We just adopted a rescue dog, and he is behaving aggressively toward our cat. Is there anyway we can help him to overcome the urge to “get the kitty”?
Yes, there is. The following instructions were given to me by Lynne of Chow Rescue, and they work well. Put the dog on a long line (16 ft. leash). Every time the dog goes for the cat pull him/her back and say “LEAVE IT!” Give him a treat when he gets back to you. If you can’t watch your dog, crate him. Keep him on the long line for a week or so. When he sees the cat and you can say “leave it”, and he comes to you, then you can try letting him loose. If he goes for the cat, you say, “leave it”, and he doesn’t – then he goes back on the long line for a few days. It takes about 30 days of training to make a dog cat-safe. We did this with our chow-cross and it worked out fine.
