Need help re new puppy

[Korky]

We have three middle aged cats. We recently got a pup. Puppy chases the cats & no matter what we do, he will not stop. Cats are used to dogs but this is wearing us down & stressing the cats.

Can anyone suggest anything

 

[eingana]

Hi Korky

What sort of dog is your pup? What have you tried already to get him to stop chasing them?

Of course, the ultimate solution is to have him on a lead in the house and have a crate or another room on standby. When he's calm around the cats he can stay in the room with you and them but the moment he starts reacting to them you pick up the lead and calmly move him to the crate or other room. As soon as he's calm you fetch him back out again and give it another go. For the first few days you're going to do an awful lot of repeated removing and releasing, but he'll work it out soon enough.

When he's got a bit more control of himself you can then work on treats, games and fuss for good behaviour around them, but he needs to learn that the cats aren't toys and that he will find himself without human contact or any other positives if he chases them.

Good luck

 

[gypsysmum]

Teach him a "leave" command by this method.

Put one cat in a basket and put the others out of the room. Put the basket out of reach and bring the dog in. Each time the dog looks away from the cat give him a really fantastic treat. As soon as he cottons and looks for a treat then add a word such as "leave" when he looks at the cat then follow up with a treat when he looks at you.

Keep repeating until you are sure he understands that looking/moving away from the cat gets him a tasty treat.

Move the basket slightly lover so that it is slightly more tempting but not too much so. You want him to be successful when you ask him to leave it. Continue with the training at this level.

Move on to the basket being on the ground.

Once he will leave the cat alone here then move on.

Leave the cat loose in the room and bring him in on a lead. Encourage him to leave the cat and reward really well.

Let him move around the room with a long lead on so that you can control him and reward him.

Try to arrange the house so that the cats have high places to escape to and, perhaps use stair gates to give them escape routes.

Make sure he is getting lots of exercise and mental stimulation away from the cats so that he does not find them irresistible!

 

[Chatterdog]

Most cats will tell the dog it's place however is yours are more passive maybe provide escape routes for them so they won't be cornered or trapped. If they like climbing or being higher up for example, something like a cat tree will provide a great escape and somewhere to relax. We did this for our cats as well as shelves up certain walls where they could climb.

I also have friends who have areas where the dog is not allowed and have put a hole small enough for the cat (like a cat flap) at the bottom of the door so the cats can go in but dogs cannot.

And as above training and repetition for pup. It may take a while but stick with it x