How to Stop a Dog from Herding a Cat

Many dogs are prone to chasing and even nipping cats and other smaller animals. It is a problem when your dog meets a cat outside. It is an even bigger problem if your dog chases and herds your family cat.

Many dogs chase and herd cats due to their instincts. Herding breeds, such as border collies, Aussies, Shelties, and corgies are especially prone to such behaviors due to their herding background. Thankfully, most herding breeds have high working intelligence, so training and positive reinforcement correct undesirable behaviors.

The Dog’s Urge To Herd, Chase, And Nip

If you have a dog of a herding breed, you may be well aware of the history of your pet’s breed and why these animals act the way they do. Herding dogs were bred to herd! However, dogs of other breeds, including mutts or mixed-breed dogs, also engage in the same behaviors as herders.

Most herders do like to bark, nip ankles, and chase anyone and anything. These dogs are especially fond of chasing runners, kids, and small animals, as well as cars and bikes.

Those instinctive behaviors were an asset for working farm animals who guarded livestock and property. Other working animals who are not technical herders, such as Bernese Mountain dogs, can behave similarly. Their duties overlap with herding breeds dogs.

Since most of these dogs are now companions and family pets rather than working animals, the tendency to vocalize and chase is a nuisance more so than an asset.

CONTRIBUTING FACTORS

High Working Intelligence Of Herding Dogs

Herding and working dogs are typically very smart, particularly when it comes to their ability to learn new skills and commands.

Border collies are the incontrovertible geniuses of the canine world, for example. Aussies, corgis, and Shelties are also among the brightest breeds. Most other herding breeds rank highly too.

The reason intelligence is relevant is that these dogs get bored easily and need more mental stimulation than docile breeds do. Boredom contributes to restlessness, anxiety, and nuisance behaviors, including the urge to herd.

High Instinctive Intelligence

These hard-working breeds also have very high instinctive intelligence, which means that they are good at what they were bred for. In other words, their instincts are strong.

Herders pass on their skills to their offspring and letting go of instinctive habits can be a challenge for any animal.

High Energy Level

Energy levels are traditionally exuberant in herding breeds, which also comes from the fact that these dogs are farm animals at heart. They love to work and they dislike being idle.

Many dogs, border collies, in particular, are quite restless and like having something to do at all times. Not only do they need plenty of outdoor activities, but they also need something to do at home, and they need some variety, too.

If your dog has a lot of unspent energy, its tendency to herd and chase can be harder to suppress.

Common Triggers And Solutions

The following general practices could condition your dog the right way and could reduce the urge to chase other animals and some other nuisance behaviors.

Boredom

Your herding dog is probably a thinker and a mover and she needs to have plenty of stimulation for her agile mind.

Do not underestimate the importance of keeping a smart dog’s mind active and engaged! From activities and exercises to games and toys, figure out what keeps your furry friend occupied. Doing so will help reduce any nuisance behaviors, including the urge to herd.

This aspect of caring for a smart dog cannot be emphasized too much. These intelligent and active dogs need to have something to do or to look at all the time. A smart dog may have strong preferences when it comes to toys and dog puzzles, so don’t get discouraged if your pet is indifferent to the options of toys you provide. She may need more to choose from, for these dogs can be picky.

High Need For Exercise

If you have a herding dog, use any opportunity to go outdoors to play, run, and hike with your best friend. As long as the dog is healthy, these pups love and need to be active. Their energy is boundless and providing an outlet will keep your pet tired and content, hence less inclined to bark, chase, and nip.

Interactive games, such as fetch or tug-of-war, are particularly important. Such activities keep the dog fit and mentally engaged, and they are a good way to bond with the owner and any kids in the family. Such games also give the dog a chance to bite and tug on something as part of the game.

Separation Anxiety

The strong bond with the owner and the need to stay busy contribute to the herding dogs’ susceptibility to separation anxiety.

It may seem like a whole other issue but, just like boredom, it increases overall restlessness and makes dogs with strong instincts revert to the behaviors they are hard-wired for. If you think that your dog may be suffering from separation anxiety or anxiety in general, addressing the problem will also reduce many undesirable behaviors.

The Need For Socialization

Regular exposure to other people, animals, as well as cars, and bikes, is a great way to desensitize your herder to any stimuli she may be reactive to. It will certainly help the dog to pay less attention to any smaller animals she encounters outdoors. It also makes the dog react less to movement, which is important if you have pet cats in your household, too.

A graded approach is best. So if your pet is sensitive and gets overstimulated easily, limit the time of exposure to multiple stimuli.

Toys And Puzzles

Dog puzzles, toys, and especially chew toys for aggressive chewers are of paramount importance to dogs who are prone to mouthy behaviors and chasing and nipping. They give the dog something to do and let it act on her instincts without doing something that is not appropriate for a family pet.

Focused Training To Change Behavior

It is understood that most dogs benefit from training in general, for many reasons. The central piece of the plan to teach a herding dog to stop herding cats and other animals is developing specific behaviors and giving up undesirable behaviors.

As a rule, herding breeds are highly capable when it comes to learning new skills and commands, thanks to their high obedience potential and people-oriented personalities. Their strong instincts can get in the way and make it more difficult for these dogs to change their behavior. Usually, however, a herding dog can get its urges under control.

Train When Your Dog Can Focus

It is good practice to train any dog when there is not too much happening around but herding dogs are particularly prone to becoming distracted. Border collies are notorious for losing focus if there is a lot of movement occurring around them.

Anything that moves could catch a herder’s attention and make the dog lose focus.

Begin any training for any new skills when it is quiet and uneventful.
Keep the teaching sessions short, a few minutes is usually enough for one session.
If your dog is getting distracted, that is okay. It is better to pause and resume the training session at a later time.
Eventually, the dog will need to practice new skills in more complex situations and environments. So if your pet knows the command or skill well, try practicing in a less familiar, more stimulating setting.
Increase the complexity depending on the dog’s tolerance.

Obedience Training

Since most herding breeds fall in the range of highly capable and responsive to training, the following are typically true about their abilities, according to canine psychologist Stanley Coren’s observation:

The dog learns basic commands with about 10 repetitions and responds appropriately to the first command 85% of the time
Practice helps minimize any delays with learning and leads to success in the task of responding to more complex commands
Some dogs respond to your commands better if you stand nearby rather than if you are at a distance.

The skills of the trainer are not particularly important for bright dog breeds. So, your pup will respond well to your training even if you are new to teaching dogs. If your dog is bonded with you and likes to impress you, that will aid the learning process, too.

Reward Good Behavior

Until you trust your dog to behave reliably around household cats or any felines outside, reward your herder when it acts calmly in the presence of a cat. The reward does not need to be a treat every single time. Canines love approval, so verbal praise or neck rubs could work just as well.

Rewarding good behavior around cats in your home will make your dog associate cats with pleasant experiences, which is so helpful in creating positive dynamics among the animals.

Be Consistent And Patient

It is understandable that when the dog misbehaves, the owner may feel the impulse to jerk the leash, raise the voice, or swat at the dog. However, doing so is counterproductive.

It may stop the behavior for a moment in time but will not teach the dog to change the behavior itself. Your pup could even become defensive or aggressive if you act impatiently. If your behavior is inconsistent, the dog could be confused by mixed messages. If your pet has some anxiety, which is so common in dogs, being treated in such a manner is likely to perpetuate the problem.

Teach Impulse Control

Teach your dog to be more reserved and control its impulses.

For example, when you play fetch, see if you can get your pet to sit calmly for a few moments before throwing the ball. Reward if the dog does wait, and that’s okay if it does not – simply again try later.

Patience a transferable skill. If your dog learns to use self-control when playing fetch, your pet might practice more restraint in other situations, too.

When you notice that your pup is about to start chasing a cat or anyone, use a command to distract her. For example, you could call your dog to come to you, before it makes the move to chase.

Use a command to make your pet focus on you – away from the cat or other distraction – with some practice, your dog will learn to shift focus in an instant.

If your dog obeys, treat her. If not, kindly correct the behavior by lightly pulling on the leash or distracting with a toy. Correct the behavior every time until your dog consistently comes to you when you call or simply does not chase anymore.

Helpful Strategies To Handle Herding Behaviors

If your dog chases your pet cats, there are several strategies to teach him not to. Use a method consistently as long as it takes to change your dog’s behavior.

Actual time-out
- Older dogs may not respond to time-out as well but hyperactive young dogs do. Staying in a crate for a little bit could be helpful for the dog to collect itself and calm down.
Pick the right time to train
- If your pup is too excited, pause the training until the dog is calm enough to be receptive. A hyperstate is not usually conducive to learning.
Verbal commands
- Teach your dog verbal commands. Use the same command every single time you want a behavior to stop.

Respond in similar ways to a behavior you want to discourage, so your dog knows what to expect from you. You need a long-term plan to stop the dog from misbehaving, and consistency and patience are a must to teach your dog any new skill or discourage any behavior.