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"Cats
and Dogs"
One
good way to teach GSDs not to chase cats, if the dog is young and is a chaser, not a cat
killer, is by using a long line attached to his training collar. Dogs who have learned to
kill are nearly impossible to break to the point of becoming trustworthy again. However, a
young dog can be taught not to chase cats. Basic obedience is a must with every GSD.
Attach the long line to the dog's training collar and let the dog run around at the other
end and forget that you are still there. When he makes a lunge for a cat, he will reach
the end of the line, and that is when you give a good jerk correction and say "NO
KITTY!" The look of surprise on the face of a dog who did not think you could control
him at a distance is amazing! The long line also works well for surprising the dog with a
come command, (providing he knows what it means, of course) and he thinks you are too far
from him to make him, and he has forgotten that the line attaches him to you. With a dog
that is not trustworthy, I will let the dog drag a long line while he is outdoors under my
supervision. That way, the dog still has room to run around and yet if he tries something
he shouldn't, I can gain control of the situation. Long lines come in a variety of sizes,
from the 26' Flexi all the way to 100' nylon lines. The 100' lines are great for long
distance recalls, which makes the dog's recall that much more reliable when he finds out
you can make him come from so far away.
Other methods I have used that worked have been to crate the dog in the cattery. This
works best with a young dog that is not a real high prey drive dog. After watching the
cats a while, the dog will get tired of them. (A high prey drive dog won't settle down
with this method.)
Cats that don't run from a puppy don't incite the chase behavior, and if you have a young
puppy and a cat that will swat him good a few times (while you supervise and then step in
and tell the dog "NO KITTY" to reinforce the cat's correction) a young puppy can
be easy to teach to respect the cats.
There are some bloodlines where animal killing is instinctive and strongly hereditary.
Until you know your dog is trustworthy (meaning no intense alerting behavior, where the
dog puts his ears up and becomes "on edge" excited when he sees his target) do
not let him have contact with
your cats or livestock unless you have a lead or line on him so you can quickly gain
control of the dog.
Working obedience will make your job easier, especially teaching a solid down-stay (which
a dog can learn to hold even with cats walking past him). Obedience teaches the dog that
you are his master and that he is to obey. The alpha in a wolf pack expects nothing less!
By DrGSD
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