Of cats and dogs

I was interested in Sarah Whitehead’s article in your February 2014 edition about names, “no” and nagging. My 14 month old GSD, Max, has always been obsessed with my two cats ever since he joined me as a 10 week old puppy.

The cats will sit provocatively behind railings, and when they are within his reach, Max becomes deaf to my commands and gets into an excited state, whining and trying to reach the cats. For a while I was telling him “no”, “off”, “oi”, “come”, but now the only thing that works is if I blow a whistle or pretend to run away. Food doesn’t work.

I’m wondering what will happen when those strategies fail, and indeed whether I should be saying anything at all. Perhaps I am nagging him, and he’s thinking “blah blah blah”. 

Otherwise Max is calm, obedient, gets normally excited during play and new experiences, when I get him to track scents he goes into a quiet stealthy mode, and he has no separation anxiety while I’m out. I would have thought that Max’s behaviour towards my cats would have become calmer over a year, but it is relentless, and I’m sure it’s because I’m perhaps encouraging this behaviour somehow by trying to stop it.

Here is Max just over a week ago!

Best Wishes

Peter Rafferty, by email

I don't want to test my cat's nine lives

I wonder if you or any of your readers (or contributors!) can help me?

I am currently without a dog (although waiting for our puppy to be born, hopefully this month :oD ) but wonder if any of your readers can advise me about natural flea treatments/deterrents for cats?

I've read that garlic can be fatal for a cat but I hate putting chemical spot-on treatments on him because he goes a bit mental - I'm sure they can't do him any good (like the chemical wormers) but just have no idea what to use as an alternative and the internet articles are just so contradictory (ie, use garlic: NO, don't, it'll kill your pet in days: nah, it's absolutely fine!).

If anyone can offer me any (tested!) advice, I'd be so grateful! 



Thanks everyone!

Pippa Casely, via Facebook

Big cat problem

Can you help please? We are the proud owners of a beautiful rescued GSD-collie cross bitch, Kira, who is about 18 months old and we have had her six months.

When she came to us she hadn’t been very well socialised, and after a lot of ground work she is now a dream to own. She loves everybody; the more dogs she meets to play with the better, and she comes back as soon as we call her. The problem is cats.

Our daily walk to the park becomes a nightmare if she sees one. At the moment she is on a Halti but if she sees a cat she tries to get out of it to chase the cat. I’ve owned three other GSDs before her and have competed in obedience and working trials with them, and I am now at my wits’ end. Please help!

Babs Sanderson, Stockport, Cheshire



Karen Wild, behaviourist, advises...

Hi Babs,

Well done so far on your efforts, I congratulate you as it sounds like you have already worked hard.

Chasing cats can be such a difficult issue mainly because the cats themselves are hard to control, and the dogs can smell them out and spot the movement (as they then run away fast!) long before we even notice what is happening.  It is a powerful predatory instinct and this is probably why you’ve found it harder to control as you are clearly an experienced trainer.

As you have already taught some basic control exercises, it is time to extend these to be part of a new skill. You have your toolkit – so let’s make it work for this problem. You have several options, and I would work on one at a time. Firstly, I would look for something that you can make into a cat ‘stooge’. This can be a cardboard silhouette or cuddly cat toy. Basically we are breaking down the task into easy to handle stages, so you would start somewhere quiet and enclosed so you are not fearing her escaping from the Halti. Have the ‘cat’ placed a good distance away. This might need to be 100 yards away! Then, practise your sit stays and recalls just as you would normally do, and expect your GSD to concentrate on you as she would normally in this exercise. You might have to play around with distance from the ‘cat’ to find out what the basic ‘dog does not react’ distance is. Remember that the stooge cat does not smell like a cat, nor does it move like a cat. Nevertheless you have to start somewhere!

You will find that as you get a little closer, your dog will start to look like she is about to chase. Don’t wait for a full blown chase. You know your dog’s reactions, so immediately call her away and put her in a sit stay. Then, reward her well as she is likely to become very frustrated otherwise! If you are using a toy to reward her, make certain you throw it in the other direction AWAY from the stooge. Chasing her toy needs to become far more exciting than trying to chase the cat!

It is hard to describe this whole process in detail here but what you will end up with is a dog that will be able to sit closer and closer to the ‘stooge’ cat, and to turn away from it back to you for a game. You can gradually extend this by placing the stooge cat somewhere on your normal walk (again where you know it is going to be, but your dog does not!) and working along the difficulty gradient once again.

I realise that using a real cat is going to be tricky – and unethical – but the control work will give you a really useful foundation. You can also work on calling her away from a toy you have thrown. It will teach your dog that no matter what she sees, if you call her back, it is not a chase object and is not something to get frustrated about either (because you have kept the training sessions fun and rewarding all the way along!)

An excellent book that describes similar training in detail is ‘STOP!’ by David Ryan www.dog-secrets.co.uk -  I recommend this, not only because it is a great book, but you sound like the sort of person that really cares and will put in the effort to help your lovely dog.

Lead Aggression

We rehomed Scooby, a two-year-old Deerhound-Greyhound cross six months ago, and we are pleased with the way he has settled down with our other Lurcher, Honey. However, we do have a couple of issues that are now becoming problems.
When Scooby is running free he plays happily with most of the dogs we meet, but when he is on a lead he will bark at any approaching dogs and will lunge at them if they walk past sounding really aggressive. In turn this starts Honey off and ends up with them both getting so fired up that they turn on each other, which is horrible as they usually get on so well together.
We are becoming very upset about this problem as I am sure everyone is starting to think that Scooby is aggressive when really he is so friendly. We have tried being stern with him, but because he is so strong I am finding it harder than my husband to control him and I'm not enjoying our walks at all.
He also goes absolutely mad when he sees a cat and I just can't seem to control the situation. I would appreciate any help.
Therese Taylor, by email

Carol Price, trainer and behaviourist, says...
Goodness me, I can understand your concern, as nobody wants to spend dog walks -which should essentially be a pleasurable activity - feeling and looking more like a cross between a lion tamer and a water skier!
The behaviour you describe in Scooby clearly stems from the frustration of being restrained on a lead and not able to properly interact with other dogs he passes. This in turn gets externalized into the aggressive behaviour which then sets Honey off. It is also likely your own response to this e.g. tensing when other dogs approach, tugging on the lead or shouting has made the problem even worse.
You desperately need more help with the training and handling of your dogs. You could start by fitting Scooby with a headcollar device—if you haven’t already done so—like a Halti or Gentle Leader. This should immediately make it that much easier to control him.
Thereafter, rather than just becoming heated and upset when your dogs kick off, you need to teach them alternative ways of reacting instead when other dogs approach and pass by - like the ‘sit and watch me’ exercise - in return for really tasty treats and praise. Begin teaching this exercise first where there are no other dogs around to distract yours. Only when this exercise is well trained in, use it when passing other dogs.
You will also have to learn to far better anticipate when your dogs are just about to kick off, and get in there quick to give them an alternative ‘calming’ command before they do so.
A good trainer should show you how to do all this, and also be able to organize other owners and dogs to help you. Such helpers should have calm, non-reactive dogs and keep walking past and around Scooby and Honey while you teach them calmer ways to behave. Ideally this should be done in the context of your normal walks, and not in some indoor training hall, which is a somewhat artificial atmosphere.
Unfortunately owners like yourself can so often get caught in a Catch 22-type trap, in that the more their dogs get frustrated and lunge/bark at others, the more other owners and their dogs will avoid them. This then greatly limits the quantity and quality of their interactions with their own kind, as well as their chance to learn better ways of behaving around them.
When owners start getting tense, distressed or angry at their dogs’ behaviour towards other dogs, this can also quickly escalate the problem, leading to negative/hostile associations with other dogs, in their own dogs’ minds, that were not there before.
For all these reasons, as I said, it is very important to find yourself a good trainer/behaviourist who can teach you how to handle your dogs that much better in these kind of scenarios, as well as show them how to be more confident and calmer in the presence of their own kind.
If you cannot find a good one locally, try any of the following organisations: The UK Registry of Canine Behaviourists: 01535 635290, www.ukrcb.org or Association of Pet Dog Trainers: 01285 810811, www.apdt.co.uk.

Vivian Silverstein, COAPE Association of Behaviourists and Trainers, says…
This is actually a very common problem. Re-directed aggression is often the result of frustration when a dog cannot approach another dog fast enough or is apprehensive about being on a lead, unable to run for safety. Without a thorough assessment of the dogs concerned I would hesitate to say which of the above is causing the problem.
When a dog is off lead he is very much able to move towards or away from other dogs freely. Nor is his body language inhibited by any owner interactions and use of lead. Therefore he feels more in control of a situation and is more able to deal with it calmly.
I would recommend that you fit both dogs with a Gentle Leader. This will help to calm the dogs and prevent them lunging. This should help to prevent the re-directed aggression. Also I recommend you enroll on a good clicker training class, which should help you to use appropriate skills to reinforce any good behaviour increasing the likelihood of it being repeated. Most good classes will include 'Meet N Greet' which shows you how to deal with your dog in these very situations.
You are likely to be up against genetic 'hard wiring' regarding his reaction to cats. His breed type could mean that he just can't help himself from reacting as he does, but you can learn to manage the problem to a degree with the training.

Gail Gwesyn-Pryce, Dogs Today Advisor
This is a very common problem when dogs are on the lead. They are not able to exhibit normal body postures which can then be misconstrued by another dog. This is generally made even worse by the handler's reactions. Going to a good training school (or having one-to-one training) to teach the dog how to concentrate on you as YOU are in control will help. Dogs off-lead will never approach head-on, yet when on-lead we are constantly asking them to do this.
When training a new dog you need to have it away from your other dog until you can control the behaviour, then work with the two together. However, if the older dog has also not been trained to a good standard then you also need to work on her too individually. It sounds like the older dog is taking over trying to control the new dog because she knows that you are not able to.
In the meantime you need to avoid the incidences that are creating the problems as otherwise they will only get worse - try and walk the dogs at a distance they are comfortable with then other dogs are around.