Is there anything you can do to make an impulsive dog stop and think before acting or is it just a personality trait you're stuck with? Mainly I'm trying to curb his chasing of my cat Neko. He doesn't do it for fun (I've dealt with that and it was easy), it's just a reactive thing where he MUST DO SOMETHING TO CAT if he's triggered. He is triggered to do it if he hears Neko running with his claws out and they scrape the floor, hears the cats getting into a fight or playing (thumping bodies), or if Neko scratches his scratching post and makes it rock a little so it makes a banging noise (though he doesn't get too worked up about that). It often happens if Neko and Willie both jump over the gate out of my room and bump into the gate a little. He thinks the cats are chasing each other or something and when you add in the noise of banging the gate he loses it. He also occasionally goes after him for non-Neko related things in a redirection type reaction. Like any random knock (hitting a wooden spoon on the edge of a pot while cooking) or yelling (at a sports game on TV or something). He ONLY does it to Neko, never Willie.
He chases Neko, sometimes screaming while he does, and once Neko jumps up on something he runs around the platform barking. If it's the coffee table and Neko is near the edge he will sometimes jump up and nip him. In the rare case that Neko doesn't run Tucker will run up and bite him once (without any damage and it doesn't appear to hurt), sometimes running him over a bit, then he's done. He's actually much more out of control when Neko jumps up on something because it gets him more worked up/frustrated. I've curbed it a little. He's easier to stop if he has to run a good distance to get to the cat and I'm standing up (so he thinks maybe I can actually stop him before he gets to the cat). But if he's fairly close to the cat when he's triggered (say they're both on the couch) or he's triggered to the point where he's screaming when he runs (this is usually when the cats are getting into a nasty sounding fight) then it's very hard to stop him. He has gotten easier to stop AFTER he chases him, so when he's barking, but I haven't ever been able to reduce the actual number of times he goes after the cat. He's just become a bit easier to stop once he's started.
Since it's really hard to practice with the trigger to teach him to ignore the triggers(I can't really make the cat do the stuff that triggers the dog in order to repeatedly practice on leash) I was wondering if there's any way to simply reduce Tucker's overall reactivity so that he can be capable of learning and thought when he's triggered so maybe commands would actually sink in or consequences that occur after he chases him (time outs) actually work. Right now I simply don't think he's capable of controlling himself from having that knee jerk reaction, when he hears Neko do one of the things that triggers him he is off like a rocket, completely zoned in on the mission of getting the cat.
He chases Neko, sometimes screaming while he does, and once Neko jumps up on something he runs around the platform barking. If it's the coffee table and Neko is near the edge he will sometimes jump up and nip him. In the rare case that Neko doesn't run Tucker will run up and bite him once (without any damage and it doesn't appear to hurt), sometimes running him over a bit, then he's done. He's actually much more out of control when Neko jumps up on something because it gets him more worked up/frustrated. I've curbed it a little. He's easier to stop if he has to run a good distance to get to the cat and I'm standing up (so he thinks maybe I can actually stop him before he gets to the cat). But if he's fairly close to the cat when he's triggered (say they're both on the couch) or he's triggered to the point where he's screaming when he runs (this is usually when the cats are getting into a nasty sounding fight) then it's very hard to stop him. He has gotten easier to stop AFTER he chases him, so when he's barking, but I haven't ever been able to reduce the actual number of times he goes after the cat. He's just become a bit easier to stop once he's started.
Since it's really hard to practice with the trigger to teach him to ignore the triggers(I can't really make the cat do the stuff that triggers the dog in order to repeatedly practice on leash) I was wondering if there's any way to simply reduce Tucker's overall reactivity so that he can be capable of learning and thought when he's triggered so maybe commands would actually sink in or consequences that occur after he chases him (time outs) actually work. Right now I simply don't think he's capable of controlling himself from having that knee jerk reaction, when he hears Neko do one of the things that triggers him he is off like a rocket, completely zoned in on the mission of getting the cat.