My almost 5 mth old puppy is very active. I can't seem to stop him from chasing my 2 poor terrified cats. I recently let him have the whole house because I thought he could hold his bladder better. This morning, there were poops all around the carpet and urine on the kitchen tile. I scolded him bad for almost a minute. Now he just chewed off my book. I seem to have lost my patience with the dog, and my cats will never be free around the house anymore. I feel bad for them. It seems they will never get along with the dog forever. I want the dog to be prob free and a peaceful house again. Is it impossible? I'm tempted to give the dog away but it just doesn't seem right. He's fond of me now and follows me wherever I go. What should I do?
2007-02-23 06:13:51 · 3 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Dogs
sweetie...you need to take your pup to obedience class to learn how to train your pup!!!! classes from a reputable trainer cost around $100 bucks (I would not recommend petsmart). also crate train your puppy! he goes in the crate at night until you feel he can be trusted. GSD's have a high prey drive and they need to be taught to "LEAVE IT" when it comes to cats, I went through a similar situation with my dog and the cat. now they are best buddies. GSD's are highly intelligent dogs and if you are consistent on the training and use key words such as leave it, sit stay, come, watch...they will get the picture quickly! telling a dog NO is a waste of time...it is like white noise to a dog and to kids as well...lol use certain commands for whatever task you want the dog to do. Oh one more thing....GSD's are high energy and you need to give it plenty of exercise, walks, playtime, socialization...a bored GSD is a destructive GSD found that out the hard way when mine was a pup...found my sofa in the middle of my living room...my fault and not the dogs. now we play and go for walks twice a day and I wear him out.(our play time is mingled with tons of training, because you have to be consistent and it is an ongoing process for the rest of the dogs life) Now I have a well trained dog whom I can trust around everything and he is a great member of my family. but it took a lot of hard work on my part, but it was sooooo worth it! yelling at the dog may make you feel better, but it won't stop the problem only proper training by you can stop it.
you stated in your last sentence that he is fond of you!...of course he is...GSD's are pack animals and love to be around their owners.... I like to call them "velcro-dogs" because yours will follow you everywhere and never leave your side, it is a trait that they have.
2007-02-27 02:38:30 · answer #1 · answered by julie's_GSD_kirby 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have 2 German Shepherds and they too like to go after small dogs, and cats. My female is espically hard headed. Since she is full grown, I used this technique on her to get her to leave my cat alone. I would knee her in on the side of her body and say the command LEAVE IT!!! Every time she tried to go after my cat I did the same thing. After about 6 or 8 time of being having been knocked in the side with my knee, she decieded that it wasn;t really worth it to go after the cat.
I have seen another thing on the television where a man had two cats that a German Shepherd went after, The trainer solved the problem this way. They took a towel and rubbed it on the dogs body so tha the cats would get used to the scent of the dog and then put the cats food bowls on that towel. That way the cats got used to the dogs scent without the dog hurting them. They took a towel and rubbed it all over the cats bodies and then put that towel down with the dogs food. That way the dog could get used to the scent of the cats. But the owner of the dog practiced the same LEAVE IT command with the dog and the cats only. In other words, the owner used that particular command for that situation.
Hope this helps some. Just keep plugging away and hopefully you will have a well behaved dog.
2007-02-23 18:16:19 · answer #2 · answered by Su-Nami 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I think he is just being a puppy and dogs have a prey drive where it is instinctive to chase down smaller animals. I think maybe you should check into some obedience classes and do that while he is young. I have a 4 year old female shepherd and she is very sweet and well behaved until it comes to a small animal whether it be a dog, cat or squirrel she just goes nuts wanting to chase it down. Good luck with the obedience classes and don't give up on your puppy he is still just a baby.
2007-02-23 13:18:51 · answer #3 · answered by brennaperkins 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋