Our 16 week old puppy has started chasing our cats in fun (fun for her but not for them!). We have tried telling her no firmly but this seems to make her worse, she starts tearing around the place. If she 'bounces' at them they run, and if they run she chases.

Any advice?

Try spraying her with water everytime she starts to go after them, but don't let her see you this way she will associate the spray (not nice thing)with everytime she goes after the cat, and when she doesn't a lot of praise.

What breed of dog is she? This can help determine why she is doing this.
QT

She is a Border Terrier.
Its not a huge problem at this stage but I would really like to stop it now. Whilst she is obviously only playing the cats don't know this and are getting more nervous of her, the more nervous of her they become, the more they run form her and the more they run the more she chases and so on and on.....

How long have they lived together?I'm in the same situation,my pup is 3 months.My parents have two huge tomcats that got him the first time he gave chase,they stalk him now so he's wary and avoids them.My own cat is a queen.At first she kept out of the way,but she gradually gained confidence.She'll sit out of reach throwing him dirty looks,occassionally she'll wander past him and he's straight after her,loving the chase.The curious thing is she's had plenty opportunities to claw him but doesn't yet when it comes to other cats she's a feline Bruce Lee.
The reassuring thing is he doesn't even blink when we pass a cat outside.
The cat even follows about 2 metres behind when we go for walks on the back fields.:)
I posted a similar post when we first got the pup,but everything has worked out fine as I'm sure it will for you.
Good Luck

I've gone right off cats at the moment. One of my neighbours has got 2 kittens and they spend a lot of time sitting in my next door neighbours garden, teasing the dogs, usually on the shed roof. Today one was sitting the other side of the wooden fence & my GSP ran at full speed (as usual) towards the fence went straight through it. Not sure who was more surprised, but hopefully it's taught them both a lesson. Ingrid

We have two Siamese in our house with our Aussie bitch and she started to 'herd' them. They are both declawed so the only thing they could do was 'slap' her... which only made her more determined. Since she knew the 'NO' command already when it started I would get between her and the cats loudly growl and say 'NO'. It is also helpful if you are able to anticipate when he/she is thinking of doing it and tell her no before he/she even starts to chase them. Thats all the advice I can give. Hope it helps. It has worked for us and now she knows better than to chase any cats. :D I would not let them get into scuffs though, hoping that it will resolve itself. Our male Aussie was herassed by a certain orange tom cat in the barn as a pup. As soon as he realized he was bigger than the cat he would chase it everywhere, they got into little scuffs all the time. But a while later the dog got angry and killed the cat! Thank goodness that he likes the rest of the cats just fine... guess that orange bully met his match. :(

This is the sort of occasion when a remote spray collar would be handy. Can you borrow one? Jackie

Thanks all for your advice and support. Actually she was better last night and I am working hard on teaching her 'leave it' rather than just 'no'. I'm confident that we will get there, they have been living together for 2 months now and whilst the dog IS chasing her its not as bad as I had thought it would be. We have also moved furniture around so the cats have more places out of the dogs reach.

One thing maybe someone could answer for me is what is the dog doing when she barks at the cats. It doesn't sound agressive, is she just trying to get a reaction from the cat or is she trying to get it to play with her. There have been many times recently that I wished that I could speak 'dog'!

I think the bark is highly likely to be the pup being playful and getting excited...puts me in mind of an 80's comic who used to say "chase me...c'mon just chase me!".
I think because the pup is young the cat will become a familiar smell,just another part of the family.I've been advised to get a stairgate so the cat can escape if needs be, which is a good idea anyway as I don't want the dog venturing upstairs.
It's strange how if you get a house guest who doesn't like cats,it's that person the cat will chose to try and sit on or just stare at...or do I just imagine that?:D
julie

Yes we have a stair gate and its worked wonderfully. The pup doesnt seem to care too much about not getting upstairs and the cats can have some quiet.

Taffy,
No I dont think you are imagining that! :D We have two, one of which is very shy and wont come out and visit guests, but the other loves everyone... expecially those who dont love him! :D

It just takes time for the pecking order to get sorted. I have a 10 month old afghan, and a 12 year old cat. I just insisted they had lots of contact, avoided separating them, and they sorted it out. When puppy chased the cat, i responded with a firm "no" and removed her, avoiding eye contact with her. Cat has also learned to cope by not running and has learned that turning to face Delilah will result in retreat! Now they are happy to share a bed!
Keep persevering, it will sort itself out!

I have 5 cats and 3 dogs who all exist happily in the house.They do adjust to each other after a few weeks....patience is the key. As long as the cats have a little peace each day when the dogs r out for their walks...everyone is happy. I have not known the cats to do more than gently swipe a dog in passing...for fun...and although the dogs due enjoy the odd chase...the cats r too fast for them.I feed the cats up high...so there r no food squabbles.