i tried it, but not with steak....with cheese (he loves cheese). he did great. at first, he was like which one do i want...the cheese or the cat....he decided on the cheese.
i made him sit/down. she kept hissing and spitting at him. he would look at her, bark, and then go back to the cheese in my hand.
he lunged at her only a few times and i yanked on the choke chain. i think he finally got the message. i know it's going to take more than one time of doing it to get him to relax around her, but atleast now i have a plan that looks promising.
any other suggestions??? they are greatly appreciated. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

It sounds like your doing more "proofing" than training. I would not leave the cat there for any length of time at first. Put the dog in a stay, show dog cat, take cat away BEFORE dog gives in to temptation, than give treat and lots of praise. This will set the dog up to succeed. he will know that he's going to get the treat if he hangs in there. After a short time, the cat will not be such a distraction. It sounds like your doing great though. Keep up the good work! It's easy type about it, but it does take patience. I just finished a course on this food training. 14 dogs started and I was the only one that finished! I really think it's because the general public feels they have to train the pet because the pet is a pain in the ass. I train the dog because I enjoy training the dog. I think dog training is alot of fun. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

i enjoy training my pups too. i don't want to do too much too soon though so i guess i should back off on the choke chain a bit?
and do more with the treats?
thanks for everyones advise. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

gsd2-My female GSD was dog- and cat-aggressive, and with maturity, patience, and training I think we've solved that problem for the most part. She is now 2.5 yrs. old. I tried all different kinds of approaches and finally settled on what I thought worked best for her with her temperament. We purposely walked through the park on leash between 5:30-7 p.m. when lots of people/dogs were out. I first tell her "see the puppy" "he's a good puppy" when I first see the other dog, then as we approach them, I tell her "leave it" and she learned to ignore them while watching me for her delectable treat of pieces of a McDonald's cheeseburger. Now she gets either a standard little treat, or nothing, but always a lot of praise for ignoring the other dog. Two nights ago we were walking and a small dog came out of nowhere at breakneck speed, came right up to my dog, and she looked at but physically ignored him! Then I gave her lots of praise and pats. I'm so proud of her. Six months ago that would have been disastrous. Bottom line for us is that the more difficult behaviors deserve absolutely delicious treats! Then phase it out. Oh- I also correct on prong collar for showing any aggression toward other dogs, unless it's totally unexpected such as when 2 loose Weimaraners came out of the dark at us and scared me to death! Good luck, you'll get there, and it sounds like you're on the right road.

Oops...post should have been addressed to "2gsds"

thanks pamela and everyone else who responded to my post.
i've been working on it everyday since we first discussed it and to my great relief it is working. the cat seems to be getting calmer around both dogs (she actually comes out from under the bed when the dogs are not in their crates now) and zeus is not barking at her nearly as much. now he just gets up real fast and stands there like ...um, i don't think i should be doing this. i immediately go to him tell him good boy and i've been giving him a treat.
i hope he continues on the non-aggressive path. unless of course the cat tries to kill me or something then he better be on her like flies on sh*t! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

I think food is good to use in OB. I like it alot better then toys because dogs are more calmer when using food. They also seem to do what you want faster that way. The trick is putting the food in the position that you want him in. If you want a good sit and stay then give him the sit command. Raise the food above his head to reniforce the sit so the dog is looking up. Then reward him for that. Make sure your still standing in front of him and he will look up at you for more food. Then give him the stay command and reward for the stay. I have to agree with what someone said about using one command. A dogs OB is all about conditioning. The more reps you do thats what the dog is going to expect. But if you give him the sit and you standing in front of him the dog cant go no where. I would also reccomend having the dog push you for the food. So basicly you would have the food in your hand but dont bait him or lure him to you. Let him learn that you have the food and to get it he has to push you back to get it. Then you can incorperate the sit, heel, stay, and down all from this exercise. There will be changing in body position and stuff but the dog will love it cause he thinks he is in control. Good Luck!!!

Also there will be hardly any corrections because your placing the dog where you want him.

Functionally define the difference between obedience and compliance. I don't see how the food thing works from a training in drive perspective, food motivation has serious limitations. If one works with an infinitly hungry dog,o.k. but I work with GSDs and Mals, not killer whales ala Sea World.

What’s up AZ:

The biggest argument for using food in place of a ball is that if you want to reward continuously without loosing the behavior you can use food. Once you give the ball you must request the behavior again. This is why food is used in the learning phase a lot.

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