Chases The Cat

[Adrianna & Calvin]

I'm surprised by all of 'it's the cat's fault' comments.

My sister has a 5 month old kitten, and Remi loves to stalk and chase her. He has never bitten her, but he mouths at her. She will play for a while then get rough with her, like pens her down on the floor.

I think the kitten may be interested in playing, but gets frightened when the dog grabs her in his mouth and pins her to the floor. That is not unreasonable on the kitten's part.

The hardest thing to deal with is that the kitten will come up to him and smack him, or walk very slowly by him when he is laying down.

The kitten may initiate play, and then find it has gotten out of hand. Or the kitten may be trying to ward off the dog by striking the first blow -- for a smaller animal, an offensive blow is sometimes the best defense. As far as the walking slowly, she may be doing this because she is trying NOT to provoke him. From a cat perspective, rapid movement invites chasing.

But as soon as Remi wants to play she freask out and hisses and doesn't want him around her. But no matter who starts its always Remi's fault.

The larger, more powerful animal is often blamed because s/he is the one with the potential to do more serious damage. A nose scratch is nothing next to an accidentally broken back when a pup's weight is thrown on a kitten. Animals (and humans!) of this age lack the inhibitions and the sense that comes with maturity -- knowing your size and strength is part of that. I've done a lot of cat rescue, and my late dog would not escalate beyond a lunge and bark at a cat who was showing real aggression towards him, even if the cat was scratching him. I'm sure this was because he was well aware that any next step on his part (he was 34kg/75 lb) would lead to serious injury in an animal so much smaller than him.

I've tried teaching him "leave it" with kitten but he doesn't listen. Is there anything I can try to teach him to ignore the cat even if she starts the 'Fight.'

He needs to learn Leave It. Kikopup (as usual) has some great videos. The kitten is giving you a wonderful training opportunity! You can also teach Leslie McDevitt's "Whiplash Turn" from her Control Unleashed Puppy book, a solid Look At Me will also help, and if he knows "Find It" in a pinch you can scatter some treats on the floor and have him Find It if you get in a jam.