# Attacking the Cats?



## Sawyersmomma (May 28, 2012)

Any advice?


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

It is a tough one - one of the reasons I chose to have small dogs is that the cats were already in residence, and I wanted to minimise potential problems. The dogs will chase the cats - and worse, will bully Pippin given half the chance - but I make sure the cats have plenty of safe places and warn the dogs off if they look as if chasing is on their minds. They all sleep happily on my bed at night, and coexist contentedly most of the time, but there are some things the cats do that seem to trigger a response in the dogs, and sometimes Tilly will deliberately tease them into chasing, so I do keep a close eye on what is going on.

Given it is prey drive, and a very deep seated instinctual behaviour, could you perhaps try swamping Sawyer with chasing games - a flirt pole, a filled plastic bag on a cord, fetch - while at the same time teaching an alternative behaviour when he sees the cats? Watch me for a treat, or come for a game of tug, perhaps. But the chasing is self rewarding, so the key is in stopping it every time, if possible before it starts, and that is tough even when you are in the same room. I would make sure Sawyer and the cats are kept separately whenever I was not around to supervise, and work very hard on Leave it and recall for an alternative game. It is sort of working for us - but only if I get the warning in early enough!


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## Indiana (Sep 11, 2011)

Sawyersmomma, I watched this thread with interest because our dogs do the same thing. One of our cats is an 18 year old Himalayan and she won't run, so the dogs don't bother with her. The other cat is a feisty Abysinnian and she takes a run at the dogs if they come too close which puts them into orbit, excitement-wise. She's the one they love to chase, and when one of the dogs is on my lap and the cat peeks around the corner, I can feel their heartbeat accelerate immediately. Like fjm says, it's a deep, deep-seated instinct and I feel like I am only ever going to be able to control how they react when I'm right there. What I do is, I put them in a sit or down-stay and say, "no cat". So they sit there like coiled springs and look at the cat with eyes blazing, then me, then the cat, then me, then the cat...until the cat wanders off. But they'll always chase cats, I figure. Unless someone else replies to this thread with an amazing solution! At least they don't KILL cats like my sister's boxers, which is a never-ending source of despair for her.


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## fluffy buffy (May 17, 2012)

*Cats and Children*

I also have a nine months old standard who attacked my eleven year old cat. I managed to break it up before any damage was done, although the cat was very sore.
I also have a problem with this dog who is an adolescent, growling at children .
I had a visitor pop in with her eighteen month old child and they wanted to see the dog . I got her out of her crate and she continued growling at him,
later having sniffed him she started trying to nip him.
I feel the prey instinct in this dog is very strong and I am not sure what to do.
I usually make her sit when the cats are around , but children are a different thing altogether.
This dog see my Granddaughter who is eleven as as a play thing and nips her all the time, I am finding it very difficult to get rid of this habit.I might add this dog does not nip me, she is a real adolescent for sure and pushes her boundaries.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

That is rather worrying behaviour, FB. I would not let children near her if she is growling, particularly if she is in her crate or on a leash, and cannot escape - it signals a level of discomfort that could too easily escalate. The "playful" nipping is, or should be, a puppy thing - by adolescence, with adult teeth and adult jaw strength developing, she should really have already been taught to inhibit her bite when playing. Was she well socialised with children as a puppy? It is not too late, but will need a lot of careful management and repetition to ensure everyone is kept safe, and she learns that small people are to be welcomed but still treated as people.


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## fluffy buffy (May 17, 2012)

*Nipping and children*

I received this dog at 24 weeks and I think it was a bit late .
I have tried every way to stop this nipping , but to no avail.
I am concerned as she sometimes puts her whole jaw around my granddaughter arm.
She is a nice enough dog , is great in the car and house trained .

I have been concerned for some time that she has problems with night vision and bumps into things all the time. I am wondering if it because of her eye problems that she growls at people.I had the vet check her but it is hard to tell .
He said the eyes seem normal , but not sure how good her sight is 
.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Teeth so much as touching skin = game over, and at least 10 minutes time out. 9 Months is past the baby puppy mouthing stage, so no ifs, no buts, no pleas from grand daughter. The potential danger is too great - both to your grand daughter and even more to any other child your dog is less familiar with. Does your grand daughter wind her up, or behave in "puppyish" ways? I think you need to educate both child and dog, and supervise all interactions very closely until you know that the dog has perfect bite inhibition and understands that nipping humans is Not Allowed, and the child knows how to avoid over exciting the dog and pushing her past her limit.


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## Aroseshook (Aug 12, 2012)

The day we brought home Peek, our seven year old cat, George, let her know exactly where her place was in our house. He's always been in charge of any animal that's walked through the door, even visitors! She only chases after him after he smacks her to get the game started. He is a very playful cat, acts more like a kitten than an almost elderly cat. Peek never bites him. She has such a gentle mouth, she would make a very good retriever or service dog. 
We have watched a dog that had the prey drive focus on our cat. I put the pup on her leash, had my daughter bring George in the room. After she placed George on the floor and he of course ran, the dog lunged for him. I was able to correct her behavior with a side tug on the leash and then redirected her attention with a treat. After about a week of this redirection the dog realized that George was not a treat and if she ignored him she would get a treat that was better than the chase. She was a lab and doesn't receive any direction at her home so it took her a bit longer to teach this than I imagine it would take to teach Peek if the need arose. Also, the treats need to high value treats. The dog we watched LOVED cheese so that's what I used.


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## fluffy buffy (May 17, 2012)

I am pleased to say, I have talked with my Granddaughter and she may well have been winding her up.
Granddaughter has a disability , but understood what I was saying.
We are working on this behaviour and hope for some improvement.
I would like to thank you very much for your helpful comments .


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Good to hear, FB. I watched a similar situation emerging with a visiting child and one of my own dogs some years ago. Claire was a gifted mimic, and played at being a puppy - trouble was she was so convincing the dog was on the verge of correcting rude puppy behaviour, so I stopped the game, and insisted Claire sat in a chair and behaved like a human for a while. Boring for the child, but a huge relief to my confused little dog!


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## fluffy buffy (May 17, 2012)

*Chasing cats and nipping*

Bella and I are going to a dog trainer . I really want to get on top of her behaviour.
It is sad that she was not socialised previous to my buying her at 24 weeks .
But time will hopefully change this , with lots of work .
Thanks for your help fjm


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