Dog with high prey drive

We have owned our dog, Java, for eight years now. Ever since she was a puppy she has had high prey drive, going wild when there was another cat, dog or squirrel outside the window. Often she would stalk squrrels in our backyard, never with success.

Then about two weeks ago there was a cat in the backyard, which Java chased as usual. The cat escaped over the eight foot privacy fence and we thought nothing of it and went back to our yard work. Java also went back to sniffing around the yard. The cat however, must have remained on top of the fence (a portion of the privacy fence is hidden behind thick bushes). About ten minutes later, the cat fell off the fence (through Java’s actions or otherwise) and Java began mauling it. We yelled at Java, she dropped the cat, and it ran out of our yard. We saw no blood on the cat and could see no injury. The cat perched on top of the neighbor’s fence for a few minutes then ran away. We viewed the accident as a freak event but resolved that we would not leave Java unattended in our yard any longer. A few days later the neighbor behind us came to our door, and told us that it was their cat that had been attacked. They claimed the cat had sustained serious injuries, and that they had $3000 in vet bills, which they wanted us to help pay. My husband and I talked it over, and decided we would help out with a few hundred dollars but we wanted to consult with a lawyer before paying any bills. Since it was the weekend we had to wait until Monday. On Monday morning the neighbor left a nasty letter calling our dog a murderer, and telling us that we needed to do the right thing and help pay the bills. The lawyer informed us that we were not liable since Java was in our fenced yard, and we decided that since the neighbor’s attitude was hostile we would not pay.

Then last night, at 11 pm we went to let Java out for her evening potty in the back yard. Both my husband and I went out and checked the back yard for animals and saw none. We let Java out and she began running around the yard excitedly. Not recognizing the warning signs, we both thought she was just happy to be out. However, there was a cat in the bushes, which Java found after a few minutes. She chased the cat around the yard and since both dog and cat were black my husband and I could not see them, in the dark. It took us a few minutes to break up the fight. The cat had scratched Java’s nose in several places and she had bitten it. This morning we found out that the cat (belong to yet another neighbor) had to be put to sleep.

We have always recognized Java’s potential for harming other animals. As such, we have been careful to keep her leashed or in a properly fenced backyard as responsible pet owners should. However, we cannot keep animals such as cats and other skilled climbers from scaling our privacy fence and entering our back yard. This has never been an issue before since those that were capable of climbing in were always capable of climbing out before any harm came there way. In light of the recent events we see no option but to either keep Java leashed in our back yard, to muzzle her if she is not leashed or to put her to sleep. All of these options seem cruel. Any opinions or suggestions would be helpful.

 

Probably putting a muzzle on her when she is outside in your yard would be the least harmful to her. You can also try training her to desensitize her, but it is VERY hard in an animal with such a high prey drive.

Are there laws in your neighborhood about cats running loose? Can you talk to the neighbors near you and tell them that you cannot be responsible for what happens if their cats enter your yard? I know you don't want a cat to be harmed, but it is really THEIR responsibility to keep their cats indoors!

 

I have three high prey drive dogs...all of them herding types and I have to say I feel strongly about what you wrote. From my point of view..you have done all the responsible things. 8' privacy fence..most people have only 6'...you were checking the yard..YOUR YARD. Your dog has not gotten out and hurt anything. From the dogs point of view, she is protecting her yard. The neighbors need to keep their animals out of your yard or be prepared for the consequences. She recalled after the first incident which is damn good! I think putting her down is just plain wrong!

If you want to try to change the behavior I have found a citronella collar an effective tool. I bought mine on ebay for $99 and that included shipping. I originally bought it to try and solve an issue with one of my dogs in flyball..it worked after a couple sprays. I then used it when the neighbor got a HUGE Husky puppy of 8 months old. The pup and Witt would fence fight. I put the collar on Witt and let him out on a 30' training lead. He started to do his back yard business and then the pup appeared, he ran for the fence and as soon as he reached it I sprayed him. Thats all it took...ONE TIME. Neither dog wants anything to do with the other. They both think the other stinks horribly.
This collar has a small box on it and comes with a remote control. On the remote there are three buttons. #1 emits a beep, it is to use like a clicker, marking good behavior. #2 emits a short spritz of the citronella, this is the only one I have ever used. #3 emits a longer spray of the citronella. The citronella does not hurt your dog..they just think it smells really gross. A trainer on our flyball team has used the spray to break up a dog fight and it worked then too. This is a training tool, it is not meant for everything and used in the wrong situation could make things worse. In the situation you are talking about I think it is well worth the try and an appropriate issue to use it in. Because it is operated by remote, your dog associates the horrible smell with the cat or the behavior she is involved in, not you. Every time one of my dogs got spritzed they immediately ran back to me. It should not be overused and you should not make a big deal about it when the dog comes back to you. I always calmly say "oh no Witt, what happened?" and then just continue about my normal doings.

The system I bought is called Premier Spray Commander Remote Control Spray training System. It comes with the reciever device, remote control, adjustable collar, can of stain free, hypo allergenic citronella spray, 2 6 volt batteries, an instruction guide and a training CD.

You could also use a 30 or 50 foot training lead on her while you work on this, that way you have physical control of her, but she can still move around her yard freely.

I do not honestly believe your dog has done anything wrong. The behavior is natural, maybe undesirable, but it is instinctive and a part of owning a high prey drive dog. To put her down for that is unfair. I may get crap for that opinion, but I'll bet the cats will soon figure out your backyard is not the place to hangout. I also do not feel your are liable for vet bills. THEIR CAT WAS IN THE WRONG PLACE.

 

I want to ad this....The citronella collar is different from the shock collars. Using a shock collar in your situation would escalate the behavior. your dog would associate the pain of the shock with the cat and likely be more determined to go after the thing that caused the pain. Especially if your dog is a herding type dog where they have been bred to "get back in there and get a job done", after being kicked by livestock.

I also want to ad that as with any training..timing is critical. When you spritz your dog is the most important part of the training.

 

I second everything Maisey said!

 

I do not mean to be meen, or insensitive, but the cats have no buisness being inside your yard with your dog. Laws here say that if a cat is wounded in my yard I am not responsible for its care. The cat owners need to restrain there animals.
I do not feel your dog has done anything wrong or out of the ordinary.
If a cat got in my yard and injured my dog on the other hand then the owner of the cat IS responsible for my dogs care. Your dog is at risk of being severly injured by these cats and inconsiderate cat owners. What if a cat gets her eye?

 

The collar sounds like an interesting option. At the very least we could try it with a muzzle and find out if you can teach an old dog new tricks. I will research it and present it to my husband this evening. We love our dog and we both recognize that she was only acting on instinct but I don't want another cat to die if we can prevent it. In the mean time I feel reassured that other people understand. Thanks.

 

I would not combine the collar use with a muzzle..at leaste personally. You want the association to be made to the cat..not the muzzle. The training lead could be held onto by one person and the remote another, that way if the spray doesn't make her back off you can reel her in. You could also use the collar while she is still in the house. If she see's a cat in your yard and starts going off at the window, squirt her.
The timing thing is everything. If she is out in the yard and you see a cat..the instant she starts to move to it, hit the remote. Eye contact with the cat is another time. Don't yell...don't rush over...let the spray make an impression.
I definately understand your feelings, I just don't want you to beat yourself up over it. It was not your fault. I have two cats, both are older and when i got them they were outdoor cats..I never had the heart to limit them to the house. I know that with them being allowed outside there are risks. Poison, mean neighbor, cars, dogs, other cats, wildlife..you name it. I accept the risk, I would not expect a dog owner to pay for my cats vet bills if my cat wandered into their yard. Everyone may not agree with my allowing the cats outside..thats ok, my point is, I know the risks and would not be blaming someone else for my choice.

 

we had a high-prey drive dog and she did fatally wounded a dog once in our yard - we were considered partially responsible and subject to a fine for having an aggressive dog unrestrained in spite of her being on our property and the other dog also being on our property. I have a feeling you'd find if your dog injures/kills another dog the laws will be entirely different from that over "just a" cat.

You could always add on to your fence - chain link along the top bent over at an angle facing away from your yard. Cats won't climb it.

Your homeowner's insurance company ever hears about this and you could most likely kiss that goodbye. And you might want to make sure your neighbors never find out who you have your insurance through.

 

I have 2 indoor only cats exactly because of this. I can't even imagine that happening to one of my cats. And my dogs and I raised Copper, so he isn't afraid of dogs. I could just see him strolling up to my neighbor's dog and getting eaten.

My weenie dogs go after my neighbor's cats all the time--in OUR backyard. The cats sleep in my bushes inside my chain link fence and Zoey goes in there every morning looking for them. I know she has tried to attack them because I've seen the scratches and heard the ruckus and had to go in the bushes after her. (She's even had scratches on her hiney from retreating LOL). So now I worry about snakes and gosh knows what else is in those bushes.

So I can see both sides but I totally agree it's not really your fault. Sad, but not your fault. And isn't it weird that my dogs live with 2 cats but go after cats outside??

 

Not weird at all, my dogs don't go after our cats, in fact they snuggle with them. The live with them and know they are part of the family. BUT the cats outside, those are "invaders" and shall be run off. If the cat doesn't run, my dogs leave it alone. But anything that runs fast is liable to get chased in our yard.

 

I think it was more than generous of you and your husband to consider paying for part of the bill especially since the event occured in your fenced backyard and was not your fault.

I admire the fact that you are trying to find a solution to prevent this from happening again. I had the same thoughts as Mary on the bent fence facing away from yours. I think it would prevent most cats from being able to enter your yard. Actually I think certain types of these fences were created for that very purpose...keeping cats in their own backyard. In your case, it would be keeping other peoples cats out of yours.

Same here. I was suprised by how reactive Sebastian became when a white cat was sitting on the top of the fence in my yard. He was determined to chase that cat away from the premises.

 

my Shepherd won't chase my cats - but she goes ballistic is she senses a cat in our yard (my cats are inside only too).
My previous dog, Daisy...she of the strong prety drive...once got between the neighbor's dog (her bud) and my cat when the neighbor's dog tried to chase her. I always found that odd....Daisy and Casey used to play together all the time, once Tami walked by (a cat who is now over the Bridge and she used to go outside) and Casey went to chase her and I was surprised to see Daisy stop him.

 

I don't wish to seem harsh either, however, your dog is in your fenced in property.
I too have dogs with high prey drives (I own pit bulls)
Although I also have cats and my dogs are fine with my cats, I can assume if they saw strange small animals in my yard, my dogs would chase them.
My dog once killed my daughters ferret. He did give clear warning signs that the ferret did not understand.
So, in all honesty, tell you neighbors if they cared so much about their cats, to keep them indoors and not let them roam others people's property freely.
Again, I don't mean to sound mean, but its really not your fault nor your dogs fault that these cats end up in your yard.
Maybe they should be more responsible pet owners too???
What are you doing wrong???
Sue

 

All three of my dogs would chase, catch, and kill any other animal that intruded in our yard. Except our neighborhood bear, that they have taken a liking to.
I do not think they are meen or bad for this, they are just doing the natural thing.

 

I guess my weenie dog has a strong prey drive too. Zoey once caught and killed a small squirrel with the help of my Mom's pom. She definately chases anything in her yard. And then goes inside to snuggle with the 20 pound cat.

 

I think everyones said what I too would have said, its sad, no one wants to think of their dog attaking and possibly killing another animal but you have already done everything you could possibly be expected to do, its not like your dog has been running around loose on the street attacking 'anything' and everything that moved.
I also think it was very generous of you to have offered to pay anything towards the vet bills, I would probably do the same in your position, but not because I felt legally responsible, for me it would be because I know I would feel bad and would want to help the cat, I wouldnt in any way be upset or mad at my dog and I wouldnt consider putting him to sleep.
The insurance is a concern as Mary NH said, also about other dogs coming into your property, might be worth finding out exactly what the laws are concerning that in your area just so you know.

When I lived in UK years ago my Grandfather had a security gaurd dog, a Kelpie, he killed a few cats that came over the fence, my grandfather put some kind of grease along the top of the fencing, I'll try and find out exactly what it was, the cats just couldnt grip onto the top to climb up and stopped coming over, he had to keep redoing it but knowing grandad it wasnt expensive and didnt take much time. I think it was some kind of grease used either for tools or cars (I was young at the time!!!), I just remember there being something about it lasting a while which is why he used this particular one.