As the temperature continues to become cooler my dogs are spending less time outside and so is my cat Henry. At this time of year Henry realizes that winter is coming and does not enjoy the cold ground on his feet. This means that he is a little friskier in the house as he is not getting his outdoor exercise. This friskiness triggers more excitement in my dogs. Tulip and Elfie are more aware of Henry's movement so if he moves around quickly or climbs on furniture one of them will bark and then the rest of the dogs come running. Then the dogs will then gang up on Henry attempting to chase him. One starts and they all join in “oh the joy”. So as a result of these behaviours I need to step up my training of multiple dog (pet) house hold.
The first step is more mental stimulation for the cat and dogs. I have started with getting the dogs out a few times a day with multiple shorter walks, and adding more training while we are outside including parkour, heeling or recall. Inside, I have increased training with leave it, go to mat and tricks as well as searching for treats, recall in the hallway or stairs in the house.
Now to train Henry, I bought him a new scratching post and started doing search cues for him to look for hidden treats. Buying some new toys for him as well as a flirt pole (a long slender pole with a toy on the end) is on the list. The main challenge is finding time to implement the mental stimulation games to five dogs and Henry! I start with revisiting the training exercises and games with the cat and dogs individually and then slowly practice the exercises in groups of 2 or 3 (you may have to have the other dogs in a separate room or behind a gate with a chewing treat).
In my household the dogs prefer to gang up on the cat. So I In order to address this I reward the cat first so that treats for the cat predict good things for the dogs. If one of the dogs gets pushy then I remove them (put them on the other side of the gate, or in another room, they lose their turn to play). Slowly change out the dogs or add a few until you can interact with all of them at the same time. It will take some adjustment and learning on your part.
For when the times that everyone is excited use your obedience and tricks to redirect them to. I recommend being proactive and redirecting your dogs before they begin chasing or pestering the cat. Don't wait for a problem to happen before you intervene.
I believed that as my dogs got older that they would relax about the movement of the cat but it seems to increased every year when we are all inside together. Living with a group of dogs as well as a different species, whether you have a cat, a bird, or another pet can be challenging. It takes work to help them live harmoniously but we put in the effort so everyone can get along.
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