[Lexi S.]

Hi everyone! This is my first post here and I'm looking for all the advice!

I have a Chihuahua/Dachshund mix (I think that's his mix, he was rescued from the side of a road) who is having issues acclimating to a new kitten. Actually, I don't think it's that he's having trouble acclimating so much as battling his (very strong) chasing instincts. He is energetic by nature and it takes a LOT to wear him out. He also doesn't have much training beyond some basic leave-it and stay commands that we've worked with him on. So basically he's not trained (I want to fix this but that's another topic entirely!). :/ The main problem at this moment is that whenever they are in the same room, he laser focuses on her, and it is extremely difficult to break his focus. He just watches her and waits for her to make a sudden movement like jumping or running and then rushes at her. There doesn't seem to be any intent to harm, just fun in the chase. He also did this with my brother's dog whenever he would jump off of the couch or rush out the back door, and does it to my other cat as well. In short, no other pets are allowed to be active in this house! I'm sure it's ultimately the blend of his two breeds, but he really seems to have this strong instinct to rush at sudden movement from other animals.

I thought we needed to go back to the basic leave-it command but found that when in a room alone with him he does pretty well with that. But put him in the same room with the kitten (or insert any distraction) and most times nothing I say or do will break his attention from her. I really need some help with this and don't know what to do since I hate keeping the kitten in a separate room most of the day and would love it if they could coexist together. (I also can't keep him by my side all the time, he'll bark if gated off, there's only so many kongs and treats I can feed him, and the cat jumps baby gates - so there's that.)


Any advice would be very much appreciated, thank you in advance!

 

[Madra Anamchara]

How does the kitten respond to this? Has the dog ever actually bitten the kitten? From what you say it sounds a lot more like play to me than aggression, but I am not there.

If it is playfulness, ant the kitten is standing his ground and not being freaked out, then I would leave it alone for the most part so they can work out their relationship on their own terms. There are some rules for this, though: Never leave them alone together, and make sure you are able to monitor the interaction when they are together. Also, if the dog is really too rambunctious and the kitty is scared, you can put the dog on a leash, and use that as an opportunity to work on that "leave it" cue.

Make sure you are training this with only positive reinforcement and really nice treats. If you ever yell at or punish the dog for chasing the cat you will only cause the dog to associate the cat with negative things and that will not help at all in their potentially being friends.

And, while doing dog training is in a way a separate issue, it really isn't. If your dog were fully trained right now you wouldn't have a problem. So I suggest not waiting to do more training with your dog. Do it now, and if you need any advice on that we are here to help. Teach a "settle" on a mat, work on impulse control, and so on. On YouTube, KIKOPUP has wonderful videos to teach you how to train almost anything with your dog.

 

[Lexi S.]

How does the kitten respond to this? Has the dog ever actually bitten the kitten? From what you say it sounds a lot more like play to me than aggression, but I am not there.
She would just run away. No, he's never bitten her but we've never given him the chance to either. I would say it's play mixed in with some dominance issues. The way he won't stop watching her makes me think it's a little more than play but I could be wrong.


If it is playfulness, and the kitten is standing his ground and not being freaked out, then I would leave it alone for the most part so they can work out their relationship on their own terms. There are some rules for this, though: Never leave them alone together, and make sure you are able to monitor the interaction when they are together. Also, if the dog is really too rambunctious and the kitty is scared, you can put the dog on a leash, and use that as an opportunity to work on that "leave it" cue.
The kitten isn't freaked out and I've been wondering if I should just let him chase her to get it out of his system, but the two reasons I probably won't are that he's been chasing the other pets (when they dash around or make sudden movements) in our house for as long as we've had him so obviously he never gets it out of his system; and the other reason is that I just read somewhere today that the dog should never be allowed to chase or they'll just keep doing it. 🤷‍♀️ We definitely never leave them alone together! We've been keeping him on a leash and trying to work on "leave it" but he's so focused on her and in the moment that he just doesn't get it.

Make sure you are training this with only positive reinforcement and really nice treats. If you ever yell at or punish the dog for chasing the cat you will only cause the dog to associate the cat with negative things and that will not help at all in their potentially being friends.
We're trying to use positive reinforcement but it's hard to get him a treat for something good before he does something bad! We do have some training treats, however, and are trying to mix treats with praise.

And, while doing dog training is in a way a separate issue, it really isn't. If your dog were fully trained right now you wouldn't have a problem. So I suggest not waiting to do more training with your dog. Do it now, and if you need any advice on that we are here to help. Teach a "settle" on a mat, work on impulse control, and so on. On YouTube, KIKOPUP has wonderful videos to teach you how to train almost anything with your dog.
I agree about the training not being a separate issue and what I meant by that comment is that his training needs would require a separate post. Unfortantely, we messed up with his training (he's a difficult breed to train and also there were more people living at home when we rescued him and so it was hard to get everybody on board with it) and so of course that's playing a part in his actions right now. I've tried to work with him some more but as I mentioned, he's a very difficult breed to train, so now I'm looking into professional training services. I will look up that YouTube channel, though - thanks for the recommendation!

Thanks for your response, hopefully, we can get this all sorted out soon!

 

[Lexi S.]

Also, my reply is in the quote above.

 

[Madra Anamchara]

I would differ with you that a chihuahua/dachshund is a "hard to train breed". First, of course, that isn't a breed at all. And second, I have known members of both of those breeds who were beautifully trained. Some people say their breed is hard to train to get them off the hook for not having trained them. I don't know who told you that this mix is hard to train but it isn't true. You have said that you messed up with the training yourself, and the fact is that is why your dog is not trained, not because of the mix he is. Don't take this hard....it's very easy to mess up with training if you don't really know what you are doing, and we all have to learn what we know. And one of the most important things is to get everyone in the household on board with the training. If the training is not 100% consistent it won't work very well, and that is a large part of your problem with this dog's training.

You say this dog chases every other animal in the house, and always has. This is because he has been allowed to do this. Whether or not that changes is up to you, and at this point retraining the dog to behave differently will be much harder that it would have been at the beginning, but it could be done. It's up to you if you want to put the effort into it. And, again, if it is not consistent it won't do any good.

If the kitten turned around and swiped the dog a good one across the nose it might teach the dog some manners. I have seen this happen, but of course it also could go wrong. At this point you are right to be protecting the kitten as you are.

This is not about dominance. It's about a dog who has always been allowed to chase other animals, and so he does, and thinks it is fun. It could turn into something dangerous for the kitten, or not, but dominance has nothing to do with it. A lot of things people tend to ascribe to dominance, but what a dog does is actually very rarely because of that.

Continuing to believe that your dog is "hard to train" will only be self-defeating. I strongly recommend you stop thinking in those terms, and instead start focusing on learning how best to communicate with this dog so that you can train him.

 

[DogRun]

I have a dog that has a very high prey drive and I had to get him used to a cat when he was already over 2 years old. What worked for me:

1. Setting up the environment. Safe high places for the cat: high shelves, safe spots, perches. I also temporarily brought in a crate for the dog for two weeks or so, even though he normally doesn't use it indoors (but is crate trained).

2. Slow, controlled introduction. Initially, we kept them apart, but swapped rooms a lot, so that they got used to each other's scent without seeing each other. Then, same room, but both crated/leashed, far apart, with something else to do (bully stick etc.). Then, same room, but one animal contained - if the cat was moving, the dog was crated or leashed, preferably with a chew or something to do. I interrupted him from focusing on the cat, but I made it as easy as possible, and then gradually made it more challenging. Then more and more freedom, but always redirecting from staring, overfocusing etc.

3. Knowing the prey drive sequence (search (sniffing, orienting, staring) stalk, chase, hold bite, kill bite (shake), dissect, consume...). It helped me to learn how to read my dog's body language in early phases and interrupting the sequence as soon as possible.

Some breeds are genetically inhibited in their prey sequence (will stare but not chase, will chase but not bite and kill...), but some are not, and they can be difficult to stop once they get going. If my dog were to start chasing, it would be extremely difficult to stop him, so my best chance is to interrupt and redirect him at first signs (the sniff or the stare, or at the very least the freeze), well before the chase.

4. Clear rules. I actually have two dogs: one has no problems with cats, so she is allowed more freedom. We can trust her to work out her own relationship with the cat. But the younger, high prey drive one has different rules: he is to ignore the cat, always. No staring, no butt sniffing, no playing, no chasing, no interaction. It's not so much that he wants to hurt the cat - initially, he is curious. But he is intense, and if he approached the cat too fast and the cat ran away, his chase instinct could get triggered, and I think it is very likely he would switch into autopilot prey hunting mode. I'm not keen to find out if and where it would stop.

Also, if the cat were to scratch or fight, he might react aggressively instead of learning his lesson, so it was not an option for me to let the cat teach him his place (although that might work for other dogs).

5. Impulse control around moving objects, animals and other distractions, in small progressive steps.
-1. Leave it with something simple, like low value food or objects.
-2. Leave it with something more inviting.
-3. When leave it with still objects is reliable, I'd start training an automatic leave it with a moving inanimate object like a ball, firstly with some distance, slow and small movements.
-4. When that is going well, I'll play with proximity, speed, make larger movements.
-5. Repeat with different objects, different shapes and sizes - toy car, skateboard, bike... and in different environments.
-6. Leave it with non-moving animals, from an appropriate distance (like a kitty in a safe spot in a crate). Add proximity. Add movement, but increase distance. And so on...
-5. Recall from chasing a ball. Recall from chasing different objects. Recall and leave it during flirt pole games.
-6. Recall with animal distractions (like from appropriate play with another dog, kitty in a crate, dog on a leash, or from people). Obviously, I would not experiment with letting him chase animals and practice unwanted behavior just to practice recalling him. I just want to make the recall as solid as possible so that if something unexpected happens, my recall is as strong and as automatic as possible.

Basically, break it down in little steps. Going from leave-the-kibble or toys versus leave-the-moving-kitty is way too hard, you need to break it down.

But to end on a positive note - despite his very high prey drive, my dog actually grew to be trustworthy with the cat, - a lot can be done if you are willing to work on it. I still would not leave them unsupervised outdoors, just in case, but we have not had any issues.

 

[Madra Anamchara]

DogRun, that is a very comprehensive and excellent bit of writing on helping cats and dogs to live together. Should become required reading for anyone contemplating that combination.

 

[DogRun]

DogRun, that is a very comprehensive and excellent bit of writing on helping cats and dogs to live together. Should become required reading for anyone contemplating that combination.

You know, my biggest takeaway is that next time, I'll just get myself a non-chaser, lol. Luckily, most dogs seem to get the message way faster, phewww!

 

[Lexi S.]

I have a dog that has a very high prey drive and I had to get him used to a cat when he was already over 2 years old. What worked for me:

1. Setting up the environment. Safe high places for the cat: high shelves, safe spots, perches. I also temporarily brought in a crate for the dog for two weeks or so, even though he normally doesn't use it indoors (but is crate trained).

2. Slow, controlled introduction. Initially, we kept them apart, but swapped rooms a lot, so that they got used to each other's scent without seeing each other. Then, same room, but both crated/leashed, far apart, with something else to do (bully stick etc.). Then, same room, but one animal contained - if the cat was moving, the dog was crated or leashed, preferably with a chew or something to do. I interrupted him from focusing on the cat, but I made it as easy as possible, and then gradually made it more challenging. Then more and more freedom, but always redirecting from staring, overfocusing etc.

3. Knowing the prey drive sequence (search (sniffing, orienting, staring) stalk, chase, hold bite, kill bite (shake), dissect, consume...). It helped me to learn how to read my dog's body language in early phases and interrupting the sequence as soon as possible.

Some breeds are genetically inhibited in their prey sequence (will stare but not chase, will chase but not bite and kill...), but some are not, and they can be difficult to stop once they get going. If my dog were to start chasing, it would be extremely difficult to stop him, so my best chance is to interrupt and redirect him at first signs (the sniff or the stare, or at the very least the freeze), well before the chase.

4. Clear rules. I actually have two dogs: one has no problems with cats, so she is allowed more freedom. We can trust her to work out her own relationship with the cat. But the younger, high prey drive one has different rules: he is to ignore the cat, always. No staring, no butt sniffing, no playing, no chasing, no interaction. It's not so much that he wants to hurt the cat - initially, he is curious. But he is intense, and if he approached the cat too fast and the cat ran away, his chase instinct could get triggered, and I think it is very likely he would switch into autopilot prey hunting mode. I'm not keen to find out if and where it would stop.

Also, if the cat were to scratch or fight, he might react aggressively instead of learning his lesson, so it was not an option for me to let the cat teach him his place (although that might work for other dogs).

5. Impulse control around moving objects, animals and other distractions, in small progressive steps.
-1. Leave it with something simple, like low value food or objects.
-2. Leave it with something more inviting.
-3. When leave it with still objects is reliable, I'd start training an automatic leave it with a moving inanimate object like a ball, firstly with some distance, slow and small movements.
-4. When that is going well, I'll play with proximity, speed, make larger movements.
-5. Repeat with different objects, different shapes and sizes - toy car, skateboard, bike... and in different environments.
-6. Leave it with non-moving animals, from an appropriate distance (like a kitty in a safe spot in a crate). Add proximity. Add movement, but increase distance. And so on...
-5. Recall from chasing a ball. Recall from chasing different objects. Recall and leave it during flirt pole games.
-6. Recall with animal distractions (like from appropriate play with another dog, kitty in a crate, dog on a leash, or from people). Obviously, I would not experiment with letting him chase animals and practice unwanted behavior just to practice recalling him. I just want to make the recall as solid as possible so that if something unexpected happens, my recall is as strong and as automatic as possible.

Basically, break it down in little steps. Going from leave-the-kibble or toys versus leave-the-moving-kitty is way too hard, you need to break it down.

But to end on a positive note - despite his very high prey drive, my dog actually grew to be trustworthy with the cat, - a lot can be done if you are willing to work on it. I still would not leave them unsupervised outdoors, just in case, but we have not had any issues.

Hey DogRun, I'm so sorry, I just saw your post! I signed up for notifications after I posted my question but somehow I stopped getting them. Thank you so, so much for your thoughtful and detailed response, I really appreciate it! It sounds like our dogs are somewhat similar. I know he needs a lot of focused work, especially after years of bad habits. I've started looking into professional training because of his personality (and my lack of knowledge and patience to deal with it) and am hoping to go that direction now. However, since we probably won't start the professional training right away, I'm going to go over your tips again and see if we can't work on this some more in the meantime. He's such a funny dog because he can put two and two together when he wants to but never when it comes to training or good behavior!

Thank you so much again for your help!