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Pupforum presents your training questions answered by professional dog trainers.
Simon has a Bachelor of Science in Zoology and Psychology and specialized in Canine Behaviour. He was recently the first New Zealander approved for membership to the IAABC, and he is also a member of APDT Australia. Simon founded Dog Guru in 2002. Dog Guru has helped hundreds of dogs and their owners with training and specialist problems, and is also a dog trainer for the ministry of Education. Simon lives in Auckland, New Zealand with his wife Michelle and two golden retrievers. Sherlock is often used as a demonstration dog in schools and retirement villages. He was also used as a demo dog in the Auckland pet expo in 2004. Training is always using positive reinforcement.
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[Edit]
8/2/2005
I tried to adopt a young English fox hound to be a play mate for my lab. Things seemed fine with the dogs, but as soon as the fox hound spotted my cat it was total mayhem! He leaped onto the kitchen counter (he weighs 60 lbs) to get the cat. I could not stop him, so I put him in my bedroom for the situation to calm down. Then the howling started. He jumped onto my dresser and everything fell to the floor. I leashed him, but he stayed fixated on the cat. He did not show his teeth or growl. He seems very gentle. I had the rescue people come to take him back. I'm concerned he was bred to flush out foxes for hunters and he thinks he's just doing his job. Since this seems to be instinct not bad behavior I'm afraid this cannot be corrected. Am I right? Thanks, Chris (drawalot, New York)
Well sounds like you have had some fun with this little one.
This behaviour basically shows me that the dog is not trained to listen to your commands. This is to be expected from any new dog that you bring into the household. You cannot expect the dog to listen to you as soon as you bring it into the house especially when there is something fun to chase.
Putting him in the bedroom is the first mistake that I find is very common yet there is no research that backs it up anywhere. Putting the dog in for time out does not work. It may work with children but your dog is not a child. The association of the dog is very little so by the time you have told it no, then put it into the room it has no idea why it is being put in the room other than the fact that it looks very miserable because we are upset at the dog. And you have seen this because he
started howling and jumping over the dresser. This indicates he may be very dependent on people and just wants to be around you.
“Assuming he is just doing his job” is another common mistake that people have. Sure he is bred to flush out foxes but he has not done this all his life for you so there is no reason that he can’t change. So some tips first of all:
- Start training him using positive reinforcement. These are dogs that love to play and love food. When training use something like liver treats as they are high in smell and low in fat and calories. Great for the dog. With these commands also teach him the leave command and start with food, moving up to toys and other dogs.
- Putting the dog on a lead with the cat around was a good move as such. However he needs a reason to listen to you. So use another food reward that is more exciting such as some garlic sausage, again high in smell, even cheese seems to work. Tell him leave and then when he seems to settle give him the treat. If he is too focused and he is on the lead just pull him around and distract him for a second. Remember we do not expect him to be able to ignore the cat first up so do this from far away first and then move closer each time. In the mean time keep them separated.
- Just get closer and closer and keep saying leave each time and reward him. We are talking a few weeks here.
- Bear with it. There is no reason at all why he can’t learn to ignore your cat. Every dog and puppy will chase a cat to start with they just need to know who is the owner and who they should listen to. Keep your cool as well and relax.
Good luck
Simon Goodall is now a member of IAABC (International Association of Animal Behaviour Consultants). This means the information you receive is the most up to date.
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