flutterby
Fly away!
Today we adopted a 6 year old Australian Shepherd Mix. He was adopted and brought back because he has social anxiety and was destructive when left alone. I'm prepared to deal with that - I've had that issue with dogs before, I'm home most of the time, and we are crate training.
We didn't know how he would be with cats, so we brought a cat into the meet and greet room, and he sniffed it and that was about it. The shelter staff and I felt that he would be ok. When we brought him home, he ignored the cats. For about 2 hours. Then, because Isa apparently has a death wish and is all curious while the other cats are hiding, he barked and went after her. However, I'm not sure he was going after her or trying to play. He barked and chased, but first he pounced a couple of times on his front feet. It looked like it might have been play behavior, but I'm not sure. He responded well - and quickly - when I corrected him. However, I'm not comfortable in the slightest having him out of sight. We have a babygate blocking the hall so he can't get to the bedrooms.
So, my questions are: Can this behavior be changed? And, if yes, how? I realize I'm probably going to need to get a trainer involved, but am looking for suggestions in the interim.
Thanks.
We didn't know how he would be with cats, so we brought a cat into the meet and greet room, and he sniffed it and that was about it. The shelter staff and I felt that he would be ok. When we brought him home, he ignored the cats. For about 2 hours. Then, because Isa apparently has a death wish and is all curious while the other cats are hiding, he barked and went after her. However, I'm not sure he was going after her or trying to play. He barked and chased, but first he pounced a couple of times on his front feet. It looked like it might have been play behavior, but I'm not sure. He responded well - and quickly - when I corrected him. However, I'm not comfortable in the slightest having him out of sight. We have a babygate blocking the hall so he can't get to the bedrooms.
So, my questions are: Can this behavior be changed? And, if yes, how? I realize I'm probably going to need to get a trainer involved, but am looking for suggestions in the interim.
Thanks.