stop attacking my cat!!

dethfire

I have a 6mo boston terrier with tremendous energy. I've had him for three months and i can't get him to stop attacking my cat. It's not to hurt, but to play, however my cat does not enjoy it and it must stop. Every time he lunges for my cat I say "No" and put him in his crate. But this does not work as when he gets out he will go for the cat again. When he is advancing at the cat I make a "tsk tsk" noise and he pauses and looks at me for a few seconds, but if I move back on to what I am doing he then continues. To make things worse when I yell "No" and go after him, he runs away from me and I end up chasing him for awhile, it sucks because he is freakin fast and agile. what should I do?

TooneyDogs

Your running after him makes the game of chase even better for him.
Call him to you, ask for a sit, praise and pet for coming/sitting. That diverts the game into a nicer behavior. If he won't come, step inbetween him and the cat. Make him back up....just a half foot or foot is enough. The idea you're trying to teach is "back away from the cat".
Cats are notorious for taunting...they love the game of chase as much as the dogs do. My cat is often the instigator of those games...she's much younger than the dogs and far more playful.

gingersmom

I hope your cat is not declawed -- she needs to be able to tell the puppy to keep his distance. Also I'd make sure that the cat has somewhere she can go to keep away from the puppy. We have a baby gate at the top of the stairs so the dog cannot go by the cat's food, litterbox, or favorite sleeping spot. There is also a scratching post downstairs where she can perch above the dog.

Can you teach the puppy to chase something else? A motorized mouse, or something? Redirecting his energy seems important.

If him running away is still an issue, you may need to leave a leash on him to drag around when you are home, so that you can correct him promptly.

dethfire

yeah the problem is when he is hyper he will not come to me and sit. my cat doesn't instigate, he wants nothing to do with my dog and is older

the cat is declawed and unfortunately a complete dumbass, there are lots of places to go for high ground but over and over he'll still wander on the ground and even right near the dog, sooooo frustrating, and then he gets attacked, HELLO, do you ever learn, ahhhhh

natureloverchris

How do you reward him when he comes to you. Schmoo still every once in a while goes after the cat. However, he only does that when I've slacked off and given him less attention and exercise then normal. When Schmoo is in hyper puppy mode the reward for coming to sit is not treats, it's a game of fetch. Yes, every once in a while schmoo forgets and goes after the cat but when I call him he comes running quite happily.

Chasing your dog is not going to get you anywhere useful and will create future problems.

my cat is old too. she doesn't like to jump up to high places when the pup is pestering her and she has claws. the process of jumping when you have a hyper puppy makes the cat vulnerable. watch how your cat jumps, they sort of crouch down first. And getting knocked down when in midair can not be pleasant. But Fancy-cat has low places she can hide that Schmoo can't get in to. Does your cat have any safe, low hidey holes? When your pup is especially hyper can you put your cat in another room?

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agility collie mom

Had a bull mastiff pup in my puppy class that chased the cat. The trainer told her mom to get a squirt bottle and squirt the pup every time she chased the cat. She also said to make sure the pup didn't know that she was the one doing the squirting. (I use a squirt gun more accurate and can reach from a longer range!)

InverseLogic

Sigh, the poor thing.

Twinney

I agree, it's painful on the cat, but before we knew that we had a cat hang itself that way when it snuck outside one time. (Actually we didn't, it was my mums cat, my old dogs best friend, I was a year old.)

The puppy really isn't dumb, if it chases the cat, you'll chase it, and it's a fantastic game to play in his mind. My cat is the ruler of the house, and Shunka is afraid of it. Nothing can make her get up from that down stay other than that cat walking up to her. She tried attacking the cat when she was a puppy when we were all outside and the cat scratched her on the ear, that was all it took.

If your cat is walking right by the puppy, then it's probably teasing your puppy.

You'll need a place for the cat to hide when the puppy is getting annoying to it. Keep a leash connect to you, or as someone mentioned before, a squirt gun to squirt the puppy when it chases the dog. My dogs all sit on command, you should work on that with your pup too, even when the puppy is near by. For instance, the dogs can just about take my arm off when they see a rabbit. There's alot of sight and scent hounds in these dogs, so they usually don't give up. Lately, I've been putting them on a sit-stay until they are ready to heel. If they don't think they have to stay in a sit-stay, I will gladly put them back in a sit-stay.

Citrine

Oh man, one of my cats TOTALLY instigates things with my puppy. He'll park himself directly in her path and hiss when she gets close. He hides behind the curtain of the patio doors, and when she unsuspectingly walks through the door hisses and swats. He's very determined to maintain his role as king kitten of the household but man....it makes for some noisy times with the barking and the hissing and the chasing. Both of my cats have access to the puppyless upper floor and basement (where their litter is) so they have lots of space to not be around the pooch if they choose....I figure it will all work itself out eventually there's been no blood drawn yet! Any the pup DOES get in trouble for barking in the house or chasing the cats.

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