# stop chasing the cats



## allieg (Nov 4, 2008)

Hi,
Me again. My 6 month old GS Athena also chases our cats does anyone have any good advice on how to stop her from doing that.I have tried blocking her, spraying with a water bottle,and many other things.Will that go away with time or am I in for it forever...
Allie


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## wolfstraum (May 2, 2003)

it is prey drive - maybe a vibrating collar would help....I have one who fixates and drools - the cat will go to sleep on the couch right under her nose, and this puzzles the dog...but I don't trust her not to chase if the cat would run...there was a thread on here about a dog who learned to live with a cat quite sucessfully a few days ago too....

Lee


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## kkms (Oct 17, 2008)

i posted this a few days ago - not much helps right now. i called my breeder and she suggested letting the cats make the correction and put him in his place as long as noone was being severely injured. while i understand her reasoning and i am doing it - sorta i have also been teaching the leave it. i put his favorite treat between his feet and make him leave it. he is doing good with it - and learning when i say leave it with the cats. but not always. the cats have let him have it a few times but it scares me because he puts his mouth around their throats!!!! AAACCCKKK!!!

but i have bigger problems to fry - more later!
good luck


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## Superpup (Jun 7, 2007)

Fun fun fun... living with cats and dogs. We have two GSDs and two cats. One of the cats always runs from the dogs, which triggers the prey drive so the dogs always want to chase. The other cat will NOT run, but will hiss and growl and swat. This triggers the fight/play drive in the dogs, which sometimes means nipping at the cat, which obviously is not good.
My Cody learned slowly that the cats' claws WILL hurt and he learned after repeatedly telling him NO and redirecting him that it is not okay to chase the cats. Now he pretty much just ignores them, unless he gets really feisty, then he wants to chase them.
Brandie, who has really high prey drive, wants to make the cats run so she can chase them. We have also told her NO and redirected her with a toy or a treat to make her understand that it is not ok to chase the cats indoors. I have gotten her to the point where she can focus on me instead of the cats but if they move too quickly she will chase. She means no harm to the cats, she just wants to chase them and play with them. If she is laying on the couch and one of the cats comes by, she gets "hypnotized" by them, she just stares and stares and if they make any quick movements, she will bounce.
I think the key is patience, letting your dog know it is not ok to chase the cats in the house, giving the dog rewards when it leaves the cats alone etc. It may take a lot of time!!


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## Superpup (Jun 7, 2007)

kkms,
good advice, although some dogs (like my Brandie) does not care about the corrections the cats give her... she actualyl gets even more excited when they start swatting at her and then she starts getting nippy with them.. so this approach did not work in our house. What has worked is that every time she goes after the cats, I call her name and show her a toy and have her play with a toy instead of the cats, or I show her a treat and give her treat for coming back!


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## allieg (Nov 4, 2008)

Thanks.
It's pretty much what I have been doing so I guess it will take time.So far no one has gotten hurt but I do let the cats fight it out with her with supervision. I've been told after getting hurt they will give up.
Allie


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## Superpup (Jun 7, 2007)

Allie, like I said it depends on the dog. With Cody it helped that the cats swatted at him and he got scratches on his nose to prove it. He gave up. Brandie does not, she gets more excited. But she is also learning that the cats are OUT OF LIMITS.
Takes time!


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