# tasty kitties



## minnieme (Jul 6, 2011)

Minnie is one of the calmest dogs I know...but she has made it very clear she was never exposed to cats growing up! I have brought her to my mom's house twice now...and each time she eyes her cats hungrily. hwell: The cats...being extremely dog savvy (they have grown up with dogs around since kittenhood).... have NO fear. Minnie has to be on a leash at all times in the house because I uh....I love her dearly but I think she sees them as tasty, skinny-tailed, indoor squirrels. She has lunged at them before and watches them INTENSELY. :tsk:

I get it; it's natural...I don't fault her for it...but have any of you had any luck with "rehabbing" this? I don't know if she'll ever be able to be left home alone there...but I would like to not have her on a leash all the time. It would be a whole different ball game if she didn't weigh as much as me, but she's kind of a lot to lug around in a small house. :wink: Plus...my mom ADORES Minnie (what's not to love? :wink: ) but I'd like the cats to be able to go to the litter box without my mom holding her breath (and looking like this: :scared: ) as they saunter by..and Minnie salivates profusely! 

Next time I go I'm going to bring the clicker and offer lots of praise/treats when I redirect her attention...but does anyone else have any thoughts??? I'm not expecting a full 180...she has a very high prey drive, but some help would be great!

Thanks in advance!

Jill and Minnie the wannabe bloodhound


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## lauren43 (Feb 6, 2011)

Time outs can work wonders. Find a room or a place at your moms that is really boring (no toys, no treats, nothing). Bathrooms work, you can even set up a baby gate if you want. Everytime she even looks too intently at a kitty TO, you don't have to be mean about it, just say oops or ut oh and bring her to the time out area. Put her in there for 30secs or until she calms down. Rinse and repeat. Eventually you maybe able to just say your warning word and she'll stop but if she doesn't then straight to time out. At first you may have do it 5 or more times for her to get it...but the behavior will decrease with consistency.


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## CavePaws (Jan 25, 2011)

I realized my dogs had not been around kittens before when I got my foster litter. They've been around cats and have a drive to chase, pin, and lick profusely...But the kittens I've had a hard time getting them adjusted to. I introduced a kitten to Indi. She started by licking it a lot, like she was grooming it, then the nibbling - also a grooming thing...Then went straight to trying to pick it up by the head and carry it off. She has a wide eyed, high tailed stare that she does. She just can't help herself, and neither can my big boy Preston. The kitten

What I have started doing is keeping treats on hand about the house and in my pockets. When the dogs are over at the cat crate examining the kittens with their wild wide eyed stares and incessant whines, I just call them over and reward profusely. If they do not listen and ignore me I physically walk over to them, get their attention with the treats, and say "Missed it!" As they missed their opportunity for something more rewarding than trying to chase the kittens. After telling them they missed it I lead them over to another area of the house and have them do different things, like a down or a sit - any random trick really. Then I release them to go about their business. After several repetitions of all of this they've learned that when I call them I want them to me NOW, and if they get to me NOW, there will be a BIG pay day.

For Indi, who is more into play than she is rewards, I use a ball or tug more often to reward her. She wants to chase the kittens, which is a play behavior. Throwing the ball for her and tugging on a toy will trump trying to chase things that are turning around and swatting her with ease. It has worked much faster with Indi and Paris as they are toy crazy and very eager to play with me - so much more willing to drop whatever they are doing to run over to me. 

Redirect Minnie onto a toy or food. Try to catch her before she flat out lunges at the cat, watch for a hard eyed stare, then promptly get her attention with treats or a toy and ask her to do something she knows (sit, down, stand) If by chance she is ignoring you completely you'll want to stand up and physically walk her to another area of the room (you don't have to leave the room, though) and again ask her to do something she knows. She should start getting the picture; it's more rewarding to ignore the cat than to try to chase it. The next thing I would do is to try walking her around the cats. Start from 20 ft away, walking back and forth in a line, rewarding profusely verbally, touching, and with treats whenever you receive eye contact from her. Begin increasing the proximity to the cats once you have mastered 20 ft; I would go in very small increments...for some dogs a foot at a time is how slow this needs to be. When you have her close enough to the cat to sniff, let her sniff, when she looks back to you reward her. This might take a while. It probably won't happen in one training session or even two. Repetition of this is key and that is what desensitization is all about.


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

I want to get Rocky and Shade to get used to cats because I plan on getting one again some day. In the past I have always introduced my dogs as puppies to full grown kittens so I am going to encounter the same problems as you are encountering with Minnie.

What I would suggest is that you start bringing things that smell like the cat back to your house so that she gets used to the cat smell being around her all the time. Maybe you can bring blankets that belong to the cat and keep in in your house, or some of the cat toy and keep refreshing it. Or even just brush the cat and bring the fur back to your house. Also, handle the cat a lot so that Minnie is used to you smelling like the cat a lot and is used to associated the odor with you. I'd also start by separating them with baby gates and every time she runs towards the gate, call her back with the 'no kitty' command and treat. 

When we are outside and the dogs start after a cat, I use the command 'no kitty' and bring them back to me. Then they get a treat. So far it has worked great on Rocky. He used to be really bad at chasing cats. I am still working on Shade. He is going to be my problem dog. He reacts first and 'thinks' later.


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

Really good post Kelly, good advice in there.
I've also taught 'leave' along with lots of treats. With a pain in the bum like Mollie, it's been one of the handiest words ever.


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## malluver1005 (Nov 15, 2009)

minnieme said:


> Minnie is one of the calmest dogs I know...but she has made it very clear she was never exposed to cats growing up! I have brought her to my mom's house twice now...and each time she eyes her cats hungrily. hwell: The cats...being extremely dog savvy (they have grown up with dogs around since kittenhood).... have NO fear. Minnie has to be on a leash at all times in the house because I uh....I love her dearly but I think she sees them as tasty, skinny-tailed, indoor squirrels. She has lunged at them before and watches them INTENSELY. :tsk:
> 
> I get it; it's natural...I don't fault her for it...but have any of you had any luck with "rehabbing" this? I don't know if she'll ever be able to be left home alone there...but I would like to not have her on a leash all the time. It would be a whole different ball game if she didn't weigh as much as me, but she's kind of a lot to lug around in a small house. :wink: Plus...my mom ADORES Minnie (what's not to love? :wink: ) but I'd like the cats to be able to go to the litter box without my mom holding her breath (and looking like this: :scared: ) as they saunter by..and Minnie salivates profusely!
> 
> ...


Nothing I do works on Aspen. NOTHING. I cannot redirect his focus with treats, meat, toys etc. He looks at them with such an intense look in his eyes and sometimes gives a deep growl and snaps at the air, licking his lips. I just gave up. I don't have cats, nor do I know anyone that does. The only time I have a problem is when he goes to work with me, which is rarely. When we pass by the cat cages, and we have to, to get through the door, he lunges at them. Everyone knows that when Aspen comes here, they lock up the cats. Otherwise the cats have free roam of the treatment area. He has a caution on his patient clipboard...but that is because he can't be near cats!


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

malluver1005 said:


> Nothing I do works on Aspen. NOTHING. I cannot redirect his focus with treats, meat, toys etc. He looks at them with such an intense look in his eyes and sometimes gives a deep growl and snaps at the air, licking his lips. I just gave up. I don't have cats, nor do I know anyone that does. The only time I have a problem is when he goes to work with me, which is rarely. When we pass by the cat cages, and we have to, to get through the door, he lunges at them. Everyone knows that when Aspen comes here, they lock up the cats. Otherwise the cats have free roam of the treatment area. He has a caution on his patient clipboard...but that is because he can't be near cats!


my corgi got a taste for kitties because our next door neighbour's cat would have a litter and all the dogs would come and eat the kittens.....we were in georgia at the time and let's just say our neighbour didn't know much about animals or didn't think too much about them.

so she grew up with a taste for lizards and rabbits and kittens...

nothing we have ever done has helped, so now we just keep her away from them. she is twelve and i think she's not going to change.

we don't take her with us to visit our sister in law who graciously allowed us to use her cats as training tools....but it didn't work. 

good luck with minnie. maybe you'll have better success than we did, lo those many years ago.


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## SerenityFL (Sep 28, 2010)

lauren43 said:


> Time outs can work wonders. Find a room or a place at your moms that is really boring (no toys, no treats, nothing). Bathrooms work, you can even set up a baby gate if you want. Everytime she even looks too intently at a kitty TO, you don't have to be mean about it, just say oops or ut oh and bring her to the time out area. Put her in there for 30secs or until she calms down. Rinse and repeat. Eventually you maybe able to just say your warning word and she'll stop but if she doesn't then straight to time out. At first you may have do it 5 or more times for her to get it...but the behavior will decrease with consistency.


I agree with this method except I say, "No!" I'm not sure why people are against that word but it works. I say, "No!", nothing further, put them in their time out, (now it's a long down stay), and make them wait it out for a few minutes, not seconds. I then release them and if they do it again, "No!" back in to their time out. It really, REALLY does not take a dog very long to get it if you put them in a position or location that is unbelievably boring for them while everyone else is having a grand old time.


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## lauren43 (Feb 6, 2011)

The cue word to me doesn't matter, I say use whatever works! And as far as timing goes its all relative to a dog age..of course if they aren't calming down they have to remain in there longer...


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

SerenityFL said:


> I agree with this method except I say, "No!" I'm not sure why people are against that word but it works. I say, "No!", nothing further, put them in their time out, (now it's a long down stay), and make them wait it out for a few minutes, not seconds. I then release them and if they do it again, "No!" back in to their time out. It really, REALLY does not take a dog very long to get it if you put them in a position or location that is unbelievably boring for them while everyone else is having a grand old time.


we use the word 'no'....sometimes we use 'hell no'.....or stronger


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## Donna Little (May 31, 2011)

I can only imagine that it's pretty intense knowing that if she happened to get "lucky" enough to make contact with your mom's kitties it could be the end for one of them. I have had no luck with a few of my dogs either and just decided not to chance it. Even though my Min Pin Bailey is only 12 lbs I have no doubt she'd kill a cat. I have 2 FIV + cats (Jaxson and Jacoby) that live in my foster building. Jaxson had surgery last summer and was in a large crate in my bedroom while he had stitches so I could keep a close eye on him. I had to surround the crate with x-pens because of Bailey wanting to grab him through the bars. She means business and even though Jaxson outweighs her by several lbs she would go for the kill. She's the most prey driven small dog I've ever seen. I didn't feel safe even letting her within a few feet of him because she's so fast and he's also not afraid of dogs. Or pretty much anything for that matter... 
I wish you tons of luck with Minnie's training and that she'll one day be able to be trusted with them!


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