Herding Cats

[IronHorse]

juliepoudrier,

Your retort is so noted.

I do NOT nor do my replies advocate allowing a dog to chase, harrass,attack or torment domestic cats.

As for a wildcat in the chicken coop, well here it is what it is and I am the law, not my dogs.

If you have managed to train your pet cats to leave your bantam chicks alone well good for you,but I doubt its a normal condition on most farms.

 

My comment regarding cougars had to do with a poster other then you useing a wide brush to generalize that worldwide dogs kill more cats then vice versa. Now had that poster indicated "domestic cats" I would agree but the term "cats" called for a clarification in regards to their proposed "wager".

 

The OP was given adequate advice to break her pup of chasing the family cat prior to any drift from the thread which is as you know quite common on this forum.

[kelpiegirl]

My cat actually provokes the dogs to chase her. She does this when she wants me to get up in the morning. Normally, she can walk from my bed to her food and water, and then on the hope chest to the room where the litter box is, so she really isn't bothered. When she wants me to get up- to feed her, she makes a point of walking around to Lucy's side of the bed, walking in front of her face, and plopping on the floor, then running to her food dish (which is up on furniture). Thankfully, Lucy is not a chaser- rather she works the cat- meaning, when the cat goes to move, she will cast wide around, to the place where she thinks she is going, and when the cat comes toward there, she moves off to the next place she is going. There is no contact with the cat. MANY breeds who have herding ability will want to use this on whatever is present- you can't blame them, but you can teach them that there is no contact with the felines of the house.

Julie

[MrSnappy]

Oh come on--we're not talking about cougars here or the entirety of feline species in the world--we're talking about household pets! Yes, even a housecat can seriously damage a dog, especially if it's fighting for its life, but the OP was talking about her pet cats and her puppy--and I think it's fair to say that a *domestic* (or feral) cat is more likely to come out on the losing end of a fight with a dog

 

Also, should maybe point out too that a cat besting a dog is not always sufficient motivation for the dog to stop chasing/harassing cats. Many years ago, Toilet Kitty took an almighty swipe at Red Dog and ripped a portion of his inner eyelid. I had to have it surgically corrected. Ten years later, RD will still go after the mighty TK if the opportunity presents itself.

 

Interestingly though, he doesn't bother the Evil Duo (aka Angry Donut and Round Eye) in the least. They are allowed to romp all over him and I frequently catch them using his inert form as a springboard to somewhere higher and more interesting. Which speaks, I think, to habit-forming. I didn't do enough when he was young to deter him from bothering Toilet Kitty, but it's ingrained in him now that he is not supposed to bug the cats; but his old relationship with TK overrides that training, I think. I wish I had been firmer with him when he was younger. Poor TK is 16 now and really wishes RD would piss off.

 

When RD was a pup I had ferrets. He was obsessed with putting them all in one place. He would pick up one by the tail and drag it to a specified spot and then go to get another one. When he got back, and the first one was gone, he would get so frustrated. It kept him busy for hours at a time ;-)

 

What was that you said about threads meandering, Ironhorse? LOL

 

RDM

[RaisingRiver]

I'd keep my pup leashed to me until I could train it not to chase the cats. For me it was easy since my cats are outside - that meant the leash part was obvious when River was a pup. Leave it was one of the first things River learned and I applied it to the cats. River currently doesn't chase ANYTHING alive. For Diesel who I got at 15mos and had a really good prey drive (he chases my kids on their bikes/skates (we're working on that still) I had to teach him, 'leave the kitty' BEFORE he had a chance to consider chasing my 2 well seasoned cats. The cats also learned to just stand still when he approaches because running entices him. He can leave the kitties but will anything else when given the opportunity.

 

Of note, my non-BC was a cat chaser of neighborhood outside cats in the prior house and when I got the 2 kittens at the new house, I think she knew they were part of the family because she became a great mama to them - preening them and everything. Our cats are the only cats she will not chase. And sometimes when the cats are at a distance, she'll charge at them and break off pursuit as soon as she gets close enough to tell they are the family cats.

 

Maybe a little 1-1 with the pup and a cat is in order to show proper behavior and respect.

[IronHorse]

What was that you said about threads meandering, Ironhorse? LOL

 

RDM

 

*Chuckles*

[Kayleegator]

For this you'll need a fantastic training tool consisting of nothing more than a cloth bag filled with a few simple links of heavy chain.

 

This sounds like a fine training tool: I'll go rummage in the garage and see if there's some stuff to make a noise bag with...

 

Thank you!

 

Beki

[OurBoys]

Beki,

 

I'm glad you realize chasing is not a good idea and you're working hard to train Kaylee not to do so. You have been given a lot of good advice. If/when you get to a point where you are feeling frustrated and feel like giving up, please don't. Yes, it's good for the cats if Kaylee doesn't chase them but remember you're doing this for Kaylee more than anyone else. One of these days, it could save her life.

 

Sooner than you think, she's going to be a grown dog....a lot bigger and a lot stronger. When you take Kaylee out in public, I'm sure the last thing you want is for her to see a small animal across a busy street and take off after it. Even worse, if you have a good grip on the leash and she drags you out in the street with her. She won't have to go far-just into the lane of traffic. And dogs can be a lot stronger than you realize.

 

Hang in there!! You're do a good job! If/when you feel you've hit a road block, someone here will always be there for you!!

[jamesqf]

I've never had much problem teaching my dogs not to chase OUR cat(s). The Akita I shared with my ex (who looked like his day job was guarding the gates of Hell), would snooze in front of the fireplace with the small dog and two or three cats using him for a pillow, and the bird perching on his head.

 

However, I really appreciate the fact that Niki seems to know the difference between our cat - one of the pack - and strange cats (& ground squirrels &c), who need to be chased out of the yard.

[Kayleegator]

Thanks for your kind words of encouragement, Brenda!

 

Kaylee has CHASED a cat ONCE, which was last weekend. Since then, when she NOTICES a cat, especially the one in our kitchen, who lives on top of the fridge these days, I tell her firmly, OFF! which is our word for 'cut it out' and she's been responding very well, which gets her a 'Good Off!' and a click if I've got one handy. The kitty has been daring to come down to the floor to be fed, and that's a good opportunity to reinforce the 'OFF!'. OFF! also applies to chipmunks, squirrels and other dogs that we see on walks. I haven't let her off-leash outside at all except in the fenced dog run at a neighbor's, for a playdate with her boxer friend Tyson. Am looking for more opportunities, as we go, to let her know that cats and other things that run are not for her. I am hoping that we are nicking the behavior in the bud.

 

There are still two fraidy cats living outside under a neighbor's car, who come in in the middle of the night to eat and cuddle, and then leave. They are the ones I'm feeling guilty about, but there's not a whole lot I can do until they come in.

 

On leash, we are working hard on 'heel' just now, and we've noticed just in the last day, the herding response come up when a car passes us from behind. Every day I am learning something new from this dog. She's usually pretty biddable and is responding well in our training sessions. She's also 13 weeks old and can be bratty and naughty on purpose: yesterday, after a week of being very good and ignoring it, she went for the catfood twice, and once for the tissue in the bathroom trash. And each time got a time-out in her crate. Followed by more exercise.

 

Two steps forward, one step back, great leap forward, sit. I'm starting to get it.

[sycamore]

I had 3 nutered male cats before I got my BC, Sycamore. All three cats pretty much ignore the dog even if she tries to 'herd' them. By herding I mean my BC will use her nose to push the cats from the back porch door to the garage, or vise-versa. The cats are only allowed to go thru the house, not stay in it, so Sycamore seems to think its her job to get them from point A to point B. We do have a stray, mean ole Tom cat that comes into our yard to pick a fight with my cats, and he has caused considerable damage to my cats as well. Two of my cats now have split ears and a couple of abcesses as a result of this bad cat. Anyhow, when Sycamore sees the big bad Tom, she chases him off our property and I have no problem with this because he don't belong here and all he does is cause trouble. Now mind you, my BC is an extremely slow runner plus she never recovered from a torn ACL repair so she limps a bit. She is in no shape to cause any damage to big ole Tom 'cause she can't even catch up to him when they run across the yard. She just chases him out of the yard and it's all over, period. In the six years we have had the dog, she has never chased our own cats, so I don't believe my cats are in any immediate danger, like I said, they just ignore her. She has never nipped the cats either so what do you think?