Hi Everyone,
Got a little problem thats just started and i would like to know how to sort it out. Jack my 11 month old GSD has memorised every hiding place of all the neighbourhood cats down our street:rolleyes: The first 5 minutes of a walk consists of him pancing, pulling and making silly noises and we have'nt even seen a cat:rolleyes::rolleyes This behaviour stops as soon as we get to the top road.
Any helpful advice would be gratefully received

Jane

Can you walk him in the opposite direction ;) ?

Margot

When he starts all his carrying on, try turning and going back the way you came. Every time he starts this silly behaviour just turn around. You may not get very far the first few times you try it, but he should learn that he isn't going anywhere unless he behaves himself :) Worth a try.

Thanks, never thought about doing that:rolleyes:

Fraid not, 1 way in 1 way out

If you can't take him in the opposite direction  - what about the other side of the road (if, of course, you are walking along a road!)

Margot

Maybe he's just a friendly fellow and wants to meet the neighbours, cats and all?  Would allowing a visit satisfy his curiosity and enable him to move on afterwards?  Does he have his own cat?  Just thinking, I've always had cats with my dogs and the dogs find other cats quite uninteresting and I wonder if that would help your boy.  We don't want "familiarity breeds contempt" though, must respect those other cats.

Where I lived before, there used to be a black GSD who the owner could not control, he used to frequently escape his owner and we would hear an almighty racket as he chased after every cat he could see, believe me he did not want to say hello, he would have happily ripped them to pieces if they had been caught.

Even dogs which live with cats still chase and would hurt another cat, so it would not be a good idea to introduce this young dog to the cats he is so eager to find, not to mention the cats would probably give him a good scratch on the nose for getting too close, which could cause not just him whining and pulling to get to them, but ferocious barking at the next meeting.

If it were just to teach him not to pull on the lead, I would advise as suggested, the stop and start, and walk to heal with treats, but to be honest, the best action is probably to pop a ball in his mouth and get passed as quickly as possible, whilst young this is a natural instinct and not something that can be curbed some breeds are worse than others, once he is an older dog if not allowed to chase cats will not be quite so interested.

Thanks for all the advice, there's plenty of food for thought