# Nightmare situation~cat aggression



## jennylain (Dec 12, 2013)

So last night Oakley and my other dog (masttiff/american bulldog) attacked my kitty  he's ok thankfully but it was terrifying. I bought Oakley when he was 9 mths old so I wasn't able to socialize him with cats as a puppy, I've had him for about 3 mths now and he'll chase the cat but stops when I tell him to and has never actually tried to hurt it. The last couple of weeks though he's been getting more and more agitated when he sees the cat and it's starting to rub off on my other dog. My mastiff mix has never so much as looked at the cat funny but now when Oak starts getting excited and barking he does too. I've just been trying to keep them away from the cat at this point but like I said they got him last night because I didn't realize the cat was in the front yard when I let them out. Does anyone have advice? Dealt with this escalating aggression? 

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## Indiana (Sep 11, 2011)

The only thing I can suggest is obedience lessons forever. My two also have a strong prey drive and we have 2 cats, but if they are used to obeying you they will stop chasing the cats when you command it, even if it is really, really, REALLY fun. Obedience lessons will enforce your relationship with your dogs and make them reliable; really, it's the only long term solution. And you'll never be able to leave the cats and dogs together unsupervised, unfortunately.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

It sounds prey drive rather than aggression to me - and very, very difficult to resolve safely. I would make sure there are escape routes for the cat all over the house and garden (baby gates in the house, a gap under fences, low structures to hide under, etc), and never, ever leave the dogs and cat unsupervised. My sister's rescue greyhound killed her neighbour's kitten under similar circumstances - after that she routinely muzzled him before letting him out into the garden. 

Chasing is huge fun for the dog, and very rewarding - the more they get to discover how enjoyable it can be, the more they will want to do it. Patricia McConnell has a good article here: https://www.patriciamcconnell.com/theotherendoftheleash/chase-this-not-that


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## msminnamouse (Nov 4, 2010)

There was a discussion on this very topic before and a lot of good advice was given. I suggest you try the search function.


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## jennylain (Dec 12, 2013)

I just don't understand the "prey drive" mentality I guess. It didn't make sense to me that that could be the situation because as you can see in my profile pic his best friend is a 6 lb chih mix, he plays with small dogs at the dog park and the cat he's chasing is a 20+ lb maincoon. He's a massive cat so I don't get it but I'll search through the topics and see if I can find anything. 

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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I think prey drive has far more to do with the behaviour of the "prey" than with size - or dogs would not chase sheep, deer, cars or bicycles. It is a deep seated instinct, so is going to take some major behaviour modification work to overcome.


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## cowpony (Dec 30, 2009)

fjm said:


> I think prey drive has far more to do with the behaviour of the "prey" than with size - or dogs would not chase sheep, deer, cars or bicycles. It is a deep seated instinct, so is going to take some major behaviour modification work to overcome.


Agreed. Pogo has serious prey drive, and Snarky will mimic whatever he sees Pogo doing. My senior cat is fine with the dogs. He strolls down among them, and they just look at him. I've even caught him sleeping on my bed with Snarky. My junior cat, on the other hand, always gets chased. The difference is that the senior cat confidently saunters in, while the junior cat timidly skulks and darts from hiding place to hiding place. Her quick furtive movements trigger the dogs' chase reaction.


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