cat killing dog

[bwebb7]

You need to train him.
Pure and simple. A leash is the best place to start. There won't be any question as to what you expect. Reward good behavoir. On lead ask him to pay attention to you and reward. If a cat comes within eye contact reward him for paying attention to you. When he looks away get his attention and reward. You will have to put in the time. When he is not on lead with you training, he needs to be kept away from the barnyard.
Good Luck-it can be done.

 

[Sillystunt]

Quote:
ummm deadly toads......i am scared now! What do they look like? i have tons in my yard!

OP sorry for thr slight hyjacking~

 

[Wolf-Kim]

The shock collar is your best option here, with the exception of a fence.

I LOVE shock collars, and I know that sounds horrible to people. But I see it as the ultimate training tool if used correctly. Why is it such a great tool? Because it teaches the dog without your presence, and THAT is the key.

Our dogs used to run off when we would go in the house. So, we strapped the shock collar to them, walked inside the house and watched through the window. It took mere seconds, they heard that door clothes and they bolted. The moment they went through the gate we nailed all three of them. They learned very quickly and they associated the shock with their actions and not out presence.

You do not have to be there 24/7 to use the shock collar. You use it in sessions just as you would with other training.

Here's what I would do in your situation.

First Step: Place one of the cats in a cage and let the dog out with the collar one. Before placing the collar on the dog, make sure it is working correctly. While you're standing there, when the dog takes any interest in the cat at all(a stare, an ear prick, sniffing) say "No!" and shock the dog immediately on a medium setting. Do this a couple minutes each day. After you notice that the dog avoids any interest in the cat at all, move to step two.

Second Step: Place the cat in the cage, turn the dog out in the yard properly fitted with the collar. This time you are inside watching from a window. (( With a helper, make sure the collar will reach by having a helper have the collar near the cage and you hit the beeper response from inside the house)). Stay quiet, as if you are not home. Don't speak to either animals. You'll be surprised how different your dog will act without you around. When the dog takes an interest in the cat(or any animals you're worried about) shock it on a high setting. DO NOT SAY ANYTHING OR DO ANYTHING OTHER THAN SHOCK THE DOG. It is imperative that the dog associate the severe but temporary shock with the action it is doing. After the dog shows no interest in your absense, move to step 3.

Step 3: Let both animals be loose, the dog with the shock collar. Watch from the house, if the dog exhibits any predatory responses to the cat, shock it.

This doesn't require 24/7 training. Because it alters the animals behavior, by associating a pain with it's actions. If you were to strike the animal to punish bad behavior, the dog associates it with "getting caught" at being bad and not the bad behavior itself. Repeat the training at step 3 every few months. If the dog shows no interest, it won't get shocked.

Leave the shock collar on the dog, or make a "fake" collar to leave on the dog. Why? Because some dogs learn that they can't be naughty if they are wearing the collar, so they wait until they have their "normal" collar on and continue their behavior.

Good luck. A chainlink dog kennel would be an excellent investment if you are not willing to use a shock collar. If you don't want a dog kennel, I think the only options are to rehome the cats, for their own safety.

 

[lorieMN]

I bought my male aussie when he was 2 years old..and went through several cats before I got him trained to leave them alone..these where wild mean cast off cats the HS GAVE me because they where unadoptable..and before anyone freaks out,I told the HS my dog may kill them,they live in the barn and may run off,,they where aware of all this and needed someplace for these unadoptable cats..this dog had no OB training when I got him..no training at all..but I started OB, agility and herding with him and it helped some but he would still get after them if I wasnt around..one day I had enough and "put the fear of God and me" into that dog..he will now leave my cats alone,even in the house will let them sleep with him..now if a stray comes up all bets are off,and I never leave him in the house alone with the cats,which is easy because he comes EVERYWHERE with me..I trust him but no sense tempting him either.

 

[Haviris]

I agree w/ the shock collar, you can teach her not to bother the cats whether you are there or not.

 

[buck-wild-chick]

A shock collars worked for my friends Doberman.

 

[thereseiam]

Hi all,

Thanks so much for the condolances on my Remus kitty--he will be sadly missed. It was very downheartening doing chores last night as it's the first night in a long time that he wasn't there to ride on my shoulder back from feeding the horses and goats. I don't wish any of my barn kitties any ill will, but I sure wish it hadn't been this one who got killed.

I do think that a muzzle and shock collar will be the way to go, thanks, Jen. Gracie *is* trained, and the cats are completely safe from her when I am around. She listens to me very well, and I can stop her in an instant if she starts to go after something--but when I'm not around there's nothing to halt that prey drive before it really engages. With the shock collar alone, I might not be able to notice that she is after one in time before she does too much damage--after all, 125 pounds of dog vs. 10 pounds of barn cat does not take much time before the cat is gone.

We have used the shock collar on her once before, with excellent results. We have three pot belly pigs who free range during the day and come in onto our sun porch to sleep at night. The difference with them is that they are much tougher, and screech like banshees when something bothered them, so there was never any question when to zap. It only took three times, and now, even four years later, if those pigs head toward Gracie, she turns around and walks the other direction.

Kim, I agree with you, also, that I need to 'set the stage' so to speak, in order to catch Gracie in the act of hassling the cats, so I can zap at the exact right time. I'm going to have to be a little sneaky with doing this, as Gracie truly won't go after the cats if I'm there. Luckily she is my dog, and isn't nearly as obedient for my DH, so I think that with him putting a cage of cats near her, or even putting one down near her and letting it run away, we can get the result we need without any further trajedies.

Thanks again, all, for your good thoughts about Remus and your helpful advice.

Therese

 

[thereseiam]

Here's a picture of Gracie with Otto, the other half of our farm security team. Below that is a picture of Gracie with Paul McCatney, one of our house cats, so you can see that she is okay with the insiders.

 

[jjthink]

I'm sorry that I couldn't read all the posts right now, other than the OP's initial post. The only way to be sure to prevent another death is to never ever let your dog be with cats or chickens. The price is just too high for those attacked/killed and there's no rewinding the moment.
JJ

Edited to say that generally dogs are too fast to stop once they start to take off after something. A neighbor's dog once again irresponsibly on the loose came barreling into my yard in May (it hadn't been in my yard before but I've rescued it in the past when it was loose and in the middle of a busy road nearly hit by a car). I was standing not a foot away from my hen when the dog arrived (trying to responsibly watch over her) yet she got mauled despite my screaming frantic efforts to stop the dog - it was a wild mayhem of everyone zig zagging - he was so bloody fast there wasn't even time to pick her up because she ran at the sight of the dog. This hen has some permanent disability from the dog; thankfully I did not lose her but it took 2 of us trying to stop the dog to eventually pin him down so she could get away. I got mowed down by the dog and received multiple fractures in my hand. A full grown man also got mowed down. My pets not physically injured were stressed big time.

 

[cw]

is he killing them by playing too rough?