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Post by katherine11 on May 19, 2008 12:20:38 GMT -5
Hello,
I am new to this site and am looking for some help. I have a female pit who is only 9 months old. She's been through a basic obedience class when she was younger. I have 4 cats and she's never been aggressive toward them. They are always separated by gates. Yesterday, she jumped the gate and mauled one of my cats. Luckily, the cat survived. What type of discipline should be done for something like this? Is there a way to train her not to harm the cats and restore harmony in my home? I've spoken to numerous vets and they said that you cannot undo this instinct and recommended that I remove the cats from the household. I love all of my animals and want to try to find another alternative. I'd appreciate any help that anyone has to offer.
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Post by AmyJo27 on May 19, 2008 12:40:26 GMT -5
i would definetly have something stronger or taller between them. Maybe keep the cats in another room or keep the pit in another room. also, when the cats are loose i would crate the dog. be sure you dont give the dog an oppertunity to get ahold of them. I know my cat and all my dogs would be able to jump over a gate. For correcting or training the dog im not sure what to do. to me prevention is key. good luck
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Post by mcgregor on May 19, 2008 15:39:48 GMT -5
Either crate the dog when the cats are loose or when you leave the house......train the dog to leave the cats alone......dont let the dog stare at the cat or get excitedand give chase....when he doesthis ... grab him by the napeofthe neck and say no firmlyeach time you catch him in the act and hell be fine intime.........
I have one pitty , a little poo terrier and a cat the pitty is 3 years old now and never lays a tooth on either of the others although he did when he was a pup mouthing the two on the neck... I weened him off this habit by a firm no... remember pitbulls love to please so get them to understand what no means..
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Post by AmyJo27 on May 19, 2008 20:08:33 GMT -5
I dont agree with mcgregor about grabbing it by the neck and saying no. Go to the cesar pls read. my friend ended up in the ER by doingg this. In a way you are challenging the dog when you do this. also, thats punishment training, you should follow positive reinforcement. trust me it works a lot better. like i said before prevention is key. dont give the dog a chance to get to the cats. crate the dog or confine the cats. also, if you constantly say no to your dog they will start ignoring you. go to www.peaceablecanines.com maybe this will help
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Post by AmyJo27 on May 19, 2008 20:11:54 GMT -5
also, even when you are there dont have the cat and the dog loose at the same time. and no you cant undo instincts, so you have to be responcible and do what is nessessary. if that means rotating which animal is loose and which is confined, then thats what you have to do!
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Post by RealPitBull on May 20, 2008 7:50:07 GMT -5
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Post by mcgregor on May 24, 2008 11:39:30 GMT -5
LADY PITBULL....
PINCHING the nape of the neck and saying no worked for my dog as well as others......my pitbull loves the cat and little one..... of course they need supervision and putting the cat away when the dog is out is not the answer... all pets should live in the household in harmony...if your friends dog put him in the emergency room , than there is something wrong with the pic...the dog should not have been biting...once the dog knows that you are the alpha , he will learn readily.....Cesare is a great trainer but he is not always correct... from what I have trained my pitbull, he is a loving gentleman and a very good dog around the house non destructable and never once tried to bite me as I pinched his neck like a momma bitch does to her young pups to make them behave......
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Post by mcgregor on May 24, 2008 11:53:12 GMT -5
In fact....... when Yogi was a young pitbull pup... I was worried about the future as he became older and what if the bad genes showed up a few years later as he became an adult? ; Yogi is now a 3 year old fine young manly dog and still friendly to the other pets with the good genes , thank GOD!... but as I say;no matter how wonderful these dogs are, they still need to be supervised , any little infraction could set off a friendly caring pitbull to do something unpredicatble, so if you know your pitbull initially is dangerous to cats, do not bring this certain pitbull into the household, it is not fair to the cat and is indeed one of an irresponsibles actions......... to save the breed , we must educate the irresponsibles....and new pit owners.....people must understand that pits are not for everyone.....
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Post by AmyJo27 on May 26, 2008 9:54:17 GMT -5
I guess I will continue keeping my cat and dogs seperated when I am not there. My oldest pit mix loves the cat but every once in awhile she will barr her teeth and I know if I wasnt there to stop her behavior before it escalated she would attack my cat. Its just because she has a strong prey drive and shes not that tolerent with other animals. BTW you (mcgregor) are entitled to your own opinion as I am to mine. I know taking my dogs down by the neck is just not something I want to do. I previously was a Cesar fan and it didnt work for me and i do not agree to any of his beliefs except you need to walk your dog daily. But thanks
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Post by mcgregor on May 26, 2008 14:05:02 GMT -5
Ladypitbull27
I guess my prior post was eaten up by cyper space bandits...lol.. I really dont mean to grab the dog by the nape of the neck ,sometimes I absent mindly use the wrong words unintentionly ; confusing my sentences...... too much on the mind..... actually I meant to say "pinch" the skin on the nape of the neck and say no , it works on my dog as he distinguishes the word no with his learning process in doing the right things required from me, pitbulls love to learn..I do watch the dog when the cat is around , all dogs have the prey drive yes, in the excitement of the chase serious things can happen when the cat provokes the dog into excitement...... always better to be safe than sorry...... Yogi has never barred his teeth but he just barks withut a growl ...
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Post by mcgregor on May 26, 2008 14:14:21 GMT -5
whoops so there cyperspace spit out the missing post..lol
on the subject of cesare milan
On the subject of Cesar Milan....
I too had great regard for this dog whisperer but gradually feel less enthusitic over him.... as time goes by and I hear rumors of fraud or what ever.... the thing that bothers me; he is always shown in photos with dogs surrounding him but in every different pic I have seen of him ; all the dogs never look happy , they look somewhat grim,have you ever noticed this?...he came to this country with nothing,no english, ended up with Hollywood friends..nowImnot sure if all this is true.... it all seems too surreal....
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Post by AmyJo27 on May 26, 2008 21:16:37 GMT -5
Yea, I have previously followed Cesars methods. I read both his books I watched all the shows, I thought he was perfect so I used his methods and with time all my dogs started acting extremely submissive and would pee when ever I would even walk towards them, it just wasnt the way I wanted my relationship with my dogs to be so I started clicker training and my dogs are much happier! There tails always wag and they are happy to see me now! My dogs taught me!!! Its sad though because my oldest (Molly) wont even look at my face any more after I used Cesars methods on her! It breaks my heart! But I guess we (mcgregor) were both misunderstood! lol
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Post by mcgregor on May 26, 2008 21:45:45 GMT -5
LOL... you bet!... ladypibull ... we sure are misunderstood....one day with the intelligence of the pitbulls it just may come to that...lol... I have heard so much about the clickers, althoughI have never tried it....im going to buy one absolutely !...many swear by it.....Yogi is a great dog but sadly a monster in the car..... hopefully the clicker will do the job..
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Post by AmyJo27 on May 27, 2008 12:31:49 GMT -5
Good Luck!!!
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Post by tracilg on Jun 3, 2008 9:33:27 GMT -5
Um....I don't have any comments on Cesar, but I'll tell you what we do as far as our Babe and our 2 cats.
When we are not home, Babe is crated. No exceptions.
And our cats always have an escape option through a cat door into the basement, where the dog cannot go.
Luckily, Babe has only shown playful tendencies towards the cats and does not chase them at all. But I am aware that can change at any moment and it's my job to keep things safe for all my pets.
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