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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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4/27/2006
I just brought a cat home and my St Bernard will not stop barking at it or leave it alone. She has been around cats before but that was a year ago at a foster home. The cat is not helping the problem either; he just stays out of reach and growls at the dog. I know my Saint just wants to say hello and check out this new friend but she gets so worked up because she can't get close she obsessively barks, which scares the cat more. I am not sure if this cat has been around dogs before. This is causing many problems because they are so focused on each other they won't eat or move from each other. Even if they are separated my Saint will sit at the door of the room the cat is in all night and bark, whine, and scratch she will not sleep. I have tried distracting her but it lasts seconds. She listens and lies down when I tell her to but won't calm down. Help please!!! My eardrums can't take this anymore. (Mrs.Lcpl, Minnesota)
The first thing is not to think that you have a unique problem. It is very common. It is hard to make a detailed diagnosis as I am not sure how old the cat is or the dog and I cannot see for myself. However for this I am going to assume the dog is mature so over 18 months and that the problem is the cat being nervous and the dog being over friendly.
There are a few things that you can do here but I am going
to recommend the most the common and working with the dog being at pupforum and all.
Have your saint on a lead inside when the cat is there. Have some good treats handy. There are the ones that you may have tried such as the supermarket ones but I am talking about the best thing that you can think of that the saint may enjoy. This may include cheese, garlic sausage, some bacon etc. It is important to have an item like this as it is the top reward possible. Now bring in the saint on its lead into an area into the house. With your treats handy when the cat is around tell the saint to sit, and when it is done give it a treat. Do some more basic commands like down that the dog knows. We don't want to teach it anything new at this stage otherwise it may not listen. Ensure that the saint knows the cat is there the whole time.
Now that is for day one. For day two do it again but every time the saint goes to look at the cat say settle and give the saint a treat. Make sure the saint looks at you when you do this and ensure that the dog is not barking or whining when you give the saint a treat. This is for day two and three.
Keep up with this and see how you go. The main thing is that every time the cat is around the saint gets a reward of a high value. This way the saint becomes more relaxed and will over time ignore the cat and look to you.
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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