i have had my 1 and a half year old neutered male lhasa apso for about 2 months now...i think he is a great dog and "most" of the time he listens to me, but he can be stubborn. My problem is i have a male and female cat i have owned for over a year since they were kittens. This dog constantly harasses them no matter what i do. The cats have already become more daring and have been hanging around him, but as soon as he notices them he stares them down and keeps getting closer and closer to them until the cat gets spooked and either swats at him or tries to run. At this point the dog lunges at the cat and tries to nip at them. I scold him and/or lightly tap him when he does this and he only seems to temporarily get the point. He will usually be right back at it again. He is growling and being clearly aggressive to the the cats when he does this. How can i get him to stop this behavior and is it possibly a breed trait? I really love my new dog, but i love my cats too.
Answers:
When he acts like that toss him in his crate.
I would just make sure the cats have an escape route. They sound like if he pushes them hard enough they'll take care of themselves.
http://www.sfspca.org/behavior/dog_libra...
I would put this dog on lead in the house with you. Have the dog walk around with you on lead, and when the dog starts this behavior, you are right there able to correct him. Tell him, "NO" then make him sit. Praise him when he sits. This is not an overnight fix. It is going to take time.
it can take up to 6 mos for the dogs hormones to calm. so give him a chance. i've never had a problem between my dogs and cats. they do like to chase each other, but this is a form of playing. you could try sitting on the floor with them and have the cats on one side and dog on the other. pet them both at the same time. try feeding the dog after the cats, this will show him where his place is in the family. i do this with my dog. he get fed after the rabbit and guinea pig. i think once he learns his place in the home , he will be fine. try obedience classes also. while he is having this bad behavior toward the cats, only command him once. he should listen the first time. when he is behaving well, give him a treat and love, he will listen much better. good luck.
Dogs are very socially aware. The dog has to believe the cats have a higher social status than he does. To show the dog the cats have a higher social status the cats should be fed first. When anyone comes home or enters a room the cats should be greeted first. At play time you play with the cats first. When the dog shows any aggression towards the cats give him a firm reprimand (no hitting please) You have two months of bad behavior to overcome but with patience and diligence it can be done. It won't happen over night but if the people in the house are consistant it will work.
BTW Never use a dogs crate for punishment! Many dogs are crated when left alone and if the crate is used for punishment it will make the dog think it is being punished all the time. Not good!
My Lhasa Apso and cat finally worked it out on their own...and became the best of friends. When I first got Hektor (the Lhasa) I would constantly have to separate the dog and cat, as my dog would corner the cat and pounce on him. Ares (the cat) would always attempt to run away until one day he finally had enough and bit the dog. For the first time, it was the dog who retreated. Six months later, I come home to find the two curled up together, asleep, in the sun in front of the window. They now wrestle and share toys.
It was funny how much time I spent mediating the situation, when it was just a matter of them working it out themselves. While I wouldn't recommend doing so if you think your Lhasa may seriously hurt one of your cats, your cats may be able to handle the situation by themselves due to their similarity in size. In our situation, it finally just took Ares asserting himself before Hektor realized the cat wasn't a complete pushover.
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