Were you hoping your dog and cat would be best friends, but your dog won’t stop chasing your cat?
This is a really common issue, and there are several reasons why this happens. But don’t worry, there are ways you can help your cat and dog to be friendly around each other.
Let’s dive in.
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Will my dog ever stop chasing my cat?
In an ideal world, your cat and dog would be best friends. They may indeed enjoy spending time together!
But dogs have certain instincts that can sometimes affect this relationship. Your dog naturally loves chasing. Sometimes when there’s something around to chase, it’s like a switch flips on in his head.
Unfortunately, there will probably be times where your cat seems like a pretty fun thing to chase. Your cat is small, furry, and runs to interesting places.
What could be more fun to chase around than a cat?
Even though your dog finds chasing your cat super fun, you and your cat probably wish he wouldn’t do that.
There are a few tips you can try to get him to stop. But first, you might want to look at these related articles about other common undesirable dog behaviors:
- Why Do Dogs Always Chase Their Tails?
- How to Stop Your Dog from Eating Poop
- What Causes Puppy Zoomies? 5 Common Reasons
Chasing cats is instinctive behavior
While there are a few tips that you can use to keep your dog from chasing your cat, it helps to understand why he’s chasing her in the first place.
It’s totally possible for cats and dogs to be friends. But the fact of the matter is that they are different species, and different species behave in different ways!
When you adopt your cat or your dog, you’re going to want to choose one with a personality that will match whichever animal you already have at home.
Dogs have prey drives, which means that they’ll want to chase animals that are smaller than them and that run away.
However, some dogs’ prey instincts are not as intense. Some breeds—especially lapdog breeds—generally have a very weak prey drive. These dogs should be able to get along easily with cats, though it always depends on the individual.
In short, finding a dog with a low prey drive to get along with your cat is important.
Bear in mind that your cat should match your dog’s personality too. You don’t want a cat that’s going to swat at your dog all the time! That’s only going to ramp up your dog’s instincts.
Without training he’ll likely never stop
Understanding that chasing is instinctive behavior is important. This isn’t something your dog is necessarily choosing to do. His instincts are telling him to do it!
Because it’s instinctive, it’s unlikely that he’s going to stop on his own. Your dog probably doesn’t see anything wrong with what he’s doing.
As his dog parent, it’s your job to show him what behavior is okay and what isn’t. Your dog isn’t going to stop chasing your cat until you do this.
Training your dog is an important part of being a dog parent overall. It’s even more important in situations where your cat or your dog could get hurt.
To learn a little more about dog training, go ahead and check out these related articles:
- 7 Most Common Types of Dog Training and How to Choose the Right One
- What Is Positive Reinforcement Dog Training?
Related topic: For dog training in general I highly recommend you get a program that walks you through step by step, such as Braintrainingfordogs. Certified dog trainer Adrienne Farricelli teaches you to train your dog to be the best dog he can by be using mental stimulation! Check out Dogpackr’s review to see if this is a fit for you!
How long does it take a dog to stop chasing a cat?
When your dog chases your cat, it might seem like he could just do it forever and ever.
Eventually your dog will get tired of chasing your cat, but you don’t want to let it get to that point. You don’t want your dog to accidentally hurt your cat, or for your cat to hurt your dog. Your cat has those sharp claws, after all!
Your dog would probably keep chasing your cat until your cat finds somewhere to hide that he can’t reach, or until your dog has exhausted himself.
But you want to prevent your dog from chasing your cat in the first place. This will keep everyone much safer and happier in your home.
How do I get my dog to stop chasing my cat?
Your dog’s urge to chase is instinctive. But instinctive doesn’t mean that that urge can’t be stopped! You just need to know the right ways to manage them.
If you want your cat and dog to start getting along properly, then you need to intervene.
There are a few great ways that you can help your dog learn this isn’t an acceptable way of channeling his energy. I’ll go into each tip in more detail in a second, but here’s it in a nutshell:
To stop your dog chasing your cat, first make sure he’s getting enough exercise. Redirect his focus by offering him a treat or toy when he stops fixating on your cat. If he just won’t, give him a short calm break in his crate. Clicker training and teaching him “leave it” are very useful here.
Now, let’s look at this in more detail.
1. Make sure he gets enough exercise
A lot of unwanted behavior comes from either under or over stimulating your dog. That’s why it’s so important to make sure that your dog gets a healthy amount of daily exercise.
If your dog isn’t exercised enough, then he’s going to have a lot of excess energy that he needs something to do with. He might direct that energy at your cat!
Do your best to give your dog the healthy exercise that he needs. Both he and your cat will thank you for this!
Here are a few related articles on exercising your puppy or adult dog that you’ll want to check out:
- How Much Exercise Should a Puppy Get?
- 11 Tips to Tire Out a Dog (Quickly)
- How Many Walks Should a Dog Have a Day?
To plan all that exercising, I’ve created a free puppy schedule planner for you to print. Try it out:
2. Redirect his focus when he fixates your cat
When your dog’s eyes lock onto your cat and his instincts start kicking in, that’s the moment you need to jump in.
Instead of just allowing your dog to chase your cat, you’ll want to redirect his focus.
There are a few different ways you can do this. Training your dog to “leave it” is one really great way. If your dog has a favorite toy, then you can try and use it to get his attention. Get your dog more interested in playing with the toy than chasing the cat.
The important thing is to make what you’re redirecting your dog’s attention to something more interesting than your cat. You might need to make some pretty goofy noises to catch your dog’s attention, but the important thing is to get him away from your cat.
3. Reward him when he stops fixating your cat
Part of positive reinforcement dog training means showing your dog what he shouldn’t be doing. Redirecting your dog’s attention when he focuses on your cat is how you can do that.
But the other part of positive reinforcement is showing your dog what he should be doing instead.
The best way to do this is to provide him with rewards when he behaves in ways that you do like.
If you notice that your dog is fixating on your cat, you should be rewarding him as soon as he stops. His reward can be in the form of anything he likes!
You can give him a treat, some love and affection, or spend a few minutes playing with his favorite toy. Just make sure that you’re only rewarding him after he’s stopped fixating on your cat.
4. Give him a time out if he doesn’t stop
If you’re able to redirect your dog’s attention away from your cat and get him to stop fixating, that’s great!
But some dogs’ chasing instincts are pretty intense. It might be difficult for your dog to break his fixation on your cat.
If your dog just won’t stop trying to go after your cat, a time out may be in order. This is where crate training is going to come in handy!
Lots of owners unfortunately see using crates as cruel. But when you train your dog the right way, his crate can be a nice, comfortable place to decompress. The same goes for cats, by the way!
If you haven’t started crate training your dog yet, now is the time to start. These are a few related articles that will help you out:
- How to Crate Train a Dog Easily in 13 Steps
- 5 Tips for Crate Training Regression
- My Dog Hates His Crate—What Can I Do?
5. Use a clicker to reinforce your training
Have you ever thought about clicker training? This can be a really great way to help take your positive reinforcement training to the next level. And, when you do this, it will make training your dog to stop chasing your cat that much more effective.
When you start clicker training, you’re making your dog associate the sound of the clicker with positive feelings. When you click it, you should give him a treat. Over time, your dog will hear the sound of the clicker and know that a treat is coming his way.
This is really important, since timing is everything when it comes to positive reinforcement. As soon as your dog stops fixating on your cat, you can click your clicker instead of fumbling for a treat.
This will make training way easier and more effective!
6. Teach him the “leave it” cue
“Leave it” is a really important thing to teach your dog. It’s a great way to help your dog stay out of trouble. In this case, it keeps your cat safe too!
To teach leave it, you’ll need two different kinds of treats. One kind should be low-value, and the other should be high-value.
Start by holding the low-value treat in your hand. Let your dog sniff it in your closed fist. As soon as he turns away, say “yes” or use your clicker and give him the high-value treat.
Work your way up to being able to show your dog the treat in your open hand. Eventually you should be able to toss it onto the floor and get him to leave it.
This command can take time and practice, but it’s definitely worth it.
7. Reward calm behavior
You shouldn’t only reward your dog when he’s stopped fixating on your cat.
Part of getting your dog to stop chasing your cat is to prevent the behavior from happening in the first place. You can work on doing this by rewarding your dog’s calm behavior.
When your dog chooses to go and relax somewhere, then you should give him a favorite treat to show him that you like what he’s doing.
For best results, make sure that you combine this with giving your dog a healthy amount of daily stimulation, both physical and mental.
8. Make indoors a calm space
You can help your dog and cat stay nice and calm by making inside a calm space. Both dogs and cats are routine-based animals. If you designate inside as a calm space, your dog will know that when he’s indoors, it’s time to settle down and relax.
Try to make sure that you’re maintaining inside as a calm space for your dog and your cat. This will help prevent your dog’s chasing instincts from triggering in the first place.
Dog chasing cat FAQ
We’ve covered the basics of dogs chasing cats, but you might still have some questions. Here are a couple of helpful answers!
Why is my dog suddenly chasing my cat?
If your dog suddenly starts chasing your cat, there could be a few reasons. Some dogs find they tolerate a cat’s antics less as they get older.
It could also be that your dog is getting less daily stimulation than he used to. He might also be feeling more stress than usual. Chasing your cat could be his way of trying to get rid of his nervous energy.
Whatever the reason, make sure to remember the above tips to help your dog and cat settle down.
How to teach a puppy to be gentle with a cat
The number one thing you’re going to want to do when you’re teaching your dog to be gentle with your cat is to be patient.
You’re also going to want to make sure that your puppy has a very firm grasp of the “leave it” cue. Tell him to “leave it” when he starts getting too interested in your cat. And remember to give him rewards when he chooses to be gentle.
Conclusion
Many cats and dogs get along very well in a home together. But a lot of that has to do with the training owners put in to their dogs.
Make sure you’re doing the work to help keep your dog calm, and both your cat and dog safe around each other!
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