Help! New dog chases my cat!

[Dekka]

And up until these dogs killed the cats they would say the exact same thing (chances are one dog figured out they could do it and went after the cats and the others got so excited they joined in) For 15 years and many huskies (they did sledding) it worked. Until it didn't.

Its like saying that punishing dogs who bite will teach them to never bite people. Sure it might work with some dogs, but are you willing to risk it? In this case you are risking people's cats lives.

 

[Danefied]

Last week I adopted a mixed breed dog from our local animal shelter. She is a sweetheart but very energetic. Since we have acreage, the dog lives outside and she loves it. The dog was cat tested before leaving the shelter and she showed no interest in the cat there. I bring home, Delilah the dog, and introduce her to my indoor cat. The cat remained calm so Delilah showed no interest. Then, the outdoor cat comes in to eat and she is terrified of Delilah, starts to run and the Delilah goes wild chasing her. She appears to be getting more aggressive in her determination to catch the cat. I am resorting to tieing up the dog so the cat can eat in peace.
Any suggestions on how I can deal with this? Here we have a farm so the dog can be free and I don't want to have to tie her up all the time yet I feel so sorry for my cat. This is a cat that hates the indoors so that is not a solution. Can the hunting instinct be trained out of a dog?

Put the cat's food somewhere out of Delilah's reach. Unless you live outside too, the dog will have plenty of opportunities to harass the cat without your input, so the behavior is being practiced. Practiced behavior such as this will escalate, so bear in mind that you very well may one day come home to a dead cat. Outside dogs tend to make their own fun, and cat chasing is fun. For some dogs the fun is in the killing too.

We have four of our own cats and several ferals. You have to teach the dogs with each cat individually - basically "this cat is a family member, so don't kill it."
Safest way is to put the cat in a cage and bring it inside and let the dog sniff and reward for calmness (or aversion training, but IME that's not as successful long term). That is a *very* watered down version of a rather involved process. The cat also has to learn about the dogs.

Our current four will kill a non family member cat in a heartbeat, and have. But our own cats are safe with them. The dogs pounce on them and even mouth them, but without injury. Plus the cats are smart about the dogs.

Just a comment. We live on 20 acres, surrounded on 3 sides by 500 acres of unused timber company land. Our dogs could easily be outside dogs, but they're not. Yes, they spend a LOT of time outside (as do the humans), but at night they come in with us, they eat inside, they sleep inside, and they participate in being with the family inside. If you're wanting to train this dog to do anything, it will be MUCH easier for you if you at least bring the dog in at night. This is an adopted dog (so no puppy bonding with you I presume), who has no reason to "connect" with you other than you bring her food from time to time. If she's outside, she can find a lot of her own food. IOW, you're fairly meaningless to her - unless you make yourself meaningful - which will involve making your house (full of your smells and your presence) her home.

 

[milos_mommy]

I certainly would not let any cat I cared about unsupervised with a dog who has killed one. Just like I wouldn't let two dogs that fought but now get along great alone together.

 

[smkie]

i am going to disagree strongly w/ everyone, you CAN train a dog not to hunt or chase something you don't want it to. it's called breaking and involves a great deal of time & effort and if necessary no small amount of aversion training (read painful consequences usually through the use of an e-collar). some dogs require a level of aversion training that some would consider abusive.
the real questions are: do you have the knowledge & equipment to do it correctly? are you willing to put in the time & effort? do you have the stomach for the level of harshness that MAY be required to be successful?

When Victor came cats made his pupils go full blown, and the only thought he had was to go after them. He thought chasing rabbits and squirrels across the road was the thing to do. Pepper wouldn't hesitate to door dodge, especially if there was a squirrel on the ground.
It took several times daily obedience for solid recall, to learn LEAVE IT meant leave everything, that STOP MEANT NOT ONE MORE STEP...and it worked. It didnt' happen over night, it took diligence and patience, and above all consistency. Agree with everything Pop wrote here except the e collar. It really changed nothing for Pepper. SHe had first to learn to respect me, and by that she respected my leadership. It took a good year for both, tho, the daily boot camp drill is slower. If my high drive, energetic pointer and my fast as bullet death on squirrels can learn it, I don't see why your dog cant'. Leash that dog at all times as long as the cat is around, and begin with leave it, make games of it, and do your obedience religiously.

Pepper held her stay without a leash in the driveway with 2 feral cats not 20 feet away a month or so ago. It was my proudest moment of her for I knew she had finally crossed the understanding line.

 

[Dekka]

Smkie.. would you leave your dogs unattended with tame squirrels that were people's pets?

 

[smkie]

Yes. I think you missed the last of my post.
After three dead squirrels I sat hours in my yard with Pepper on my lap watching the babies high up in the trees using leave it, and ttouch. In the woods when I am not there and she is running on her own, I dont' think she would hestitate, but not in my yard and she is not going to leave my yard without my giving permission. THat took a solid year of working on border training every single time we went out. You have to hyper focus.

I have had tame squirrel, cats dogs and children.
I also posted it is a very very hard thing to teach, but it is not impossible.

 

[Dekka]

I just think its highly irresponsible is all. I am on many forums and know many people. Over the years I have heard stories like yours where people swore up and down they had done things (ttouch is common) and lots of work, positive or negative (ie e collars) and one day there is a post about coming home to a dead cat. (or ferret)

They, like you, were sooo sure that their dogs and their training was solid. So sure they bet a beloved pet's life on it. So even if 90% of the people are right and their dogs have learnt that killing that particular pet is wrong.. that means 1 in 10 pets loose their lives.

IMO not worth the risk.

ETA the dogs in question are almost always high prey drive/working breeds. So a pointer (which shouldn't kill prey by definition) is likely far safer than a terrier.

 

[smkie]

Like I said leash the dog while the cat is around. Don't encourage and don't tolerate. Working on it, is better than doing nothing and accepting the situation while anything that shows up in your yard gets a death sentence.

 

[Dekka]

Oh I am in full agreement to work on it, and not just accept it. But to then think 'my dog is trained' and leave it alone with your beloved pet might not be a good plan.

 

[Danefied]

Like I said leash the dog while the cat is around. Don't encourage and don't tolerate. Working on it, is better than doing nothing and accepting the situation while anything that shows up in your yard gets a death sentence.

I don't think the idea was to do nothing Just that you never know with a cat killer if your own cats are safe.
Our dogs routinely kill prey around the property, so the fact that when they do catch a cat and don't injure them, tells me they know the difference and can practice self control about it.
This is going to sound awful, but our cats aren't really "pets" in the same way the dogs are. They're ferals that have stuck around and I throw food at them basically. The dogs chase them and if I'm there I call them off, but if one got killed by one of the dogs, which honestly you never know, while I would be sad, its not like we're losing a pet...
One of our cats IS a pet, but he grew up with a past puppy and he thinks he's a dog, acts like a dog, and knows how to take care of himself around the dogs - ie: not to run from them. Him I don't worry about.