Kitty eating foster dog!

[whiteleo]

Well all my dogs know the word "Leave It" and if I catch the new one or even Leo going towards my old kitty I say Leave it, sometimes it will take 2 times in a louder voice for them to get it through their thick noses that I mean it, but they get it, and leave her alone. It will get better, you just have to be consistent with whatever training method your going to use. Good Luck.

[luvMyBRT]

Back in college I rescued a starving female Rottweiler that was chained to a tree next door to where I lived. Right away I knew I needed to help her, so I went over and asked her current owners if I could have her. They agreed that I could have her, but told me that she had once killed a stray cat (they knew I had cats). I took that into concideration, but took her anyways.

Her entire life was outside chained to a tree. Coming to live with me I had to house train her and it was her first time living with a pack of animals and cats.

The female Rottie was coming into my pack and I set the rules. My pack consisted of my male Rottweiler, female GSH Pointer, 2 foster puppies that I was raising, and two cats. From the moment "Annie" (that's what I named her) came into my home she knew those cats were part of the pack. I introduced them with care and the first time she showed a little too much intrest she would get a correction of "leave it". It only took a couple times. From the first day she did wonderful with my cats and the tiny puppies, but only because I set the rules. It got to where the cats could walk on her, lay on her...they even played together. If the cats had had too much, they would just jump up and get away from the dogs.

Everything went so well because I was consistent with my rules and let her know that I didn't agree with any "bad" behavior. She had a lot of new experiences and did very well with all of it. I was loving, but firm and consistent. She needed a role model (so to speak) to show her what was good behavior and what was bad behavior....and that was me.

I hope that things calm down for you. Good luck.

[JayJayisme]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Now THAT'S what I'm talking about!

Whether or not you believe in pack leadership as a training tool, dogs are pack animals. You can use this knowledge to establish order in your pack, or use some other established training method to solve the problem, or stick your head in the sand. But they are still pack animals.

Great job and great post saraj2878!

[ruckusluvr]

how do you teach a deaf dog a leave it command?

the fact that he is deaf is what is making this so hard. my dogs know leave it.

if my foster dog is stalking the cat i have been squirting him with water. i have done this every time for three days now. he just does not seem to understand why he is getting a squirt.

i know about teaching deaf dogs hand signals, but he is mostly blind too. not too blind to see the cat though.

[luvMyBRT]

Even though he is deaf he can still read your body language and your energy.

In all honesty, I don't have to say anything to my GSH Pointer to get her to back up, leave it, go lay down, etc. My body language and energy do the "talking". However, it is helpful that she can hear as she has learned what certain words mean for her to do.

When I introduced Annie to my two cats I got all three animals and went and sat down on the couch. My cats were totally relaxed since they lived with dogs, which made it easier I am sure. I made sure I was totally relaxed too. I had a pinch collar on Annie (because this is what I felt gave me the most control over her, should I need it. After this first meeting she didn't need it anymore). I sat down with the cats in my lap and with Annie on the floor next to me. I let Annie calmly sniff the cats and when she would get too close or too pushy or too excited I would give a quick correction with the pinch collar and said "leave it" to snap her out of the excitement (with a deaf dog you don't need to say anything). This happened a few times, but she was a quick learner. After about 20 minutes she completly calmed down, relaxed, and laid down. There were a few times after this that I did have to "remind" her that she was to respect the cats. She did want to chase them if they ran, but I would block her from chasing with my body, using my body language, as if to say "I don't think so...". She would calm down, relax, and I would reward her. For about a week I watched her closely. In all honesty, she did great from day one. She was so ready to be a well behaved follower in my pack. All she wanted (and desperately needed)was someone to show her the right thing to do.

This is the way that worked best for me and Annie. Everyone is different and every dog is different. I hope you can find what works best for you.

[ruckusluvr]

thank you for your help :)

Things are calming down. the cat isnt hiding from the dog anymore, but isnt teasing him. the fact that the cat is not teasing him is helping a whole lot!

[RawFedDogs]

I let Annie calmly sniff the cats and when she would get too close or too pushy or too excited I would give a quick correction with the pinch collar and said "leave it" to snap her out of the excitement (with a deaf dog you don't need to say anything). This happened a few times, but she was a quick learner.

This is a big problem I have with the pinch collar. It obviously didn't happen to you but often the dog could associate the pain of the pinch collar with the cat instead of you. If this had happened, it would have made it almost impossible to get the dog to be friends with the cat ever.

She did want to chase them if they ran, but I would block her from chasing with my body, using my body language, as if to say "I don't think so...". She would calm down, relax, and I would reward her.

Prey drive is normal and natural for a carnivore. It's how they would make their living if not for human intervention. My Great Danes chase the cats daily. It's the cats responsibility to find a safe place quickly and they do it. The few times that a dog got lucky and got a cat cornered with no escape route, they never hurt the cat. Usually they just nudged their nose into the cat pretty roughly and let him go. The chase is the exciting part to them, not actually catching them.

I think the cats understand this as they chase wild critters outside all the time. They catch, kill, and eat them quite often. :)

Don't take this post as fussing at you. I admire your training ability eventhough it is somewhat different than mine. Just wanted to throw in my 2 cents.







For about a week I watched her closely. In all honesty, she did great from day one. She was so ready to be a well behaved follower in my pack. All she wanted (and desperately needed)was someone to show her the right thing to do.

This is the way that worked best for me and Annie. Everyone is different and every dog is different. I hope you can find what works best for you. [/QUOTE]

[luvMyBRT]

This is a big problem I have with the pinch collar. It obviously didn't happen to you but often the dog could associate the pain of the pinch collar with the cat instead of you. If this had happened, it would have made it almost impossible to get the dog to be friends with the cat ever.

Prey drive is normal and natural for a carnivore. It's how they would make their living if not for human intervention. My Great Danes chase the cats daily. It's the cats responsibility to find a safe place quickly and they do it. The few times that a dog got lucky and got a cat cornered with no escape route, they never hurt the cat. Usually they just nudged their nose into the cat pretty roughly and let him go. The chase is the exciting part to them, not actually catching them.

I think the cats understand this as they chase wild critters outside all the time. They catch, kill, and eat them quite often. :)

Don't take this post as fussing at you. I admire your training ability eventhough it is somewhat different than mine. Just wanted to throw in my 2 cents.

Thanks for your post. I realize that everyone has a different way of doing things. And different ways work better for different people/dogs.

I had to be on top of things when introducing Annie to my cats knowing that she had chased down and killed a cat before. I realize that the chase is exciting for them, but Annie caught the cat and actually killed it.

As far as the pinch collar, IMO, if used correctly can be affective. It is my understanding that it is supposed to immitate the "bite" that the animal would receive if being corrected by the alpha member of their pack. With me holding the collar it is connected to me and my calm energy. More importantly than the pinch collar, IMO, is the body language and the energy that your are putting out. If I went into the situation nervous or angry the meeting probably wouldn't have gone well. Annie would have felt this insecure energy from me and the tension and would have reacted negatively to it. I went into this situation calm and with the mind set that things were going to go great because I was there to set the tone, be in control and to show Annie the correct and acceptable way to act around cats/my pack. I didn't even have to correct her more than once or twice using the pinch collar before she had caught on.

However, if this negative association had occured, I would have changed my approach and used a different tool or method immediatly.

Thanks for your 2 cents! I think it's great, as there is not one right way of accomplishing a goal!

[RawFedDogs]

It is my understanding that it is supposed to immitate the "bite" that the animal would receive if being corrected by the alpha member of their pack.

If you want to simulate a bite on the neck, I suggest you actually bite on the neck. The dog knows the difference. He's not stupid.

With me holding the collar it is connected to me and my calm energy. More importantly than the pinch collar, IMO, is the body language and the energy that your are putting out. If I went into the situation nervous or angry the meeting probably wouldn't have gone well. Annie would have felt this insecure energy from me and the tension and would have reacted negatively to it.

I completely agree.

However, if this negative association had occured, I would have changed my approach and used a different tool or method immediatly.

Once it occurs, its too late. It's happened. It's like the dog can't unbite the cat.

I think it's great, as there is not one right way of accomplishing a goal!

Oh, no ... there actually is only one right way. Honest.

[luvMyBRT]

Then, please, do tell the one and only way to correctly handle the situation??