4 mon GSD barks at the cat ALL THE TIME!

[AllisonDodge]

It has been 2 months since we brought our Maisy home (GSD) and she has barked at our cat Joy since day 1 and nothing we try works to get her to stop.  She chases her through the house and if Joy comes anywhere near me or my husband Maisy FLIPS OUT!  Maisy wears her leash the entire time she is out of the crate so we could keep her from chasing Joy and help divert her attention when she starts but she is CURRENTLY barking at the car as I type.  Maisy is super smart but also really determined!  All of the tips would be great!  I would love to be able to sit on my couch with my 2 furbabies and them not try to kill each other!  TIA! 

[JMFS]

I saw her picture and OMG she's Gorgeous! 

I know GSD are super smart so she's going to need something to tire out that brain.  Have you looked at the brain games section?  One of my favorites is Hide N Seek with treats around the house.  Esther's on the leash as well a good portion of the time, for similar reasons, and so we can scoot her outside before she has an accident (she's at least semi-incontinent).  That can make Hide n Seek a little challenging, but for the most part we haven't had issues as long as there are treats to find.  Joy could be put in another space while this is happening, or you could do it in an enclosed area for Maisy at this age.  As she gets older and learns the game you might find you need to use a larger area with tougher hiding spots.

Jazz up and Settle down is another favorite.  That's where you get her excited then Boom, calm.  I can't do that one right now with Esther or I'll have a mess to clean up, but with Gertie (our 4-yr old) it's a fun game to teach her how to put the brakes on that excitability.

For a GSD the flirt pole comes to mind.  She likely has a fantastic prey drive and that would be an excellent way to work some of that physical energy out while satisfying that drive.

I know Adrienne will have more, but that points you in a good direction to get you started.  :)

Edited September 21, 2021 by JMFS

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hi there, welcome to the forums!

Yup, young GSD pups need lots of brain games, food puzzles, training and exercises to improve impulse control and frustration tolerance. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/impulse-control-frustration-tolerance/

Also socialization is important as with all puppies: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/socializing-your-puppy/

As well as bite inhibition: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/bite-inhibition-games/

Now, in regards to the barking at the cat behavior, most likely it's her way to express her playful behavior, but it can also be seen if she's seeking engagement from the cat (barking to get the cat to move/ interact with her more) and can also stem from barrier frustration if she sees the cat but can't interact with her. 

Here's the thing:  a pup's behavior towards cats starts making sense if we take a look at their previous chapter in life when they were still in the breeder's care. In the breeder's care, puppies spent a good amount of time playing very physical wrestling games with their littermates. This play often included pinning other puppies down and biting their ears, tails and faces. Rough play often caused puppies to hurt each other and squeal in pain considering their very sharp, needle-like teeth.

The sharpness of these teeth though isn't there just by chance. It played an adaptive role for compensating weak jaws and giving puppies the opportunity to learn how to inhibit their bite force before they could do more damage once their jaw muscles strengthen.

Once in your home, with no more puppies to play with, the urge to play is very strong. Puppies need to play just as children do, but who will they play with? If you're not up for being nipped at turning into a human impersonation of a pin cushion, it therefore comes natural for your puppy to seek your cat as a fun playmate. Pups will therefore want to engage the cat in play as they did with their playmates.  Barking at and chasing the cat therefore becomes irresistibile.

Sometimes, puppies may also interact with cats in a slightly competitive manner. Even among their siblings, breeders may notice at times how a puppy may focus on a particular puppy and interfere with the other pup's wish to get out of a tight passageway or door or get attention from a human. This may look like play, but there is likely some level of competition going on. Research after all has proven that it is possible for dogs to feel" jealousy."

According to a study conducted by University of California San Diego psychology professor Christine Harris and student Caroline Prouvost, dogs are capable of showing signs of a primordial form of jealousy, and in the study, they did so by getting in between, pushing or snapping at an animated stuffed dog when the owners manifested affection towards it.

Suspect therefore some level of competitiveness if your puppy seems to be triggered to nip and get in between every time Joy comes towards you for attention or when you she is trying to walk into a room or in your direction.

Cats, on the hand, are a whole different story. While generally most puppies and dogs are the classical impersonations of extrovert personalities, being social beings who often engage in happy, excited behaviors, cats on the other hand, tend to be associated more with introversion, preferring to lead a quiet, rather quaint lifestyle, relaxing by a fireplace rather than partying and mingling with the crowds.

When a new puppy enters a cat's domain, the cat often feels overwhelmed. Gone are the days were she could just walk around the home to eat, drink and find a resting spot undisturbed. Now, she has to sneak and watch out for that crazy puppy monster who barks and tries to chase her around and pin her to the ground for unknown reasons.

Cats are rather quiet beings, they are creatures of habits who thrive on routines. They like to spread their smells around to make themselves feel more comfortable. Changes in their environment stress them out and some cats may even get sick from abrupt changes in their lives. Even very slight changes such as a loud noise or a dirty litterbox can cause cats to feel stressed enough to urinate or defecate out of the litter box, vomit or eat less.

How cats react to a boisterous puppy may vary. Some cats will just run away, others will hiss and try to scratch/bite the puppy to make him stop some others just freeze or become like rag dolls, allowing the dog to do whatever he wants and then trying to sneak away the moment the dog is distracted. 

It's unfortunate, but not all puppies get the memo of what the cat is trying to communicate. If the breeder failed to socialize their pups with cats, they may not understand well the body language.  How the puppy will respond may vary from puppy to puppy and breed and individual personalities can also play a big role in this.

Some puppies have learned from their mothers when to stop certain behaviors, some others though may have missed out this important lesson or they just have this strong, ingrained desire to persist no matter what.

Regardless, if your puppy keeps on pestering your cat, give your cat some credit. She was there before your puppy and most likely she is feeling annoyed, stressed out, left out and overwhelmed by this recent addition. So here are some suggestions using a multi-modal approach, tackling the issue from a variety of angles:

1. Provide Your Cat With "Safe Zones"

 This is for your cat to prevent her from from feeling distressed every time she decides to walk around and is ambushed by Maisy. It's important for your cat's emotional wellbeing and sense of safety that she is provided with a place to retreat that is out of your pup's reach.

I can see from a picture you have posted that your cat is laying on top of headrest area of the couch. I think her choice of resting area isn't coincidental and that she was likely seeking a safe zone. Most likely, in the past, in the "pre-puppy era" she was sleeping comfortably on the couch.  Here are some more options for "safe zones":

• Use a pet baby gate equipped with a small pet door at the bottom that is large enough for your cat to go through but not big enough for your dog to pass through.
• Provide your cat with cat trees to climb on to stay out of reach.
• Consider kitty condos that are high enough for kitty to feel safe
• Add calming aids such as Feliway or Comfort Zone to you cat's safe zones. The calming aids emit synthetic versions of pheromones that cats are known to emit through special glands on their faces when they are feeling calm.

2. Prevent the Rehearsal of Barking/Chasing Behaviors

Your cat shouldn't be destined to a future filled with days of stress just because a new puppy has been welcomed into your home. While it's important to provide kitty with a safe zone to retreat to, this doesn't mean your cat has to spend the rest of her days hiding in these places because of the threat of being barked at and chased!

It's therefore imperative that your new puppy isn't allowed to rehearse chasing behaviors over and over. Left untreated, barking and chasing a cat can quickly become your pup's favorite pastime, and that for sure is not a good hobby for your kitty if she's not fond of these types of interactions.

Preventing the rehearsal of chasing behavior requires strict management and entails keeping your pup away from your cat when you are not supervising and keeping him under control when you are supervising.

Management Options When You Can't Supervise

Crates, pet gates, exercise pens, playpens and fences are management tools that can be used when your puppy cannot be supervised. It's important to ensure your puppy has no way to escape them by chewing, digging or climbing over or under these barriers and that your cat cannot access these. 

Management Options When You Can Supervise

When you are actively supervising, you can control your puppy and prevent her from rehearsing barking and chasing behaviors by wearing a collar and leash, the use of indoor tethering systems, and later on, with just voice control and training.

3. Train Your Puppy to Respond to a Smacking Sound

In this scenario, we are teaching the puppy to "leave it" using a smacking sound.

Teaching your puppy to "leave it" using a smacking sound accomplishes two things: It creates positive associations between your dog and your cat and between your puppy and you, and it gives your puppy an alternate behavior to perform that is rewarding. If you use super duper tasty treats, you will help your pup make good choices. 

To train Maisy to leave it using the smacking sound, put her on a leash and arm yourself with high-value training treats. Make a smacking sound with your mouth and deliver a treat right afterwards. Repeat several times, until you notice your puppy looks up at you for a treat upon hearing this sound. This exercise is explained more in depth here: 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/the-airplane-game/the-smacking-sound/

You are aiming to obtain what's known as a conditioned emotional response: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/conditioned-emotional-response-cer/

Once you have a fluent response, next, have your cat at a distance where your puppy is under threshold. You may need a helper to keep the cat at the right distance that your puppy is more responsive to you an under threshold. More on threshold levels here:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/

Once you have found a distance where your puppy isn't too concerned/aroused about your cat, practice having your puppy respond to the smacking sound. Once you have a solid response, you can practice closer distances with your cat walking by.

At some point, when you think your pup is fluent on this, have your cat nearby and have a friend/family member call your cat by calling her name or shaking a box of cat food. This should cause your cat to run. Be ready to make your smacking sound for this exercise, and be ready to deliver a jackpot of treats for complying. Practice several times.

Once your pup seems reliable, it may be time to start practicing off-leash. Practice initially in an area where your cat can retreat if needed (in front of the pet gate with a cat door or near the cat tree).

At some point, you may notice that your pup is well under voice control and looks forward to your kitty coming close because he has associated kitty with all the tasty treats used in this exercise.

Remember: Distance is very important, considering that most dogs aren't able to cognitively function (they can't think straight) when a cat is within chasing distance, and they may even care less about treats. If at any time your pup isn't responsive, it's likely because she's too close to the cat (and, therefore, not ready for this level of distraction yet) or the treats you are using aren't high-value enough. Go back a few steps, increasing distance temporarily, and try increasing the value of the treats if your pup seems disinterested.

4. Train Your Pup to Go to a Mat

All puppies can be trained to go lie on a mat at specific times when you perhaps may want your cat to be around a bit. While it may a bit of challenge to keep a young pup still on a mat with nothing to do, you can make it all much easier by giving your puppy something tasty to enjoy on the mat such as a stuffed Kong or a safe long-lasting edible.

Before your pup learns to enjoy goodies on a mat, you may find it helpful providing your pup with food puzzles that keep him busy enough to ignore your cat (Kong Wobblers, stuffed Kong, Buster Cubes etc).

Ensure though your cat though doesn't invade your pup's space as this may trigger some pups to resource guard food from cats. Below is a video on how to train a dog to lie on a mat.

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/train-dog-go-to-mat/

Some Extra Tips

-Ensure to protect your kitty as much as possible, from not just potential injury from a rough puppy but also to ensure her emotional wellbeing.

Just this past summer I had to work on a case with a beagle who pestered the household cat, he never really hurt the cat, but the poor cat was terrorized of moving freely around the home. She would have to check when he was around to just use her litter box or go to eat. She moved very slowly and lived most of her life walking on shelves, tables and tall chairs. Any time the beagle saw her, he would chase her and try to mount her. I really felt for the poor cat!

-Train leave it. This is the formal "leave it" cue that can be used to prevent your pup from accessing things like something you have dropped or something on a walk, it can also be expanded to leaving cats and wildlife. It works like the smacking sound, only that rather than making the sound you say "leave it." I find dogs respond best to the smacking sound in the initial stages, but as they grasp the concept, you can also use "leave it." Here is the guide:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/take-leave-it/

-Consider calming aids. Many cats can become stressed when living with dogs. Separation alone can cause most cats to feel better, however some remain stressed just by seeing/hearing dogs on the other side. If your cat is stressed, you may also want to provide some calming aids. On top of pheromone--based products such as Feliway or Comfort Zone, there are also several over-the-counter supplements that can help calm down nervous kitties such as products containing L-theanine.

***Never let the guard down. A disclaimer is warranted here. Dogs and cats may seem to get along at times, but accidents can always happen at a moment's notice. Dogs may get scratched, cats may get bitten. Always supervise your pets and make safety your top priority.

I hope this helps!

Happy training!

Best,

Adrienne 

 

Edited September 21, 2021 by Adrienne Farricelli