Recently Inherited Dog Questions Sorry L O N G!!!

[animalvr32]

Hi, I had posted a bit ago about not sure what kind of dog to get... HAHA we just recently inherited my sis in laws lab mix. She is about 8.5 years old.
I say that because my sis in law found her as a stray about 6 - 6.5 years ago and the vest est. her age. Anyway, my sis in law works full time and has nursing school full time and internships every other weekend and works opposite weekends. Anyway, she just didnt have the time for her anymore
So instead of dumping her off I told her to bring her to us.
So now she is here. She is a really good dog. She does have her issues though and that is why I am here.
Sorry this is so long..
She lived with cats and she does here as well. She gets in her moods where she likes to chase them. She does listen to leave it and then I put her in a down stay. It just drives me nuts. Obviously she was never corrected or taught not to chase them. This happens especially when I start the vaccuum cleaner. Very Strange!! Also, my sis in law stated that she has lately been getting into the trash. Now, she hasnt been alone much since I stay at home but I am scared to leave her alone for a long period.
Probably just my paranoia. I know I could crate her but she gets so nervous that she drools all over the bottom of the crate and gets very upset.
Anyway, any advice on how to make her adjustment a bit better and to stop the cat chasing?
She does go for 2 one mile walks daily and we play with her and her toys in the house.
Oh, she is also very very leary of certain men. She always has been.
She totally dispises our neighbor and I am not quite sure why.

 

[Doberluv]

Congrats on your new dog. She is very lucky to have you to take care of her.

Keep the trash inacessable to her. It's very difficult to depend on a scavenger/opportunist to stay out of it all by herself. It's really easier to prevent it in the first place and use your time for other training tasks. IMO

Make sure the cat has a safe place to go at all times. Distract the dog or better yet, intercept her at the first sign of wanting to chase the cat and tell her "leave it" if she has learned that skill. (If not, do a search here. There are threads about that or look up online.) Then reward her with a treat and a substitute "prey" thing to chase, maybe a stuffed toy on a rope that you play with. Try to find outlets for her prey drive; playing fetch, tug (if she knows the rules to give when you ask and keeps the teeth off of you) Show her that great things happen when she leaves it. (the cat) But always make sure your cat has a separate place to go where she can feel safe.

Get a man. Give him a handful of high value treats. (tiny pieces of real meat or white cheese) At a distance which is comfortable for her, have the man toss a treat to her IF she's relatively calm. Practice with other men so it's not just one that she gets use to. Socializing at such an old age is not easy. But try to associate scary things with praise and good food. Dogs love food. LOL. Make the treats pea sized so she doesn't get fat and if needed cut back just a little on her meals. Have your neighbor toss something yummy to her and leave it at that for now. Little by little, maybe she'll go to him to get the treat. Don't push the issue. Let her take her time.

The deal with the noisy vacuum may be that it raises her adrenelin and revs her up, making her more rambunctious. I'd put the cat in another room when you vacuum until things settle down a bit there. Everything is new to her.

Good luck. Keep us posted. I'm sure someone else will have some more ideas too.

 

[animalvr32]

Thanks for the advice. I have started my training as a certified dog trainer but only books so far, no hands on lol.
Anyway, I will try that. She is usually pretty good when I try to distract her from the cats but every now and then VROOOOOMMMM lol.
Thanks again.