Lunging at cats/small furries & how best to deal with it

Hey folks

As the title says, I'm looking for any tips on how to deal with lunging. The dog in question is of course () my pain in the backside dog Bo, who is a 22 month Slovak Pointer bitch. This thread was prompted by this afternoons incident, when she was walking relatively nicely on lead, when she suddenly lunged after a cat that I didn't spot before her. Because I wasn't expecting it, the lead was ripped my from hands and she preceded to chase the cat through several gardens before the cat disappeared over a fence (by which time she stopped and after a verbal lashing that was probably heard from miles away , I got her back under control). This was alongside a fast-ish road, too. Obviously this can't happen again as it is a liability for me and her.

Now, she will walk to heel, but this requires regular verbal reinforcement and sometimes physical guiding back into place. So she will heel, but hates doing it. Being kept in the heel position will NOT stop her from lunging though. If I see the cat/squirrel before her, I can summon enough strength to hold onto her, correct her (verbally) and move her on before she gets into the "zone" (where she is so pumped full of adrenaline that she works herself up into such a manic state). If I don't see the cat/squirrel before her, well...I've been lucky in the past and reacted quickly. Today was just so sudden and such a hard lunge (she is 32kg of pure lean muscle without an inch of fat, and VERY strong) that I didn't get a chance to react. I've definitely had a wakeup call now and need to manage this situation better, but I'm not sure how to go about doing so.

I think part of the problem is impulse control, or a lack of it. I've thought that she maybe gets too much free running and is a bit of an adrenaline addict, because she really does get herself worked up to such a state where she is on high alert constantly, looking back and forth for for cats/squirrels/rabbits regardless of whether she is on the lead or off it.

If you have a reactive dog, how do you deal with it? I should add that she is not reactive to dogs, people, traffic, or anything other than cats and small furries. She is currently walked on harness and double ended lead (I generally attach both leads, one to the back of the harness and the other to either her collar or front of the harness). I've tried a head collar but she hated it and made such a fuss, although I'm maybe thinking that trying it again but introducing it slowly wouldn't be such a bad idea.

So, any ideas would be brilliant as I need to knock this on the head or at least manage it sucessfully so this doesn't happen again.

You get this a lot with Shepherds. I use a Halti so a touch is enough to control the dog, then the Watch Me (teach it first) then reward.
If the dog is really aroused, I will walk back the way we came then walk past that spot again, praising for calm (yes I know the cat will have gone but the dog will still hope...) . It takes a while for the dog to calm down btw.

Do you use the Halti all the time when lead walking? I tried it before and she hates it. If she knows I'm about to put it on her, she'll do her very best to get away from me. She doesn't even like the harness (runs away as soon as I get it out) and she has been wearing one since she was 11/12 weeks and old enough to go out. Because she is 'funny' about the harness despite nearly two years of daily usage, I don't think she will ever accept the Halti despite my best attempts. It is annoying because I know a head collar would be the perfect way to manage the problem until I get her under better control.

I do use watch me & she does it very well, but when she is in the 'zone' (fixated on a cat) verbal commands go out of the window and it is very hard to get her focus back.

The most irritating thing about this dangerous fixation on cats is that we have three cats (two of whom she chases, one of whom is very dog friendly and will cuddle up to her!) and she has grown up with them.

I will try walking up and down near the spot though, that is a good idea. I'll probably look like a bit of a weirdo though!

Thanks.

You know - me and you both have the same problem - except mine is added with other dogs - I know he only wants to play - but I want to walk and in a straight line. So I will be nabbing any information you get.
Labradork - Louie also hates his harness - he will run and cower and he's been wearing it since he was 12 weeks old too - I can get it on him and a halti too - but it takes some doing, also halti's rub in his eyes, I need a dogmatic.
Maybe try the "Stop! how to control predatory chasing in dogs" it's a good book so far - of course I need to read the rest of it.

Claire I have done that method and spent half an hour once walking over the same spot - not fun. And he still does it. I'm working on his leave though - see if that works for me.

I would persevere with getting Bo used to the Halti and walk her with that on. You will have absolute control of her with that on regardless of how many cats she sees.

Just subscribing to this thread, I am very interested to see the answers because you may aswell have just described my 11 month old AmBull bitch!

Hiya. My Lab used to lunge at other dogs when he was Louies age, they tend to grow out it eventually when the novelty of meeting dogs wears off. The small furry chasing on the other hand...

I'll check the book out, thanks.

You are right and I've been thinking about this. I actually just walked her around the block with the Halti on, armed with a load of cheese. The difference was I didn't attach the lead to the Halti, I just put the lead on her regular collar. She resisted at first of course and refused to move but I bribed her with cheese which got her moving. Considering she was only wearing the Halti and I didn't have anything attached to it, she walked nicely. She spotted something in the bushes when we were nearly home and nearly went into lunge mode, but I stopped and got her focused again. I'm hoping I may de-sensitize her to it this way.

Dexter is exactly the same - he lunges violently at cats, horses, squirrels, motorbikes, people carrying umbrellas and countless other things.

I had the same experience as you, whereby I ended up face down on the ground while Dex went galloping into the road to bark at a horse.

It was really scary and I realised then that I was putting myself, Dexter and motorists at risk.

I now walk Dex on a dogmatic headcollar. We've had months of one-on-one training and Dex can and does walk nicely to heel BUT if we encounter a cat or any of his other 'triggers', that's it - he lunges so hard I cannot hold in, as he's 35kg of pure muscle.


I really do recommend the Dogmatic headcollar - it has made the world of difference and now our walks are so much more relaxing and enjoyable and SAFE!


If you email Dogmatic, they will tell you which measurements to send so that they can advise which size.

I like the padded/cushioned Dogmatics as they are far lighter than the leather ones and Dex seems more comfortable in it.

RE HARNESSES

I tried several. Even with the anti -pull ones, Dex was still able to lunge like crazy.

Have you tried leaving the Halti on in the house so she gets used to the feel of it on her face?

Hi Tabitha

Dexter sounds like a real handful to say the least. Good job we love these dogs isn't it, with the stress they put us through.

Does Dexter attempt to lunge even with the head collar on? or do you have enough control of him now that you can physically hold onto him while he has the head collar on?

I'll look into the Dogmatic. I've got a Halti at the moment, which I need to majorly desensitize her to as she is 'funny' about anything on her face. But if the Dogmatic looks better than the Halti, I'll give it a whirl.

Thanks.