Dog Training Q&A

Robin posted this question:

“Help! About 3 months ago I rescued a 2 year old Brittany Spaniel. We had her spayed and treated for her heartworms. Britt is great except for the fact that she will not leave my cats alone. My poor cats can no longer go in the back yard. It seems to be her mission in life to chase cats. How do I get her to live in peace with our three cats.”

This is what I suggested….

People often have the misconception that adopting an older dog will not be as difficult as taking on a puppy, but there is often “baggage” attached with a rescue dog and you should always expect a little corrective training after you have brought her home.  Please don’t get me wrong, I am an advocate of rescue dogs and in my personal circumstances would choose to rehome an older dog than a puppy (and have!).  When I use the term “baggage”, what I really mean is that there is a whole history there that you (and indeed the shelter) may not be aware of.

What I think is needed here is a little socialization, as your dog has perhaps never seen cats before coming into your life, so does not know how she is expected to behave around them. Here are a few tips that you should try:-

1. If you have a dog crate, try letting the cats in while she is crated.  If she gets giddy, ignore her and leave the room (ideally taking the cats out with you).  When she is well mannered around them, treat and praise her.
2. If you don’t have a crate, don’t worry, try letting the cats in a room then bringing the dog in afterwards on a leash.  When she gets over excited or starts annoying them, calmly and quietly take her out immediately and when she is calm and well behaved, praise her and offer a small treat.
3. Try “lowering her rank” by making sure the cats are fed immediately before her

After a short while of using these tactics, she will realize there is nothing in it for her to continue harassing the cats and you should notice an improvement.  It should go without saying that you should also make sure she is getting plenty of exercise and mental stimulation (she could be getting bored, so make sure you play plenty of games during walks). Spaniels are working dogs, so if you do not give them something to occupy their minds, they will find something to do of their own accord that you might not approve of.  Why not also try some basic obedience training to tire her out mentally?  I can highly recommend Sit Stay Fetch from Kingdom of Pets as a comprehensive guide to obedience training

Tags: Bad Behavior, brittany spaniel, chasing cats, socialization

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 17th, 2008 at 4:18 pm and is filed under Bad Behavior, Dog Obedience Training. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.