Published: July 14, 2008 04:27 pm         

ASK THE TRAINER

With training, cats and dogs can coexist

Miranda Lawrence is a Mineral Wells resident and dog trainer who operates “Canine Whispers.” Her column publishes in the Index bi-monthly. Have a question for her about your dog? Send her an e-mail at whispers@servicecanines.com




Dear Miranda,

I have just gotten a new kitten and my dog, that is 2 years old and that I have had all his life, is a little too interested in the kitten. He chases the cat all over the house and barks at her once he corners her. I don’t want to get rid of either one, but I’m afraid he will hurt her if I let him loose with the kitten. Is it possible for cats and dogs to coexist peacefully?

Amanda

Dear Amanda,

Yes, it is possible for your dog and your new kitten to live together peacefully. They may even become best pals, but at the very least they can grow to ignore each other and respect each other’s boundaries.

When I was in high school and I got my first puppy, Elf, the Pharaoh hound, there was a rude awakening for the whole household! My family had two cats that were not use to dogs getting in their faces. We had a dachshund, but he mostly ignored them as they did him.

Pharaoh hounds are sight-hounds and as such have a very strong instinct to chase small furry animals, such as cats. Those allowed to indulge in this pastime may eventually go from the eye, stalk, chase sequence to eye, stalk, chase and ultimately kill.

Most dogs however do not have that instinct to the same degree of a sight-hound developed to kill and hold prey for their masters. I am telling you this so that you know how serious the matter could become.

All dogs are developed from the wolf that possesses a certain instinctual sequence of behaviors that are a sort of ritual that allows them to survive in the wild. The sequence of a wild wolf goes like this: eye (or seek out the prey visually); stalk the prey; give chase; grab the prey; shake; kill; dissect (or rip the flesh from the prey); and then devour.

Our dogs of modern times possess a combination of these traits, but not all of them. Dissect has been extinguished completely in all breeds and rarely occurs in any dog. If you think about it, there would be no use for man to have a dog eat an animal that they have killed, nor would it be important to the dog due to the fact that we provide all their meals for them.

Different rituals occur in different types of dogs. For instance, herding breeds possess eye, stalk, chase and then there is a cutoff there. In sight-hounds, they eye, stalk, chase, grab, shake, kill but do not eat. They either bring the prey back to the hunter or hold it until the hunter comes to collect it.

Terriers were bred to “go to ground,” hence their name that comes from “terra” or earth. They were bred to chase prey into their burrows and kill them. All terriers, without exception, were originally bred to kill some sort of animal. People rarely realize this when they get their cute little Yorkie or Scottie dog. Selective breeding in recent years has almost bred out many of the smaller breeds’ instincts to kill, but some terriers still maintain this behavior in their repertoire.

Now, onto the solution.

Management is key here. Until your dog has proven that he can handle freedom with the cat loose then he must remain either in a crate, on a leash attached to an immobile object, like your couch, or on a leash attached to you. You want to prevent the rehearsal of this behavior as much as possible because the more often you allow your dog to chase the kitten the more of a habit it will become. Chasing cats is a self-rewarding activity, meaning that as long as the cat runs away, your dog is getting what he wants, which is the excitement of the chase. This excitement releases chemicals in his brain that make him feel good and he may even eventually become addicted to the feeling that those chemicals bring, therefore he becomes addicted to chasing cats.

There is really not much of a point in scolding him either during or after cat chasing. To him, scolding during the chase is just noise that adds to his excitement level. To be truly effective his giving chase to the cat should end all excitement, such as a time out for him to cool off. Really and truly, he should not ever be allowed to even start the chase sequence. Once he gets to this part, you have let him reward himself.

Time outs can be done in his crate if he already has a good association with it. This is what’s called a negative punishment, because you take away what he wants. Above all you do not want to spank or in any way inflict pain on your dog for cat chasing – this includes choke chain and prong collar corrections. This may decrease the behavior at first but eventually it will teach your dog that the cat means pain is coming and his excitement will turn into aggression aimed at your kitten. And your dog may even come to fear you as you are the one giving the correction.

Physical corrections along with verbal corrections are not warranted and can actually add to the problem. While they may suppress these unwanted behaviors for a short period of time they are not effective in the long run, due to the way that these problems, once they resurface, come back with a vengeance.

One of the best ways to eliminate cat chasing is by using clicker training. First you must load the clicker by clicking it and then within the next few seconds giving your dog a tasty treat. Do this 10 to 15 times in one spot of the house then move on to another spot, maybe in a different room and repeat this same process. Do this until your dog is looking for a treat after you have clicked. Now you are ready for the real training to begin.

With your dog in the crate you will want to put your kitten in a harness, on a leash for her own safety and have a friend or family member hold her while you stay next to the crate. With the cat at a safe distance away (far enough that your dog doesn’t get excited) click and treat your dog for calm behavior. Click and give a jackpot (three to seven) of treats for him looking at you, this is a great behavior because he is looking to you for direction, not engaging in the environment on his own.

Once your dog is giving you quite a bit of attention and you feel comfortable in moving forward, try moving the cat a few feet closer and repeat this same process. If at any time your dog gets excited then you have moved to far too fast, move the cat way back and try again.

You always want to end on success, and the biggest mistake you can make is going too quickly from one step to the next. Baby steps are the key to really making progress. After a few repetitions of the second position you need to quit while you are ahead. Try again after a couple of hours. Do this three to five times a day for about five to 10 minutes at a time. Don’t be afraid to cut your training time short if you feel that your dog is becoming stressed.

Believe it or not, this is really hard work for your dog because you are teaching self-restraint to a species that has the instinct to go for whatever they want. Dogs are opportunists and scavengers and as such, don’t naturally ask permission before doing things and so need to be taught to do so.

After you can put the kitten next to the crate try putting the cat, on harness and leash, at the same distance from the dog as in the beginning only now take the dog out of the crate and keep him on a leash next to you and click for calm behavior. Proceed in much the same manner as before moving in baby steps as you go.

Once your dog is 100 percent reliable on leash try the dog off leash, but with the kitten still on harness and leash so that your friend or family member can quickly pick her up for safety reasons. Click and treat for calm behavior as the cat moves closer.

Next try moving around the house with your dog on leash and the cat on leash. Click and treat for calm behavior. Now try moving around the house with the cat off leash and your dog on leash. Click and treat for calm behavior. Finally, your dog and cat will both be off leash and you will click and treat for calm behavior. Now you are well on your way.

This process may take a couple of weeks depending on your dog and how much training you will be able to get done. Remember to always use baby steps and to use high value treats that are chewy and smelly.

After a week of off leash interaction without any incidents you are ready to put the clicker away and trust your dog under your supervision. At first you do not want your dog and kitten left alone when you are not there to watch them. Depending on their behavior when you are supervising you may eventually be able to leave them alone together. That is up to you and what you feel comfortable doing.

Good luck and good training!