I have the Training with E Collar DVD and have been getting Falcon sensitized (desensitized?) to the collar over the past several weeks, taking it off and on numerous times a day. I'm going to start using the collar tomorrow.

I just need a bit of encouragement/advice on using this correctly to stop Falcon (six month GS)from chasing/charging at our cats. If he is in his crate and sees them he goes ballistic; jumping at the sides of the crate and barking/growling. If he is out of the crate he gives chase - if I don't get a grab on his light lead line worn in the house. The cats have safety behind a baby gate, but needless to say their life isn't too enjoyable right now...

I look at this as a behavior that has to be extinguished, but am unclear on a few things. Once I determine the minimum level which Falcon responds to, how far over that do I set it to make it clear in no uncertain terms that he doesn't want to chase the cats?

And other than nikking him when he looks at the cats, is there any other advice / recommendations / experience with this situation that you guys can offer?

Many Thanks!
Barb

Barbara, Have you tried anything else yet?

Hi Steve,

We have tried a prong collar and a good "correction" with a stern "NO" when he is out of the kennel and gives chase to the cats. I have not attempted to do anything when he is in his kennel and charges at the sides since I remove all collars before putting him inside. I have said "NO" when he is in the kennel, but that of course at this stage, does nothing.

We brought Falcon home on Dec. 5th. At first, our "bravest" cat would walk around when he was out of his crate (still on a long lead)but she has quit doing so. If Falcon is on a "down/stay" or is chewing on a bone, he will look at them but not get up - as long as I'm watching him. If however, he is standing up and one of the cats ventures out (which they don't do any more) he would take off after them. (Our cats are used to dogs and only run because he chases them.) We have let Falcon see us holding the cats and having them sit on our laps, etc... He has also been exposed to seeing our other dog act "normal" around the cats.

I'm open to any suggestions!

Barb

I'm no expert by far but I've been led to believe that using a remote collar for any kind of aggression is a bad thing unless you really know what you are doing. There's a chance the dog could think the stim is being caused by the cat (same as dog aggression???) and make him even more aggressive around them. When correcting for aggression issues you need the dog to know without a doubt that the correction is coming from you. A remote collar is a little ambiguous in that respect unlike a collar (flat, prong or DD)correction. Hopefully more experienced people will be by later to give you a better advice.

Now from my experience we have three indoor cats. Molly loves chasing them but when she does corner one she wants to play with it although I try to call her off before she corners one. We did nave a little stray cat outside that would play with her but it died this summer. The three indoor cats won't have anything to do with her. All three are tamed ferals and don't put up with much from dogs. We get a few nose scratches every once in a while.

How exactly does he act around the cats? Is it puppy play or is he acting like he wants to kill them?

I bought my Ecollar to stop my Rott from chasing too. He was older though and it was at a point of being dangerous. My only thought was with a 6mo old I think I would spend more time on his obedience and seeing how his ability to control himself grows with age and training. The ecollar can definately stop him, but with such a young dog I would wonder about it confusing him and him not making the connection with his behavior being the cause of the correction. I'm not sure how it's addressed on the dvd, but I seem to remember working with my dog slowly with known obedience before I used it to correct him for the chasing.

Did you have a plan for doing this Barbara?

You both touch on my one concern; making Falcon more aggressive toward the cats.

At first I thought his chasing was regular puppy play, but after having had him around three weeks my husband sat down with Falcon while I picked up one of the cats and just brought her near him - slowly - for him to smell. There was never the "sticking his nose out toward the cat to sniff" - he immediately did these very quick snapping motions with his jaws. In no way did he show any interest in getting to know them; he went right into "eat" mode.

Needless to say, I don't want to do ANY damage to Falcon, but neither do I want our cats living in fear and only coming out of our room when I take Falcon out of the house or when they know he is in his kennel for the night.

How old was your Rotti when you began using the collar, Steve?

Thanks again.

When I emailed Cindy prior to purchasing the collar, she said to stem Falcon when he even looked at the cats. Since they won't come out when they know he is around, my plan was to determine the level when he first felt the stimulation, increase that (not sure how much - hence my inquiry). I had not decided if I would have Falcon in his kennel and let one of the cats walk/run by, or have him out of the crate (on line) and let him see the cats. My husband will be helping me - I won't be trying to do all of this myself.

I've been working very hard with Falcon using markers and treats and keeping things very positive. He has only received corrections for chasing the cats or when he used to pull me on lead. He is learning really well... probably faster than I am! I can tell you he has a high prey drive (I'm not letting him chase any creatures outside), loves FOOD and is "hard" in regard to corrections. He has only been corrected with the prong collar for chasing the cats or initially when he would not stop pulling on lead (not when heeling).

Thoughts??

I think about 1 1/2. To me, when you restrain him and bring the cat to him to sniff you're baiting him with the object he wants to chase. I don't want to make it sound like it's brain surgery, but the timing is important. In my case it was squirrels mostly and it wasnt stopping him from wanting to chase squirrels but him knowing he couldnt blast through the screen door. After he had done that twice he was starting to want to chase a lot of things. He still loves to chase squirrels, but he won't until he's released. But it all still comes back to obedience. He know's "Leave It" has to be obeyed and that was taught separate of those strong distractions and then worked up to.

I agree with Steve. I'd opt for POSITIVELY TEACHING "leave it" and then enforce it with correction if you have to for gradually increasing temptations. At the point you can say "leave it" and he'll ignore a bone or favourite toy or another dog (whatever a "high" level temptation is for him, use it when he looks at one of the cats.

I think given his age, it's EXTREMELY unlikely that he understands what it is you're not wanting him to do (chase the cats) and by the sounds of it, if you're not careful, all you're really going to extinguish are his warning signs.