Frodo is an eleven month old coonhound mix. His owners adopted him from an animal shelter from down south when was 14 weeks old. Frodo adjusted into his new home and was easily housebroken and crate trained. He is also very docile and friendly with people and other dogs. Frodo's owners contacted me because almost from the very beginning he was obsessed with chasing their three cats and (treeing them) on furniture. The cats at that point were quite frightened and for month resorted to constant hiding. Coonhounds instinctively follow the scent of their prey until the animal climbs up into a tree. Then they stay there baying until the hunter arrives.
Frodo's case is complicated because of his genetic predisposition. In order to teach him not to chase the cats. We are using a remote citronella collar on him. I have instructed his owners to leave the collar on him all day and to simply push the remote control whenever he bothers the cats.This will make Frodo believe the cats are responsible for the correction, and luckily he detests the smell of citronella! The other side of this project is allowing Frodo to use his natural instincts in an acceptable situation. Twice a day now for twenty minutes Frodo is being taught to hunt for his favorite stuffed animal raccoon instead of cats! We have scented his "prey" with vanilla extract and have attached it to a long string which is dragged along the ground outdoors when Frodo isn't watching. This encourages Frodo to follow the scent of his toy which is then hidden in various different locations including up in trees! Frodo loves this game and is allowed to grab and shake his toy for several minutes as a reward for every "successful hunt". He is allowed to use his natural instincts in a positive way and his owners enjoys challenging his "nose skills" and creating some great diversion for him. Frodo is learning to leave the cats alone now. They are beginning to come out of hiding even with him in the room! Now all the pets in the household can begin enjoying equal attention and affection.