seem to be plenty in Vic.