Author Topic: My Pyr puppy chases my cats and pulls their tails!  (Read 5681 times)

Offline Jackie12

  • Gnawer
  • *
  • Posts: 7
    • View Profile
My Pyr puppy chases my cats and pulls their tails!
« on: July 08, 2008, 03:03:59 pm »
I have a 10 week old pyr puppy.  His name is Indiana and he does really well walking on leash.  When I go to put him on leash, I tell him "park it" and he sits down calmly for me to put the leash on him.  He goes out to potty and is rewarded with treats, so he does well with that.  He comes inside and "parks it" to remove the leash.  After that, oh boy!  Katy bar the door!  He thinks it's great fun to chase my cats.  One of my cats is a black persian and Indiana chases him and pulls the hair out of his tail as the cat is running away.  You would think my cat would just turn around and clean Indiana's plow, but no!  He tolerates it.  When I scold Indiana, he just runs from me. lol  He's so darn adorable, even though he's such a stinker with my cats.  I think he is just playing, but is much larger than my cats already.  I think Indiana is going to be a great cart dog when he is grown.  I sometimes have to walk with a walker that is on wheels.  Indiana jumps right out in front and wants to pull.  He's strong for such a young puppy.  When I walk with him with my walker/rollie, he walks beside me on the way.  But when we turn around to come home, he practically drags me all the way back!  :o  If I could figure out how to post a picture I would.  Any advice would be helpful.

Offline Ali

  • BPO Fanatic
  • ***
  • Posts: 838
  • My girls!
    • View Profile
Re: My Pyr puppy chases my cats and pulls their tails!
« Reply #1 on: July 08, 2008, 07:14:43 pm »
You could try teaching him a "leave it" command...By the way, I love the "park it" command! I never think of funny things like that to train mine with in time - it's always after I teach them something like "go to bed" for going in the crate that I think "gee, I should have made it funny, like 'go to jail' !" Ah well.
Ali
mom of 4 humans AND
Tani (TAH-nee or rhymes with "Bonnie")- Aussie/Pittie?Boxer?Mutt!
Kai - Aussie/Dobie
Kenji - big ol' black cat
Mika and Nishi - kitty sisters, foster failures!
Tasia Ladysnake - ball python

Offline Jackie12

  • Gnawer
  • *
  • Posts: 7
    • View Profile
Re: My Pyr puppy chases my cats and pulls their tails!
« Reply #2 on: July 08, 2008, 10:19:54 pm »
I will try that. Thanks.  Today, he was chasing Indiana (just like he was playing with another puppy).  The cat never hisses or claws him.  Indiana ran up behind Lucky (the cat).  Lucky tried to run but Indiana had his tail.  He pulled, Lucky pulled.  Lucky got away, Indiana got a mouth full of black hair.  Looked like he had grown a beard on his pretty white face.  Lucky came right back for more, so I guess it didn't hurt.  I scolded him for doing it, but he just looked oblivious and looked at me more like I was in his way of seeing where the cat was.   :D  His play biting is frustrating.  I know all puppies do it.  I have been turning my back to him and stopping play when he does it.  He just waits and comes back for more rough play.  Then I put him in his pen for awhile if he continues.  I know he will grow out of this mouthy stage, it's just that his teeth are like needles.  You never know when he's going to sneak up and take a munch on your toes! lol 

I don't know what made me think of "park it."  Giving him sliced cheese has been the biggest motivator.  He likes that more than any other treat so far.  Giving him treats when he potties, worked well.  He started asking to go out.  And when he gets cheese for a treat, he does his "business" pretty quickly.


Offline Ali

  • BPO Fanatic
  • ***
  • Posts: 838
  • My girls!
    • View Profile
Re: My Pyr puppy chases my cats and pulls their tails!
« Reply #3 on: July 08, 2008, 10:43:22 pm »
RE: mouthing - I just took a puppy class with Kai, my dobie/aussie mix. They said to put 1 part vinegar to 3 parts water in a spray bottle. Say NO and spray the pup's nose for any behavior that is totally a no-no, like nipping, jumping, garbage digging, barking, counter surfing. I gotta say, it worked like a CHAMP for Kai. They suggested setting up the poor pup to get the correction, like put something temping on the counter or in the trash can, then do the correction when they go for it. Kai responds great to the spray bottle. She smells a little like salad dressing after a while, though.  :P Good luck!
Ali
mom of 4 humans AND
Tani (TAH-nee or rhymes with "Bonnie")- Aussie/Pittie?Boxer?Mutt!
Kai - Aussie/Dobie
Kenji - big ol' black cat
Mika and Nishi - kitty sisters, foster failures!
Tasia Ladysnake - ball python

Offline GoldenPyrs

  • Supreme Drooler
  • ****
  • Posts: 1681
    • View Profile
Re: My Pyr puppy chases my cats and pulls their tails!
« Reply #4 on: July 09, 2008, 01:04:08 am »
Hi & welcome!  Yep, I was just about to suggest the squirt bottle too when I read Ali's last post.  I would definitely use it when you catch Indiana chasing Lucky.  You may also notice a particular look on his face or posture when he's about to take chase.  If so, you can give him a squirt just as he starts to takes off.  That should take some of the fun out of it.  Hopefully, the kitty will also put him in his place soon, too.  If you've been clipping Lucky's claws, I would stop now and let him get fully armed, too.   ;)

Neither Cara, Halley, Daisy or Sam ever showed or shows any interest in the kitties except to snuggle with them.  However, Cassie has occasionally chased them a little.  We have 2 house cats & if they get into a cat tiff, Cassie likes to break up the cat fight & then chase one of them to the other end of the house.   ::)  ;D  I have mostly trained her out of it now by just giving a loud, firm "NO, kitty!" when she does it.  However, she turned 3 y/o in May so she's much, much older than your little babe.  Hopefully in time, Indiana's guardian Pyr instincts will kick in and he'll decide to snuggle & protect the kitty and will give up this chasing nonsense.  ;D  ::)  LOL  In the meantime, the squirt bottle should give him pause though (or is that, "paws").  Ha, ha!

Again, welcome to BPO!
Marie

And my pups:
Daisy a 9 y/o Golden/Lab mix
Sammy a 6-7(?) y/o Great Pyrenees adopted 3/07
Cassie a 3 y/o Pyr/Mystery Snuggle Bunny mix adopted 2/07

My angel girls waiting at the Bridge:
Cara 1989-2001 Great Pyrenees
Sally ? - 1993 Dobie(rescued '92)
Halley 2002-2006 Great Pyrenees