How to Train Your Dog to Not Kill Cats
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Introduction
A large German Shepherd, Duchess, has decided that the neighborhood cats should not be in her yard. That may be the case and she may have a valid point, however, those cats are your neighbor's beloved pets. One day, Duchess manages to catch and kill the tabby cat that lives next door, who happens to belong to a 6-year-old girl, who is now devastated by the loss of her pet. You feel awful, and now your neighbors hate you and your cat-killing dog. If you want to get along with your neighbors, and your dog is aggressive towards cats, you are going to have to teach her not to kill cats before something like this occurs!
If you have a cat or live in an area where your dog is regularly exposed to cats, having a dog that is aggressive towards cats is an accident waiting to happen, and steps to correct this behavioral tendency are required immediately to prevent tragedy. While cats and dogs have often traditionally been thought of as enemies, this does not have to be the case. Many thousands of dogs and cats share homes together quite happily, play together, and develop close friendships.
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Defining Tasks
Because cats are smaller than most dogs, there is a tendency for dogs to see cats as prey. Teaching your dog not to attack cats will mean making sure that your dog sees cats as members of the household, or companions, not prey. Because the consequences of unsuccessful training are so severe, you will need to take special precautions during training to ensure that a cat is not injured during the process. During the training period, you will need to make sure that your dog never has uncontrolled access to a cat. If you have a cat in your household, this may mean providing separate quarters for the dog and the cat during training. Some dogs with a high prey drive may need continued supervision over a very extended period of time when in the presence of a cat, to ensure that they do not harm the cat even after initial training success.
A dog that is socialized from a young age with cats is far less likely to develop cat killing behavior. An older dog that has been aggressive to cats and has developed aggressive tendencies towards cats will be more difficult to train. There are some steps prior to training that you can take which will reduce aggression towards cats and other animals; spay or neuter your dog, ensure your dog gets plenty of exercise and attention, and provide him his own toys to keep himself occupied, so he is not as likely to become bored or frustrated and turn aggression to other small animals. Teaching your dog not to view cats as prey is key to training him not to kill cats and is vitally important to the safety of our feline friends.
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Getting Started
Before training your dog to stop chasing cats, you will need to make sure that there is a safe, controlled environment for your dog and any cats involved in the training exercises. Make sure the dog cannot hurt your feline helper by using a short leash and working in an enclosed area with a safe retreat for the cat. A crate to keep your feline assistant safe and give the cat a feeling of protection during training may be useful. Don't put the cat under duress at any time.
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The Desensitizing Method
Most Recommended
5 Votes
Most Recommended
5 Votes
Contain cat
Put your “volunteer cat” in a hard-sided carrier for protection. You can give the cat a toy or catnip to keep her happy during the training time. It is important though, to practice with a docile cat who will not be stressed through the process.
Introduce dog
Introduce the dog or puppy into the room. Give the dog lots of treats and attention to keep him focused on you. Play with the dog and practice obedience commands in the presence of the cat in the carrier.
Claim cat space
If the dog lunges towards the cat or pays attention to the cat, firmly say “no” and insert your body between the cat and the dog to regain his attention.
Reinforce ignoring the cat
As soon as the dog pays attention to you and not the cat, resume giving attention, play, and treats. Wait until your dog learns to ignore the presence of the cat in the carrier.
Use leash
Start allowing the cat in the room, out of the carrier. Put your dog on a leash and repeat previous steps until your dog learns that ignoring the cat means rewards, while paying attention to the cat means no reward.
The Alternative Behavior Method
Effective
1 Vote
Effective
1 Vote
Control dog
Find a safe place, such as inside a house or in an enclosed yard. Attach a leash to your belt with your dog fastened, and have treats available in your hand. Your dog should already have mastered the 'sit' command.
Introduce cat and ask for alternative
Have your cat, or a friend's cat, present. When the cat appears, ask your dog to sit and look at you. If your dog sits and give you his attention, give him a treat. If he does not pay attention to your command but lunges toward the cat, pull the dog away from the cat and repeat the 'sit' command. Repeat this until you are far enough away from the cat that your dog obeys your sit command and ignores the cat, then give a reward.
Increase proximity
Repeat this process, until your dog can be close to the cat and obey the 'sit' and 'look at me' commands appropriately. When the dog starts sitting and looking at you automatically in response to seeing the cat, you can put your dog on a longer leash, 8-10 feet in length.
Move away from dog
Attach the long leash to a fixed point and move away from your dog. When the cat comes into view, your dog should sit and look at you. Give your dog a treat. If he lunges at or pull towards the cat, go back to previous step.
Establish off leash
Take your dog off leash and allow your dog to be present with the cat. If your dog sits and looks for his treat, reward him. If he runs to the cat, go back to step 4. Make sure the cat has an escape route so the cat is not in danger. During the training period, make sure your dog never has access to chase the cat. This may mean separating them physically to different parts of the house if they live together.
The Exercise and Obedience Method
Least Recommended
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Least Recommended
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Obedience refresher
There is no such things as taking too many obedience classes. If it has been a while since your dog went to school, enroll him again. It's a great way to practice socialization skills and fine-tune obedience commands like down, stay, and leave it, essential to your cat's safety.
Extracurricular activity
Along with the obedience class, take your dog to activities like agility and flyball. These are not only a lot of fun but will mentally and physically tire your dog out, leaving them too tired to chase cats.
Run
Get both you and your curious dog in shape by taking up a sport like running or intense hiking. You may find a group that includes dogs for large pack hikes.
Puzzle toys
Give your dog an interactive toy to play with when the cat is close by. If your dog is engaged in the toy and not minding the cat, consider a meet and greet in the near future.
Reintroduction
Now that you have a dog that is exhausted and content from so much exercise, try a gentle reintroduction by having the cat in close proximity, behind a gate or in a crate.
Written by Laurie Haggart
Veterinary reviewed by:
Published: 11/13/2017, edited: 01/08/2021
Training Questions and Answers
Toby
Rat Terrier
Four Years
Question
0 found this helpful
0 found this helpful
Toby is a standard, intact male, rat terrier. Toby is not aggressive dog, just an avid hunter. We had cats for along time and he was fine with them. About a year ago, we got some new kittens, and Toby killed one of them. After that we got more kittens and I worked with him for a long time to leave them alone. Just recently after he was doing so good with leaving them alone, he killed another kitten. We just started construction and there are some big changes that he is stressed out about, and feeling more territorial. How can we keep him from killing kittens?
Aug. 19, 2023
Toby's Owner
Caitlin Crittenden - Dog Trainer
1128 Dog owners recommended
Hello, First, know that cat killing is generally the worst toward kittens. Kittens look like prey, sound like prey, and don't fight back or set boundaries for themselves the way a dog savvy cat might. Check out the videos and resources below, but also know that under these circumstances I can't recommend that you keep kittens in the home. This behavior can often be addressed when its neighboring cats by teaching avoidance, but with small kittens, a history of multiple kills, and being in close proximity in the home, you are looking at managing the behavior long term but not being able to trust the animals left alone even with training, since this is an instinctual predatory behavior. Mild cat issue - teaching impulse control: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWF2Ohik8iM Moderate cat issue - teaching impulse control using corrections and rewards: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dPIC3Jtn0E Severe cat issue: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MLJV5PBh7Y More e-collar work with cats with the same dog: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8lkbX0dhT0 Work on impulse control in general with pup, by teaching things that increase impulse control and calmness - such as a long, Place command around lots of distractions. Practicing the command until you get to the point where pup will stay on Place while you are working with the cat in the same room. I would also recommend back tying pup while they are on place - connecting a long leash attached to pup to something near the Place just in case pup were to try to get off Place before you could intervene. This keeps kitty safe while practicing and reinforces to pup that they can't get off the Place. The leash should be long enough that pup doesn't feel the leash while they are obediently staying on the Place because it has some slack in the leash. Place: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omg5DVPWIWo Below are some other commands in general you can practice to help pup develop better impulse skill/self-control - impulse control takes practice for a dog to gain the ability to control herself. Heel article - The turns method: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-poodle-to-heel Heel Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTiKVc4ZZWo Down-Stay: https://www.thelabradorsite.com/train-your-labrador-to-lie-down-and-stay/ Leave It: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-shih-tzu-puppy-to-not-bite Out - which means leave the room: https://www.petful.com/behaviors/how-to-teach-a-dog-the-out-command/ Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden
Aug. 25, 2023
Lego
Japanese Spitz
Ten Years
Question
0 found this helpful
0 found this helpful
My 10 year old Japanese spitz Lego is very, very aggressive towards cats. The first time he was introduced to a cat he immediately went into attack mode and tried to catch it, it ran under the bed which was the only thing keeping the dog from getting to it, he was trying his hardest to really get under the bed himself and attack, he wouldn’t listen to my commands and completely ignored me. I’m wondering if this is something I could fix as I’d like to have lego back in the home with the cat. without any further attacks or aggression.
July 23, 2023
Lego's Owner
Caitlin Crittenden - Dog Trainer
1128 Dog owners recommended
Hello, There are some trainers who have had success with modifying aggressive behavior around cats well enough to have the animals live in the same home. What's important to know about that though, it that you cannot completely get rid of aggression that is based on instinctual prey drive, which it sounds like this case is, you can only work to manage it to make things safer. What this means is that having those animals together would always mean needing to carefully and strictly manage and the continual risk of something happening if you were to not manage it fully enough and an accident happened. With that said, check out trainers like Jeff Gellman and James Penrith on youtube to see some examples, specifically search their cat aggression videos in this case. Knowing the risks, the work and complexity of addressing this issue, and the need to long term manage if you do pursue having the animals together, you can decide for yourself if your willing to attempt to train this. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden
Aug. 3, 2023