Cat and dog family crisis. Help please!

[moose_down_under]

Hi everyone

I was wondering if there is anyone out there that has been through this and can give me some advice on how to solve this problem. Mach, my 7 months old grayhound/ mastiff cross is highly reactive towards our cat. Nothing else gets him so worked up to the point that I can't control him at all. Tonight he actually got close enough and tried to bite. I'm a bit concerned one day he will, and if that happens it will cause all sorts of family problems I've been trying to avoid. They don't cross paths in the house so when they do is usually in the garden. He'll bolt before I get a chance to call him and then becomes deaf to my calls. I can call him for a push from almost every situation, even off lead. Unfortunately when I let him out for toilet in the evenings I don't have food on me. Maybe I should... I've been working with him on pushing every morning on his walk, down/stay on box (park bench or picnic table - his favourite), a bit of tug, heel. Works like a charm, except when it comes to puss. I asked for advice from a trainer that is as close as I'll ever get to a NDT trainer in New Zealand. She recons conditioning Mach to associate the cat with pleasant things and not force the encounter is the best way to go. Her advice makes sense, except she works with a clicker and I don't want to use it. Mach is a NDT pup and I intend to keep it that way. So I replaced the clicking with pushing. Our "learn-to-love-the-cat-if-it-kills-me" training session goes like this : I bring the cat’s bed in the living room where Mach is; he gets really excited and starts smelling it. I call him for a push. I ask him to touch the bed and sit. We push again. Ask him for a down/stay next to the cat's bed and we finish with a push. I’ve taken this in the garden too and done the same thing. He seems to love this game, however he still wants to get puss. I would like to know what you think and if I'm actually on the right track with this. Would love to hear from anyone that has had a similar situation and how is going for you. At this point I would like some encouraging words. Thanks for putting up with my rant.

[Sang]

You’re on the right path. Right now Mach can handle a certain level of emotional conductivity, which is great in most situations as you’re finding. But when something comes along that he has a REAL charge towards, in this case kitty, he can’t handle it……yet.

If the cat is out in the yard on a regular basis, then Mach should always be wearing a long lead when he’s outside and there’s any potential that he’ll run into the cat. The more he gets the chance to chase him, the more it creates the emotional imprint that when he feels that surge of energy, he should go away from you rather than come to you. Right now, in the situations when he does come to you for a push or tug, I’d venture to say that he’s just not attracted enough to the thing he’s going after. But when he comes across something he’s REALLY attracted to, like the cat, then running away from you is what’s going to feel right, because every other time he’s felt that level of intensity, that’s what he’s done. So you’re going to have to get into management mode to prevent him from chasing the cat.

So let’s say you’re in the yard, and kitty comes along and Mach wants to chase him. He’s now wearing his long lead, so you can now grab the lead and physically restrain him as he tries to go after kitty. There may be lots of fireworks as he pulls and strains against the lead, but just be patient. He’s going to have all this built up energy that he’s going to have to offload one way or the other, and if he can’t do it by chasing the cat, then he’s going to look for something else. And since you’ve come prepared with food and a tug toy, as soon as he shows any sign of searching for another outlet, that’s your window to get him to push with you or bite the toy. You may have to get a little physical with him when he’s in that state to get him to refocus his energy onto you rather than going after the cat. But just see what he does on his own first. If you find that he’s so fixated on going after kitty, then push around his hind end, or get a stick or broom and sweep his feet to unsettle him. That will bring his focus back onto you, at which time you can run away and have him push with you. I can pretty much guarantee you that if you can get him to push with you when he’s that hyped up, it will be the strongest push you’ve ever felt with him.

Hope that helps.

And I have to say, it’s pretty cool to see the New Zealand NDT contingent growing the way it is. Just goes to show how you Kiwis like to “keep it real”, as we like to say here in the states.

[Chris]

I can say that for the first two years with Ty I was sure he would badly hurt one of my 7 cats (yeah I know but they needed saving). Sadly Tomtom my big black panther of a cat who had trained 3 GSD's in the past was to old to sort Ty out .

Once I got into NDT things slowly changed, I did a lot of what Sang has talked about and now Ty is a bit rough with 4 of the cats but I never worry about him hurting them but the others are his friends now. To the point where one follows us into the paddock and runs across in front of Ty to try and make him chase him while I work on getting Ty to push or down. It's so funny watching this cat set Ty up for a chase but my 'ready' works 99% of the time. The odd time Ty will give a little chase then spin about for a push.

Inside Ty and Sooty often lie together while Ty mouths the cat, the cat loves it.

It doesn't happen over night but it does happen. Keep on pushing.

Oh by the way I've heard there is a dog trainer in Tauranga who might be into NDT, I'm still trying to find a contact and hope to go and talk with him. Heard some good things about him

[moose_down_under]

Thanks for the great advice. I had a suspicion I might have use the long lead again. It will be a bit of a challenge as they share the same space, but I completely understand what you said Sang about the emotional imprint created when he chases the cat. Management it is then. I guess I was just trying to rush things along. My bad!

I think it will take a bit of time for NDT to catch up here, it seems to be a huge stigma when it comes to dogs JUMPING on you!!! People look at me strangely. I even get a disapproving shake of the head from some. I'm creating a big bad jumping monster. For a matter of fact his jumping on people has almost disappeared, I call that NDT success. It makes me laugh how brainwashed some people can be and for that matter, misinformed. I had someone advice me to use the clicker to call my dog! Funny!

Chris, if you find out who the NDT trainer is in Tauranga I would love to get in touch too. Please let me know.

Thanks again for the tips.

Eleni & Mach