Post by CampGreyhound on Oct 3, 2010 15:53:34 GMT -5
We've had the pleasure of cat training greyhounds several times, as we have multiple cats and multiple dogs. Here's our process.
1. Muzzle your dogs. Give them time, they will calm down with the muzzles on, they are used to wearing muzzles both at the track and at Bill's, not just for racing either, so give them some time, and get those muzzles on. They are the key to your being able to relax a bit. That being said, it is possible for a dog to injure a cat even with a muzzle on, so you still need to be vigilant if the greyhounds and cats can get at each other.
2. Assess your greyhound's reaction to the cat. Signs of being unworkable include: panting, copious drooling, and persistence. Persistence means that the greyhound will follow the cat anywhere, if the cat walks down the hall and goes into a bedroom and you close the door, the greyhound will either stay at the door, or keep going back to check the door. If your greyhound shows all of these signs or even 2/3, it's possible that he may truly be a high prey greyhound (unusual) and not workable with cats.
If your greyhound shows one of these signs, or stares at the cat, or whimpers a bit, it's likely they are workable. You'll be able to reassess for change each day, and you should see a gradual relaxation of signs going on, rather than an increase in signs of high prey behavior.
3. Move all the furniture away from the walls enough that your cat can get back there if need be. In spite of all your efforts right now to keep them separate, there can be an escape very quickly, and you will need a safe area for the cat to get to where the greyhound can't follow. We had our couch pulled out from the wall for months, just in case.
4. If your hounds are food motivated, before working with them, have a ton of treats at the ready. If they prefer pets, then you can use praise and pets to reward them.
5. When you're ready to start, what you want to do is reward your greyhound every single time they give you the behavior you're looking for. What you're looking for is ignoring the cat. So if the cat comes into the room, on the other side of the baby gate, and your grey looks at him and then looks away, the second he looks away give him his reward. This is positive reinforcement, a popular method of dog training. You're marking that ignoring behavior with a treat and/or praise, and that's the most important thing you can do. Keep doing that as much as you can.
6. Repeat, repeat and repeat.
These methods have worked for us at Camp Greyhound very well. The longest we ever had to keep it up was a month. In extreme cases, we have resorted to a squirt gun to redirect attention, when nothing else worked. As soon as the hound looks away from the cat, the reward must be given.
Don't force introductions, let them handle that. Do not pick up the cat in front of your greyhound, that can trigger some jumping behavior that you don't want. Use a kennel or a muzzle at night for as long as you're unsure about the safety of your pets.
1. Muzzle your dogs. Give them time, they will calm down with the muzzles on, they are used to wearing muzzles both at the track and at Bill's, not just for racing either, so give them some time, and get those muzzles on. They are the key to your being able to relax a bit. That being said, it is possible for a dog to injure a cat even with a muzzle on, so you still need to be vigilant if the greyhounds and cats can get at each other.
2. Assess your greyhound's reaction to the cat. Signs of being unworkable include: panting, copious drooling, and persistence. Persistence means that the greyhound will follow the cat anywhere, if the cat walks down the hall and goes into a bedroom and you close the door, the greyhound will either stay at the door, or keep going back to check the door. If your greyhound shows all of these signs or even 2/3, it's possible that he may truly be a high prey greyhound (unusual) and not workable with cats.
If your greyhound shows one of these signs, or stares at the cat, or whimpers a bit, it's likely they are workable. You'll be able to reassess for change each day, and you should see a gradual relaxation of signs going on, rather than an increase in signs of high prey behavior.
3. Move all the furniture away from the walls enough that your cat can get back there if need be. In spite of all your efforts right now to keep them separate, there can be an escape very quickly, and you will need a safe area for the cat to get to where the greyhound can't follow. We had our couch pulled out from the wall for months, just in case.
4. If your hounds are food motivated, before working with them, have a ton of treats at the ready. If they prefer pets, then you can use praise and pets to reward them.
5. When you're ready to start, what you want to do is reward your greyhound every single time they give you the behavior you're looking for. What you're looking for is ignoring the cat. So if the cat comes into the room, on the other side of the baby gate, and your grey looks at him and then looks away, the second he looks away give him his reward. This is positive reinforcement, a popular method of dog training. You're marking that ignoring behavior with a treat and/or praise, and that's the most important thing you can do. Keep doing that as much as you can.
6. Repeat, repeat and repeat.
These methods have worked for us at Camp Greyhound very well. The longest we ever had to keep it up was a month. In extreme cases, we have resorted to a squirt gun to redirect attention, when nothing else worked. As soon as the hound looks away from the cat, the reward must be given.
Don't force introductions, let them handle that. Do not pick up the cat in front of your greyhound, that can trigger some jumping behavior that you don't want. Use a kennel or a muzzle at night for as long as you're unsure about the safety of your pets.