# How do I stop my GSD from hurting my cat.



## hotrod27 (Jun 13, 2012)

My Loki is almost 5 months old. He loves to play ruff with cat. He will pin the cat down and bite her all over her head and neck. There has not been any wounds yet I stop it as soon as it starts. I am afraid he will hurt her. When the cat runs his fur goes up when chasing. Is this a sign of prey drive? How can I stop this?


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

He's playing with her. You stop this by teaching him Leave It. I would let Jax go up to the cat but then would control the situation by giving it a command when she was sniffing or be gentle of "Be Nice". You have to be consistent and you ahve to be on top of it. He'll grow out of it and learn it's not appropriate behavior.

His fur going up could be part prey and just part puppy excitement.


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## gmcwife1 (Apr 5, 2012)

Our 8 month old puppy is getter better and better with 'leave it' and the cat, so their is hope


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

he's playing with her. your cat will let him know when
it's too much for her.


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## Bubbles (Aug 31, 2012)

At night I put bubbles in her crate full of pillows. I zip it up and put the cats food and water dish next to bubbles bed. So they can sniff each other in safety all night. They also get use to seeing each other. I never leave bubble unsupervised with the cats bc if she gets to rough my cat bites her really hard.


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## hotrod27 (Jun 13, 2012)

When sprocket (my cat) is near Loki's kennel he barks and barks. He does have a pen in the house around his upstairs kennel, sprocket jumps in to be with him but he pins her every time. She will be crying out and trying to get away. I have to pull him off of her. She has her claws I don't understand why she hasn't used them much. My cat did grow up with my GSD Alexis(RIP). Alexis was great with her and at times they slept in the kennel together. Sprocket was by Alexis' side till the end and greived with us when she died. I will keep trying but in the meantime watch them carefully.


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

My dog is constantly playing/chasing with the cats. When I say leave it she does. She recently got sick and one of the only ways I knew right away was because she wasn't going for the cats. When the cats were able to cross her path without a problem, into the vet she went.


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

You do need to get a handle on it, normal play can really injure a cat. Specially cause most of the time our pups still think they are the same size as when they started the play and and 8 week old GSD pup with a cat is a little more evenly matched  than an 80 pound GSD.

If your pup is continuously going to the cat when he is bored and wants to play rather than to YOU.. then that's another thing to work on. My cat's job is not to be my dog's readily available tug/chew/chase toy. If I need to step it up to show that I am fun, I play, I run, chase, tug and am fun fun fun then I need to do so.

How are the dog classes going? How many dozens of tricks have you been able to teach your pup?

Engagement - Key to Training

Teaching a trick is the least important part of teaching tricks

Intro to Clicker Training (perfect for puppies!)

Why bother to 'socialize' and I want photos/videos of puppies/dogs.....


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## hotrod27 (Jun 13, 2012)

I have not had enough time to work with him lately. He knows the basic sit,stay,lay down, and kennel up. Working on leave it and not pulling when I walk him. He starts training next week for 6 weeks. With kids in school I should have more time. I take my dad to car cruise ins 3 to 4 times a week and I make sure to bring Loki with me. He is great when in public and love people.


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## Radio (Aug 28, 2012)

I'm here for suggestions too. Radio chases our cat, Baxter. We're working on Leave It, but for now either we get Baxter up higher than Radio can reach, or he does it himself. If he really doesn't want to move from his spot and she won't leave him alone, he smacks her on the face a few times. 

Right now the dynamic isn't a huge issue, but I worry about what someone mentioned above - eventually Radio will be much larger and could really hurt Bax. This is a daily frustration for us.


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## Mary Beth (Apr 17, 2010)

I suggest you take MaggieRoseLee's advice before your cat gets hurt. Make time to work with your pup, play with him, and provide him with his own soft chew toys. I know it is a lot of work but worth it for all of you. Be sure you don't leave the pup and cat alone in the house unless the pup is in his crate. I had a cat when my dog was a pup. Though my cat was used to dogs, I was very careful. She was old and slow but even a young cat can get hurt by a big pup or dog. I would not allow my pup to chase after the cat. When the pup would chase after the cat - I stopped it right away. I would lift the cat up and say sternly "mine" and then give him his soft bear - make it squeak - and say very happily "this is your's". My pup slept in his crate until he was a year-old so he couldn't chase the cat at night. I even kept him on a leash which I hooked to my belt when I was working on the computer or reading so that he couldn't chase after the cat. That also helps in house training. Easy to catch when the pup needs to go before any accident happens.


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