Content

• To step
• Method 1 of 5: Introduce your dog and cat
• Method 2 of 5: Teach your dog to leave it alone
• Method 3 of 5: Using clicker training on your dog
• Method 4 of 5: Keep your dog from chasing the neighbor's cat
• Method 5 of 5: Learn when to intervene
• Tips
• Warnings

Dogs and cats are often viewed as enemies, but the two species can coexist peacefully and even become friends. It takes time and patience, especially if the animals are a bit older and have never met the other species before. But with a little work, your dog can be trained not to chase cats, which will give you a happy household.

To step

Method 1 of 5: Introduce your dog and cat

1. Choose a suitable place. It is best to get the pets in your home used to each other. Bringing a dog to an animal shelter to meet a cat, or vice versa, can be extremely traumatic, especially for the cat. For this reason, most experts recommend introducing your animals to each other at home.
2. Choose a new pet that will match your old pet. If you bring a cat to a house that has always been a dog's home (or vice versa), it is more likely that the dog will chase the cat, and that the cat will incite and even attack the dog. If you are going to adopt a new pet to live with an existing pet, ask the shelter staff if they have cats that can interact with dogs, or dogs that are used to cats, depending on the situation. This way you know that bringing your new pet home is more a matter of a little adjustment period than an agonizing process.
3. Keep the introduction stress-free. While it can be difficult to make the acquaintance a relatively stress-free event, it is important to the well-being of both animals. Some basic training and reward reinforcement can go a long way in getting to know both your pets.
   • Use treats for both the dog and the cat. Choose treats that you know every animal likes, although cats can be more picky. Try tuna or chicken pieces as tempting treats for your cat.
   • Train your dog, or refresh his training, on important goals such as learning to stand, come on command, and hands off. This training should be done before bringing a cat home or before taking the dog to a cat, as it is crucial to get your dog to distance himself when he starts chasing or harassing your cat.
   • Take your dog for a run or let him run around in a fenced yard before introducing the cat and dog. This will help get some of the energy out of your dog, making it less likely that he will chase the cat when proposing.
4. Introduce the two animals. This must be done under strict supervision. Keep your dog on a short leash, and if he seems to be chasing the cat, distract them by feeding them their treats. It can be helpful to have a second person with you so that you can focus on one animal while the other focuses on the other animal.
   • Let the animals sniff each other. You don't want to keep them on one side of the room; focus more on serving as a middleman, in case one of you becomes aggressive.
5. Reward them both. If both animals are well behaved you can give them oral praise, pet them and give them extra treats.
   • Looking forward to the first few weeks, you can keep praising the animals every time they behave calmly around the other.

Method 2 of 5: Teach your dog to leave it alone

1. Hold a treat in each hand. Only let your dog sniff one hand. He will likely get aroused when he realizes the treat is for him, but it is important that you ignore his attempts to reach for the treat.
2. Say hands off. The most important part of this exercise is to ignore your dog until he stops actively trying to grab the treat. Keep saying hands off until he responds to your command. It may take a while, but eventually he should give up and sit down for you.
3. Praise and reward your dog. Once your dog has stopped chasing the treat he knew you had, you say good dog and give him the candy from your other hand. It's important that you don't give your dog the treat you were using when you said hands off because this will only teach the dog that he will eventually get what you tell him to keep off.
4. Repeat the process. It is important to stay consistent in your training. Repeat the process until your dog immediately moves away from your hand when you tell him to keep off.
5. Get started hands off to use with your cat. Once your dog has it hands off command, you can start using it on your cat. You still need to be on your guard and supervise both animals, as your dog has now learned to stay off a treat, but may be less willing to stay away from anything he sees as prey. Be patient and keep training until your dog has learned to leave the cat alone on command.

Method 3 of 5: Using clicker training on your dog

1. Buy a training clicker. A clicker is a small plastic box with a spring loaded metal lip that can be used as an aid in behavioral training. A trainer holds the clicker in the palm of her hand and quickly presses the button, causing a clicking sound, and the dog becomes conditioned to hearing a clicker every time he does something right.
   • Training clickers can be purchased at many pet stores and online.
2. Introduce your dog to the clicker. The clicker should only be used when your dog is acting the way you want it to, and it should be used immediately in response to his good behavior. You want your dog to associate his good behavior (in this case, not chasing the cat) with the sound of your clicker.
3. Give him a treat right away. The last part of clicker training is giving your dog a treat immediately after the click. Response time is mandatory because your dog must associate his good behavior with the clicking sound and the clicking sound with a treat.
4. Simulate the cat's movements. As you progress in your training, you may want to gradually build in an added challenge that mimics the cat's movements. This will help your dog adapt more easily to the real-life scenarios that can occur as your dog and cat adapt to each other.
   • While he's watching you, suddenly start moving backwards at high speed.
   • Stop suddenly. If your dog stops and sits instead of chasing you, use the clicker and give him a treat.
5. Celebrate your dog's progress. He will not learn a new way of doing things overnight. But over time, your dog will learn to do parts of the task you're trying to teach him (in this case, not chasing cats). It is important to reward even partial progress, or steps, toward the goal, because in order to break through your dog's instinctual behavior, you are actually breaking down the components of that behavior. Every time your dog starts chasing your cat but stops, use the clicker and give him a treat. Ultimately, he should be able to give up the habit of chasing cats altogether.

Method 4 of 5: Keep your dog from chasing the neighbor's cat

1. Keep your dog on a leash. If your dog has a tendency to chase cats near you, it is better to keep your dog on a leash during walks. If you are tempted to let go of your dog on walks, you should only do so in places where you know there are no cats, such as a dog walking area or a quiet area away from other homes. You should also try to only let your dog out in the park at times when you know there are no cats around. Keep in mind that cats are most active at dawn and dusk, when they often come out to hunt during the night.
   • Use the hands off method with your dog during walks. Even if your dog is on a leash, he may still try to run and pull on a leash if he sees a cat. Teaching him to keep off when he sees a cat will help reduce the stress of walking through a cat-friendly environment.
   • If your dog is pulling hard or barking while on a leash, he may have what is known as leash aggression. Simply put, he perceives that you are afraid of how he will react to an animal, and he assumes that this animal is a threat. To train this out of your dog, you need to practice getting your dog's attention no matter what is going on around you. Reward him when he keeps his eyes on you. Start in a low-stress environment, such as your home, and gradually work your way towards keeping your dog's attention on you (and the treat he is beginning to expect) no matter what other animals are there on your walk.
   • Another crucial skill to teach your dog if you plan on letting him run free is to come when called. Try to teach your dog to come while you are running away from him as he will almost inevitably come after you. This will make it easier for him to learn this command at the beginning of the training as he will associate your prizes with following you. Reward him with treats when he comes on command.
2. Lock up your dog in your yard. If you have a yard near your house, and you would like your dog to run around freely in the yard, make sure you either put a fence around your property or use a long leash to make sure your dog has your yard do not leave. This will help keep your dog from chasing outdoor cats that live nearby.
3. Keep cats out of your yard. If your neighbors have an outdoor cat who is inclined to come into your yard, the best way to keep your dog from chasing that cat is to keep it from entering your yard. You can manually scare the cat away as soon as you see it enter your yard, or place water sprinklers with motion detectors along the edges of your yard. These devices report movement and spray the target with water, which can be an excellent deterrent against intruding cats.

Method 5 of 5: Learn when to intervene

1. Understand why dogs chase cats. The main reasons a dog chases a cat is because the dog wants to play with the cat (probably thinking it is another dog), or because the cat's movements fuel the dog's predator / prey instinct. In both cases, you as the owner must intervene if necessary to prevent the animals from harming each other. Even if your dog tries to play with the cat, he may still be playing too aggressively and may try to chase or bite the cat as a way to play with her. If your dog is chasing the cat as a predator, it is even more important that you intervene, because your dog can easily kill your cat, and your cat can seriously injure your dog.
2. Always supervise the animals. The period of training and adjustment will likely take a while. Ultimately, once your cat and dog get used to each other, it may be safe to leave the animals alone together without supervision, but you will at least take a month, if not longer. The most important thing is to make sure the animals don't harm each other if left alone.
3. Use timeouts when your dog is chasing the cat. Anytime your dog breaks training and chases your cat, consider putting him in a timeout. Time-outs should never harm the dog; on the contrary, you just want to get him out of the situation, letting him know that he has behaved badly.
   • Choose a room for the timeout and use that room consistently for timeouts. An isolated place, such as a bathroom, can work fine. But make sure the room is not uncomfortable.For example, an unheated basement in the winter would be a bad location for timeouts. Just like a non-ventilated room, or one without air conditioning in the summer, is a bad place for time-outs.
   • Say the word calmly time-out when your dog starts chasing the cat.
   • After chasing the cat, gently lead your dog out of the room by the collar to the chosen time-out room.
   • Wait a short while - about two minutes should be enough - and then calmly let your dog out of the time-out room. If he repeats his wrong behavior, calmly and promptly return him to the time-out room.
4. Make cats unattractive to your dog. If none of the training methods have worked, you may be able to make cats less attractive to your dog. This should only be done as a last resort, and should in no way involve injuring or harming your dog. Experts recommend getting your dog to associate chasing a cat with a slightly unpleasant experience, such as an annoying noise, or a slightly disgusting spray scent like citrus. Even an aerosol filled with clean, cold water can be enough to take away your dog's appetite. Over time, your dog will associate chasing the cat with, for example, an unpleasant spray of (dog-safe) citrus spray or a quick jet of cold water on the head, and will no longer want to chase the cat.
5. Consider working with a trainer or behaviorist. If nothing else has worked to deprive your dog of the desire to chase the cat, then you may want to consider working with a specialist. Make sure that the specialist you work with is certified, for example at the IACP or via the Animal Protection. While it may take many sessions, a certified specialist with animal behavior education and training will be able to determine what prompts your dog to chase the cat and what can be done to break this habit.
   • You can find certified trainers by searching online for a specialist in your area. Make sure to check a specialist's credentials and look for online reviews from other dog owners who have worked with this specialist.

Tips

• Do not allow your dog access to your cat's food or litter box. This can add stress to your cat and cause your cat to become aggressive towards your dog.
• You don't have to scream or raise your voice to give verbal commands.
• Be consistent in your training. Repetition and rewards work best for teaching your dog new behaviors.

Warnings

• Never hit an animal. Not only is this cruel, but it can also cause behavioral problems in your pet, such as aggression and fear.
• You should not use a chain as a leash as it can seriously injure your dog. Use a soft leash and keep your dog on a short lead when introducing him to a cat.
• Not all dogs can learn not to chase animals. If your dog has a strong hunter / prey drive, he can always try to chase small animals regardless of his intelligence or desire to please you. If you believe your dog has this drive, focus on teaching it hands off command. Make sure he gets plenty of exercise every day, and keep him on a leash when you walk outside.