Foster Walking Issues - Very High Prey Drive

[Guest PiagetsMom]

For the last week, I've had an almost 5 yr old bounce as a foster. She came off the track a couple of months ago and went into GPA. She tested cat safe, and was adopted with another male to a home with a cat - at some point she decided she was not cat safe and they felt that she was not workable. She was returned, and I was asked to do an emergency foster since I have Mirage, and she did well with another male.

 

She walks well on a leash......until she sees a cat, and to a lesser extent, squirrels, and then she turns into a "Cujo" on a leash - barking, lunging, etc. We also had an episode with other dogs, but that doesn't happen every time. I was advised to try working on a "Watch Me" here in the house, and then as she catches on, take it outside on walks, which I've done.

 

She absolutely gets the "watch me", and in any other circumstance does it well - most of the time we can move past the squirrels. But, it's a lost cause at the sight of a cat - just the sight of a cat puts her over the threshold. I'm constantly on alert, but most of the time she sees them before I do. And, seriously, I've never realized how many friggin cats we have wandering the neighborhood.......and evidently are not in any hurry to move it along even though there's a very agitated dog that really wants a piece of them.

 

I've tried correcting her and moving her along with a "Let's go", but I don't know that that's the solution to the problem. She's going to be here for the Christmas foster period, and I'd really appreciate any suggestion as to how to work with her on this issue so that walks could be enjoyable for her, and for me.

 

And, because she's also a very sweet girl, here's our visitor:

 

Edited December 7, 2011 by PiagetsMom

[Remolacha]

I don't know any way to desensitize her to cats if she is that fixated on them, sorry! I would suggest trying a harness instead of a collar if you are worried about control, and to keep her from hurting her neck when she goes "cujo" (I speak from experience )

 

I hope somebody else has something more helpful

[TheFullHouse]

She's beautiful. Honestly, I have no ideas for you. I don't know if you can correct an animal with such a high prey drive. Hopefully one of the trainers on the board will have some suggestions for you.

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

1)try using higher value treats on your walk to get her attention away from the cat.

2)try using a shorter lead when you walk her, maybe try a "training lead" which is only 12" long so she cant get a head of steam and yank and pull

3)if she does get out of hand, simply turn and walk the other way each time she gets worked up

 

its a pain, but can be done.

[muddgirl]

Batman wasn't quite this bad (but he was close) and after 6 months it is almost like he's a different dog when it comes to cats outdoors (squirrels we are still working on). Of course I would never leave him off-leash with a cat, but he now knows that, when he's on-leash, his job is to walk and not to chase those fluffy things.

 

I sort of cobbled my method together based on Batman's behavior (getting his attention and quickly treating; circling; high-value treating him while he was walking with me on a loose leash but not if he was crazy) but in essence it turns out to be very similar to some common advice for desensitization. One thing that I would add is that if your dog is already reacting to the cat aggressively, you need to get the dog away from the cat ASAP as prolonged exposure is just reinforcing the behavior - at first I was afraid of hurting my dog but I know now that pulling him away was necessary in the moment to protect, me, my dog, and the cat.

 

Although the reason that dogs are reactive to other dogs is different than the reason why greyhounds are reactive towards cats, postive-reinforcement training is about behaviors, not motivations. If cats in the wild are too uncontrollable for desentization, try the rescue cats at your local pet store - we modified Debi Davis's advice to work on the cat corral at our local Pet Smart and it helped a lot.

 

Edited to add: On review I am also seconding a shorter lead during free walks during the training period. I did this for Batman's safety - so he wouldn't jerk to the end of the leash and then come to a hard, painful stop.

Edited December 7, 2011 by muddgirl

[Guest BrianRke]

I have never been able to curb Diamond's cat aggression. When she sees a cat, I become invisible and she will focus on NOTHING but the cat. I've tried EVERYTHING and nothing works.

 

I walk her with a 4ft leash.

[MaryJane]

I've had quite a few fosters that were like this.

 

I would suggest using both a halter and a collar - clip the lead onto the halter and then do a knot at the ring on the collar. This still allows control through the collar but doesn't let the collar slip off. I usually use a 4-foot lead and with this double-clipping it comes down to about 2 feet or so. Make sure when you walk the dog she is right by your side -- no smelling the roses. You don't want to wait for something to happen, you want to be correcting all along the walk to keep her right by your side. Keep the lead with only a little bit of slack -- maybe 4 inches or so.

 

If you do spot something you can try two different things -- walk faster on your walks and if you spot something walk even faster. Momentum will be on your side since you are moving ahead at a good clip it will be difficult for her to pull you off to the side and you will be past the distraction quickly - this is what has worked well for me for most of my fosters that had this trouble. On at least one occasion I used the reverse strategy and I walked very slow and kept the dog right by my side but this was a case when the dog just wanted to be far ahead of me all the time and it forced him to slow down and to pay attention to me.

 

Also, I would suggest that on your walks that you find a quiet spot and do "figure-8s". The turning and changing directions has really worked well getting fosters to focus on what I am doing.

 

You may also find that if your dog sees a cat/squirrel in one location on your walk then when you get close to that location again they will start to get more alert expecting to see something again - you can use this to your advantage and break their concentration as they just start getting alert. You can also do the reverse and do different walks all the time. IMO, I found that taking the same walk and breaking their focus early worked well especially if we didn't see a cat/squirrel at that same place.

[Guest PiagetsMom]

I have never been able to curb Diamond's cat aggression. When she sees a cat, I become invisible and she will focus on NOTHING but the cat. I've tried EVERYTHING and nothing works.

 

I walk her with a 4ft leash.

 

I have to admit this is not exactly what I was hoping to hear. I don't know what the situation was in her previous home, but the issue has obviously been aggravated by the exposure/experience she had to the cat she was living with. I also walk with 4 ft leashes, but give her very little slack.

 

You may also find that if your dog sees a cat/squirrel in one location on your walk then when you get close to that location again they will start to get more alert expecting to see something again - you can use this to your advantage and break their concentration as they just start getting alert. You can also do the reverse and do different walks all the time. IMO, I found that taking the same walk and breaking their focus early worked well especially if we didn't see a cat/squirrel at that same place.

 

I've noticed that. We have a pretty set route that we walk, and she definitely remembers the last location that she saw a cat. I'll be sure and use that as a tool. I'll also work on the figure eights.

 

edited to add: muddgirl, thanks for the link.....I'll check it out!

Edited December 8, 2011 by PiagetsMom