# Trying to break puppy from chasing the cats



## bizz352 (Feb 10, 2015)

I wanted to run my idea by the forum and see if any of you think I might be doing anything counter productive. I have an 11 week old Female that so far seems to be very trainable. She knows several basic obedience commands, sit, down, stand, wait, drop it, leave it and is even starting to heel a bit. One thing that I want to nip in the bud is chasing the cats.

This is my 2nd GSD and I didn't do near enough to break him of that habit. It was cute and funny when he was a little puppy. But it got rather annoying when he was 100 pounds and would take off full gallop after the cat at 3 in the morning. The problem I'm running into with Piper is I have two cats, both have been de-clawed. One stands his ground and she almost never chases him. He'll actually lay there a let her chew on him (that is a whole different thread) The other always runs and the prey drive kicks in and off she goes after him. 

What I've been trying to do is work on impulse control with a flirt pole. I'll take her outside and let her chase it for a bit. When she starts to get a little tired and easier to focus I'll work on the leave it command. I'll put her in either a sit wait or down wait and flick the lure in front of her using the leave it command. Then I'll release her with the OK marker and let her chase it for a bit, then repeat. Inside I'll also use the leave it command when she starts to bug the cats. But instead of using the OK marker to release, I use the Yes marker, wait for her to look at me and then treat. What I'm trying to do is establish some impulse control on the prey drive and help her gain an understanding of what is and isn't ok to chase. Then establish different rewards for each behavior. 

Does this make sense to you guys??? I'm all ears for any different ideas you might have. Like I said I just want to make sure I'm not doing anything counterproductive


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## FreeSoul1987 (Jul 7, 2015)

My nearly 6 month old GSD is also showing way too much interest in our cats, we've had her since July 6th. At first she just wanted them to play,she's do the play bow and whine and roll over and sniff their butts. This morning though really had me worried, she put my older cat's head in her mouth, she didn't bite down and he didn't get mad but all I could think of is what if next time she does accidentally bite down and my 11 year old fat boy is killed  or severely damaged and I have to put him down 
So I decided on getting an E-Collar, I've used shock collars on my other two dogs. My best friend who passed away in 2012 at 14 years old (lung cancer) was a GSD/Husky mix, I found on her on the streets when I was 11 years old, I knew nothing about socializing a dog. Well around 16-18 years old, I realized I should've. Everytime I would walk her in public she would pull and lung at other dogs, she was never aggressive, and after meeting them and sniffing them she would just plain ignore them but she had no idea how to properly introduce herself. After a few weeks of training with a shock collar and more socializing, she never lunged, never hardly noticed other dogs..... except after so many passings of yappy little dogs.... then she'd get excited about the next ones. But it worked.
With Rocky, my 6 year old Heeler/lab mix is overly friendly with dogs and people , he doesn't have an aggressive bone in his body and doesn't understand aggression when another dogs shows it. But when on trails (loose) he would always race up to greet people, well... a stocky black dog can look quite intimidating to someone who doesn't know him. A few weeks of correcting him and that stopped, also it helps by running him and wearing him out.
I'll be trying a shock/e-collar on Jetta as well, hopefully it won't take long before she isn't chasing my cats.


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## Chip18 (Jan 11, 2014)

There is only one rule in Cat dog relationships, the dog"NEVER" chase the cat! And no it was not cute when he was a puppy and now you know why! 

Put a drag leash on the dog (short leash with no handle to get caught up on furniture) keep it on him in the house!



Put the dog in a down, the cat should be free to move around if the dog breaks from the down and it's NO and Down, if he still moves you grab the leash and snatch him down! No more games here, these are both dogs that have a high probability of killing these cats!

Now that is how I would handle it because, you've let it get to far and the cats are freaked out and skittish. But there is also good infromation to be found in here:

http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/6715746-post2.html

And it would also be a great time to "Train the Place Command" similar to a stay but different details are here along with other basic information:

http://www.germanshepherds.com/foru...514-correction-fear-reaction.html#post7165106

I have had up to 5 dogs and 17 cats living together for 15 years and in all that time there has never been a "single" cat dog incident and or chase so I'm a little passionate in this regard.

And it starts with "No chasing the cats "ever!" As I say...only one rule.


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## car2ner (Apr 9, 2014)

I wish our dog could live with our cats freely. We have never ever let him chase the cats. We have insisted he leave them alone. Unfortunately the cats freak out and that kicks in his prey drive. We have to have a closed door between them at all times. 

I hope you the success Chip has had. Sometimes a dog just can't be allowed near cats.


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## Debanneball (Aug 28, 2014)

When we got Fritz, we divided our house into two! This way he could see, but not chase. The cats could jump the barricade if they wanted. Overtime, the cat area got smaller and smaller, then eventually one happy family. 

Chip has a great idea 'down, place, stay..leash control.. That would have been easier for me rather than attempting to get over the dang barricade several times a day.....

Good luck


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## Kyleigh (Oct 16, 2012)

down, place, stay..leash control

This times 1000000000000000

The place command, once perfected, is your game saver! 

I taught this to my dog and she's a star at it. I still have to monitor every now and then (because the cat is a huge PITA with the dog). 

They are NEVER out together if I am not home.


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## Bjorneo (Aug 18, 2015)

I did teach Steffi to lie down when she gets close to the cats or they close to her. I praised her and gave her lots of treats. She does not chase them anymore either-the cats took care of that-no blood drawn-just threats.


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