Roxy: Guilty of cat crimesI have a one-year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel called Roxy. She is a lovely friendly dog but she has started to bully our two cats. She barks at them and chases them every time she sees them and when she starts to bark at them my other three dogs start to bark too. But as soon as I take Roxy away the others stop barking. It isn’t fair on my two cats as they have to stay in one room. I do have two additional cats but Roxy doesn’t bully them because they are quite confident cats whereas the other two aren’t. I would love any suggestions to get the problem sorted so we can be one happy family.
Suzanne
Any advice please?
Roxy: Guilty of cat crimes
Can you try keeping her on a house line (a light lead) to prevent her chasing? If you can then distract her with an alternative action (eg lie down, fetch a toy) when the cats appear (which she can be rewarded for) then in a reasonably short time she should learn not to chase. Without the lead, she will still get the chance the chase and get her own reward from the 'high' of that, so it is important to prevent her being able to chase until she has learnt the alternative behaviour.
ReplyDeletePut a dog gate up, your cats will be able to escape from her then, this will manage the problem until you can train her not to chase them.
ReplyDeleteTraining her will be a lot more difficult than managing her, you need to stop her before she focuses on the cats, once she has focused, it is too late. Get her attention, "Watch Me" is good in these situations, throw a high reward treat on the floor, use a squeaky toy etc, whatever will work with her to distract her then reward.
I try not to use treats as a reward in this type of situation, prefer praise or a toy.
I may be shot-down for this suggestion, but here goes...
ReplyDeleteI have a small mongrel bitch who I rehomed almost 2 years ago, at the age of 1 year. I have consistently worked on training her since then, but could not reliably stop her from running off after rabbits or deer. The instructor at my Good Citizen training classes recommended I try a Masterplus Pro collar (a remote-activated spray collar). Even after having purchased one, I delayed using it for a long time as I felt doing so would be admitting to failure. However, the collar has worked better than I could have hoped for. I only had to use it about half a dozen times before Misty stopped running off (although I always put the collar on her and carry the remote-control with me on walks). She is now much more obedient and RELAXED on walks, as if she is relieved that I am now completely in control! This training aid must be used with care (mis-timing or heavy-handed use could result in an upset and confused dog) but it is not a exageration to say that using a remote-activated collar has transformed my relationshiop with Misty for the better! It is expensive to purchase (I bought mine online for just under £100), but it can be returned for a refund if it does not work for your dog. Also, it comes with comprehensive and easy to understand instructions. Having interupted cat-chasing using the spray-collar, Roxy could then be engaged in positive behaviour for lots of reward.