How To Teach A Puppy To Be Gentle With A Cat
The number one thing youâre going to want to do when youâre teaching your dog to be gentle with your cat is to be patient.
Youâre also going to want to make sure that your puppy has a very firm grasp of the âleave itâ cue. Tell him to âleave itâ when he starts getting too interested in your cat. And remember to give him rewards when he chooses to be gentle.
How Do You Train A Dog To React To A Cat
-Dog sees the cat, withholds attention and/or reaction -Dog initiates physical interaction such as sniffing or play chasing if the cat retreats/flee’s, gives verbal cue as to what they did wrong -If all goes well and detachment behaviours have ceased, slowly reintroduce dog and cat together while monitoring respective reactions
How To Prevent A Dog From Chasing The Cat: Management
Management means arranging the environment to prevent the behavior. Ideally, this happens right from the start, so your dog never has the opportunity to act inappropriately, and your cat doesnt have to endure it! Prevention of the inappropriate behavior is very important, since cat-chasing is a self-reinforcing behavior . So, if youre introducing a new dog or cat to your household, please read the resource called How to Introduce a Dog to a Cat.
If at any time during the introduction process, the dog barks, fixates on the cat or tries to chase the cat, remove the dog from the situation so he cannot continue practicing inappropriate behavior. This also works with a dog who already has a tendency to chase the cat. Have a quiet area , a place that your dog already associates with good things, where you can take him.
The instant your dog starts to behave inappropriately toward your cat , calmly lead or lure him away from the cat to the pre-designated area. You should act calmly to avoid arousing the dog even more and you should avoid speaking to your dog. After a minute or two, release your dog in an equally low-key manner. If the dog comes back and repeats the inappropriate behavior toward the cat, he should immediately go back to the time-outarea.
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Introducing Kittens And Puppies
If you are introducing a kitten to a dog, keep in mind that kittens may not have any fear of dogs, so you must watch the dog carefully. Because kittens are small and want to run and play, dogs with a strong prey drive may be very excited by a kittens movements. Even if your dog is OK with your adult cats, it is important to watch her closely when shes with a kitten. If your dog is young and high-energy, she could hurt or kill the kitten simply by trying to play. So, for safetys sake, keep kittens and dogs apart any time you are not watching them.
Introducing adult cats to puppies can sometimes be easy, since a well-socialized adult cat might be fine with a puppy acting like a puppy. However, if your rambunctious puppy is chasing your shy cat, it is up to you to intervene. Until the puppy is old enough to have more self-control and has had some training, you will want to manage their interactions. You dont want your puppy to learn that chasing the cat is a fun game. Baby gates can be used to keep the animals safely and comfortably apart. To help you keep an eye on your puppy, you can also put her on a leash. That way, if she begins to chase the cat, you will be able to easily direct her away from that behavior.
How To Resolve The Issue
As mentioned, the best response is to use a multi-faceted approach that combines providing kitty with a safe place to retreat, managing the dog’s environment to prevent rehearsal of the troublesome chasing behaviors, desensitizing the dog to the cat’s movements and training the dog in an alternate behavior.
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Train Him To Be Comfortable With Cat
Try the following way to make your dog feel that it is not that fun to chase or attack a cat.
1. Take your dog to your backyard and get him to play some strenuous physical exercise such as tug of war, freebies or chasing bubbles.
2. Keep him busy with the games for 20 30 minutes. The goal is to make him tired.
3. Once he is tired, bring him back to the home where he can see your cat.
4. Let him look at the cat for a while. . Usually, he would be too tired to do any chasing.
5. Then bring him back to his playpen for him to take a rest.
6. Keep repeating this training for a few days.
7. By getting him to see the cat ONLY after he is tired out from playing games, he will no longer have the urge to chase and attack the cat. He will see the cat appearing in front of him as a normal scene.
And over time, he will give up the idea of chasing or attacking the cat as he slowly gets used to the cat appearing in front of him.
Option : Look At That
If the quick introduction did not work and your dog is not becoming desensitized to the cat, you might need to try some more structured training. By playing Look at That with your dog, you can help to teach her not to fixate on the cat. Youll be teaching her to look at the cat and then look back at you for a treat. Essentially, shell learn that it is more rewarding to not pay attention to the cat.
To start working on LAT, you need to figure out the dogs threshold while on leash: At what point does she notice the cat, but still respond to you when you say her name? That is her threshold. Each dog has a different threshold. For one dog, five feet away from the cat might be her threshold for another dog, it might be 25 feet. Youll know you have gone past the threshold when she starts barking or lunging at the cat. Another sign that youre getting too close to the cat is if she starts moving more slowly, staring and stiffening her body. If you call her name and she doesnt respond to you, move a few feet away from the cat.
Once youve figured out the dogs threshold, grab a clicker and some really delicious, pea-sized treats. If you dont have a clicker, a verbal marker will work just fine. Put 10 treats in your hand and keep the bag close by for later.
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How Long Does It Take A Dog To Stop Chasing A Cat
When your dog chases your cat, it might seem like he could just do it forever and ever.
Eventually your dog will get tired of chasing your cat, but you donât want to let it get to that point. You donât want your dog to accidentally hurt your cat, or for your cat to hurt your dog. Your cat has those sharp claws, after all!
Your dog would probably keep chasing your cat until your cat finds somewhere to hide that he cant reach, or until your dog has exhausted himself.
But you want to prevent your dog from chasing your cat in the first place. This will keep everyone much safer and happier in your home.
Stop Dogs Chasing Cats Our Top Tips To Help
If your cat is content in a cat crate, put them in it and position the crate in a room where they will be comfortable . Make sure they have their toys to keep them occupied while you are away. Then you may bring the dog in. Instantaneously, your puppy will get fascinated by the cat they will attempt to smell them and will harass them. Every time your dog comes close to the cat, make an effort to demand their attention to you. If the dog appears to be looking at you, give them a treat.
- You may call them each time they gaze at the cat, and when they come to you, you can reward them with tasty food.
- They will identify the act of leaving the cat alone with the act of receiving a reward.
- If your dog continues to approach the cat, call them to you and give them a treat when they come to your command.
- They will eventually learn to avoid chasing after the cat and quit chasing after it.
- In such circumstances, you may want a more specific plan in order to try to prevent your dog from running after the cat.
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Introduce Them All Over Again
In some cases, you may have to introduce your cat and dog all over again. This involves keeping them in separate rooms until they’re not stressed out by the smell or sound of the other. Begin feeding them on opposite sides of a closed door until they can both eat calmly.
Next, replace the closed door with a closed gate or screen and feed them on either side of the gate. Does your dog still fixate on your cat? Can you distract your dog with a command or treat? Keep this up until both pets are calm while eating near each other.
After this, you can give them supervised visits in the same room while your dog is on a leash. The whole process could take weeks or more. In some cases, especially with dogs that have high prey drives, you might not ever be able to leave them alone without supervision. This doesn’t mean you failed it just means you’re putting their safety first.
A dog that likes chasing cats might learn to get along with one cat in particular, but other cats may “trigger” his instinct. Sometimes, two pets’ personalities never quite mesh. But often, with patient training and reintroduction, your dog and cat will learn to be friends.
1. American Humane. “Introducing Dogs to Cats.” AmericanHumane.org, 25 August 2019, .
2. Silvani, Pia. “My Dog Chases My Cat. How Do I Stop Him?” Petfinder, .
Use An Adjustable Lead
If your dog keeps chasing the cat, try keeping your dog on an adjustable-length lead in the house. Make sure the lead is tied to you or is easily accessible. Keep treats on hand.
When your dog looks at the cat, call their attention to you. If they come, give them a treat. Repeat this behaviour each time your dog looks at your cat. The lead will make sure your cat can roam freely without being chased and it will give you better control of your dog should they not obey your commands.
In time, your dog will start looking automatically at you when the cat is in the vicinity. Here, you can lengthen the lead and let your dog roam a bit more. If then the dog chases the cat, take them back on the lead to control them. If they come to you, reward them.
Once your dog shows little to no interest in chasing your cat both when close to you and when on a long lead, allow them to roam freely with the cat.
Remember, lots of treats for good behaviour will help get your point across and stop your dog chasing the cat.
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How To Get Cat To Stop Eating Dog Food
There are a few things you can do to get your cat to stop eating dog food. One is to make sure that there is never any dog food left out where the cat can reach it. If you have a dog that eats its food quickly, you may need to feed it in a separate room from the cat. Another option is to feed your cat a food that is specially formulated for cats and is not as appealing to dogs. This may require some trial and error to find a food that your cat likes and that your dog does not find as tasty. Finally, you can try using a pet deterrent spray on the dog food. This will make it taste unpleasant to the cat and may discourage it from eating the dog food.
Learn More: What is the difference between cat food and dog food?
Will My Dog Ever Stop Chasing My Cat
In an ideal world, your cat and dog would be best friends. They may indeed enjoy spending time together!
But dogs have certain instincts that can sometimes affect this relationship. Your dog naturally loves chasing. Sometimes when thereâs something around to chase, itâs like a switch flips on in his head.
Unfortunately, there will probably be times where your cat seems like a pretty fun thing to chase. Your cat is small, furry, and runs to interesting places.
What could be more fun to chase around than a cat?
Even though your dog finds chasing your cat super fun, you and your cat probably wish he wouldnât do that.
There are a few tips you can try to get him to stop. But first, you might want to look at these related articles about other common undesirable dog behaviors:
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Make Sure He Gets Enough Exercise
A lot of unwanted behavior comes from either under or over stimulating your dog. Thatâs why itâs so important to make sure that your dog gets a healthy amount of daily exercise.
If your dog isnât exercised enough, then heâs going to have a lot of excess energy that he needs something to do with. He might direct that energy at your cat!
Do your best to give your dog the healthy exercise that he needs. Both he and your cat will thank you for this!
Here are a few related articles on exercising your puppy or adult dog that youâll want to check out:
To plan all that exercising, Ive created a free puppy schedule planner for you to print. Try it out:
Redirect His Focus When He Fixates Your Cat
When your dogâs eyes lock onto your cat and his instincts start kicking in, thatâs the moment you need to jump in.
Instead of just allowing your dog to chase your cat, youâll want to redirect his focus.
There are a few different ways you can do this. Training your dog to âleave itâ is one really great way. If your dog has a favorite toy, then you can try and use it to get his attention. Get your dog more interested in playing with the toy than chasing the cat.
The important thing is to make what youâre redirecting your dogâs attention to something more interesting than your cat. You might need to make some pretty goofy noises to catch your dogâs attention, but the important thing is to get him away from your cat.
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Is It Time To Teach Your Dog To Leave Your Cat Alone
If your dog is always bothering your cat and an altercation ensues where theres barking and hissing everywhere, then now is the time to teach your pooch to leave that cat alone. Start by calmly correcting him when he starts to act inappropriately around your feline friend. If this fails, then consider using a physical deterrent such as a shock collar or training leash to ensure that your pet understands that he is not welcome near the other animal.
Use A Collar Or Leash
This method comes in handy, especially if youre introducing a new kitty to the home. The leash will provide a safe boundary for the two to get acclimated to one another before letting your dog off-leash. You can also incorporate positive reinforcement during this process to teach your dog that chasing the kitty is a no-no.
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Reward Him For Ignoring The Cat
To eliminate his attacking behavior, you will need to give your dog an alternative. Reward him for ignoring the cat. One way to accomplish this is to place your dog on leash and allow him to approach the cat slowly.
When he comes close to the cat, tell him to Leave It and then reward him. This will help him to associate ignoring the cat with a rewarding experience.
This type of training is known as positive reinforcement training and is based on the principles of operant conditioning, or learning through consequences.
When you reward your dog for performing a specific behavior , he learns that the behavior is acceptable.
Of course, the rewards have to be something that is extremely enticing to him so that he will feel that it is worth giving up his chasing and opt for the reward.
Personally, I find meat types of treats works well to get my dogs attention. Do not simply use the regular dry kibbles as that is not going to be tempting enough to make your dog give up his target .
Repeat the exercise over the next few days. Make sure that when the cat is around, the dog is on leash. When he is able to remain calm with the cat around him, you can let him off the leash.
Why Do Puppies Chase Cats
Most dogs feel compelled to chase cats unless they are discouraged through training. Herding breeds and terriers are particularly prone to chasing because that’s what they have been bred to do. Quick movements, like that of a fleeing cat, spark their inborn predatory instinct to pursue. Cats, when chased, dart away and perpetuate the problem. Fortunately, most puppies can be taught to respect cats, and the two species can learn to coexist in peace.
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