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hi, my new 8-month-old rescue puppy appears to hate cats! She is not yet allowed off the lead but she goes nuts when she sees one. What should I do?
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cat hater.....
- Thread starter Sue Durant
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This may sound flippant, but... try to avoid them!
We had some 'interesting' encounters over the years - sometimes it was easier for me to stand still like a statue ignoring my dog as he kicked off as he was large enough that he could easily knock me over and trying to drag him away just wound him up more. As soon as he had blown himself out and showed signs of calming, I would praise and treat him and try to walk away (naturally, the cat wouldn't leave - it would just sit there watching with great amusement...). If I spotted the cat before he did I would simply head in the other direction, even if it meant taking a completely different route. And if we were far enough away that J saw the cat but didn't go off on one, I would calmly praise and treat him for calm behaviour. Keeping calm yourself really is key - jerking on the lead can make things worse.
Eventually, he learnt to try to control himself, and we could walk past a cat at a reasonable distance, and he got a LOT of reward from that as I could see just how much effort he'd made. Even in his old age, though, I'd still not make him walk too close to one because that was simply asking too much.
My dog picked up on the cue 'wait' for many situations (basically 'don't do what you're thinking of doing' or 'get a grip'). If you have a similar word/cue, even 'sit', that helps your pup engage her brain (she is a collie after all!), you could try that too. Though then do get her out of the situation rather than force her to be so close to her nemesis without being able to do anything about it.
We had some 'interesting' encounters over the years - sometimes it was easier for me to stand still like a statue ignoring my dog as he kicked off as he was large enough that he could easily knock me over and trying to drag him away just wound him up more. As soon as he had blown himself out and showed signs of calming, I would praise and treat him and try to walk away (naturally, the cat wouldn't leave - it would just sit there watching with great amusement...). If I spotted the cat before he did I would simply head in the other direction, even if it meant taking a completely different route. And if we were far enough away that J saw the cat but didn't go off on one, I would calmly praise and treat him for calm behaviour. Keeping calm yourself really is key - jerking on the lead can make things worse.
Eventually, he learnt to try to control himself, and we could walk past a cat at a reasonable distance, and he got a LOT of reward from that as I could see just how much effort he'd made. Even in his old age, though, I'd still not make him walk too close to one because that was simply asking too much.
My dog picked up on the cue 'wait' for many situations (basically 'don't do what you're thinking of doing' or 'get a grip'). If you have a similar word/cue, even 'sit', that helps your pup engage her brain (she is a collie after all!), you could try that too. Though then do get her out of the situation rather than force her to be so close to her nemesis without being able to do anything about it.
