Prey drive for Cats

[Chris Smith]

Not sure if this should be posted here or in the Defensive dog section so please move it if necessary.

How can I get my dog to ignore or pass up a cat??

When I take Nalu out for walks on leash and we see a cat, he goes "crazy". He lunges at them, leaves his feet, gets down low and digs in his heels, and starts making noises (whining, yapping barks, cries, etc.). He has incredible focus on the animal and I basically have to drag him away even if the cat has darted off somewhere. Unfortunately, we see lots of cats on our walks.

Since I have had him (at age 4 mos.), he has never been face to face with a cat or "met" one. I can't tell if he would want to "play" with the cat or eat him!! Nalu's actions seem very instinctive to me but I have no experience in this. I don't know his breed but he probably is mostly a hunting breed (retriever/spaniel mix). I have also been told he show many signs of a herding breed.

Is there any way that I can de-sensitize him to cats? Or get him to be able to walk by and not go into "prey mode" when he sees one?

[Alberta Hanko]

Wow Chris--I hear ya. My Linus also has an extremely high prey drive. Probably the only thing he doesn't lunge at is cats ;-) when it comes to other animals, he seems to like them. I beleive it was Joyce at the old DoggyDoor, when I mentioned the problems I was having taking Linus for walks who made some suggestions. One is the fact that if you can get Nalu to focus on you, simply by using some either "look" or "watch me" exercises in an area that doesn't have distractions. If I am correct, Renee Premaza has an entire article on here about that, should be in defensive dogs, articles. I use a clicker, but it's not necessary. I would first sit with a treat in my hand (I mean something better than kibble--maybe some small bits of chicken), Linus woulds stare at it forever, and finally look in my eyes, I would say "look" click and treat him. We kept working our way to area that had more distractions, starting in the house, moving to the back yard, then to the front yard, etc. We now use it when we are on walks, has been very effective with squirrels--he immediately looks up t me as soon as he sees a squirrel. We are wroking on rabbits--it seems that each one that sets him off has to be worked on. The other day a possum wandered by--there was no calming him down, he rarely sees them!

Alberta & Linus

[Chris Smith]

Thanks, Alberta. At this point, Nalu has zero interest in any type of treat when he sees any moving animal (cats, squirrels, birds). I have even stuck a smelly treat right in front of his nose with the leash pulled in tight and he does not even notice the treat. He is 100% focused on the cat and his eyes (and attention) do not budge. Again, not sure if he is trying to capture it or play with it.

I'll keep trying but it is frustrating to walk him since my neighborhood has tons of cats.

[Melissa Brunoehler]

Hey Chris~

It will take a ton of practice with the "look" command before Nalu will respond to it while critters are present. As Alberta stated you need to start without distractions & gradually work your way up. Let us know if you need more info on this....

Thanks, Alberta. At this point, Nalu has zero interest in any type of treat when he sees any moving animal (cats, squirrels, birds). I have even stuck a smelly treat right in front of his nose with the leash pulled in tight and he does not even notice the treat. He is 100% focused on the cat and his eyes (and attention) do not budge. Again, not sure if he is trying to capture it or play with it.

I'll keep trying but it is frustrating to walk him since my neighborhood has tons of cats.