Reptile & Amphibian Forums

my year old beagle is the absolute best dog we have ever had. i got her when she was 8 weeks and she has been a spoiled little princess ever since. there is just one problem. she LOVES to terrorize the cat. the poor cat gets barked at and cornered and then she bites ( playfully, not to cause pain) the cat and jumps at him. its is very disconcerting for the cat, and all the barking is driving me crazy! i am trying to teach her a " no kitty" command, but she is so darn stubborn! i feel bad for the cat. also, she is a barker, and i was thinking about getting one of those noise collars or the citronella one, does anyone have any experience with either? i would like to use it as a training aid, to teach her a no bark or a speak and no speak command. and also, for when i move into an apt, since non stop barking will not be allowed. what can i do about the cat situation? and i remember seeing something about an obedience training method where you use a ball and tap the dog with the ball when they are doing somehting wrong. has anyone ever heard of that? i am looking for a way to train her without having to be right next to her, because she knows that when i am near, that she cannot do these behaviors that i am talking about, its mostly when i have left the room or am out of sight.

meagan

I have 3 cats myself, but luckily my Beagle NEVER barks, never. But he does love to harass one of our cats inparticular.

The way we got him to stop was using an empty pop can and 4 or 5 pennies. Put the pennies inside the can and anytime the dog does something he's not supposed to do, shake that can and it will get his attention. Once the attention is focused on you and not the cat, give the dog some reinforcement like a treat or pet and "good girl" or something like that.

This wasn't an instant fix, but it did solve the problem after about 2 weeks.

I've been told that the empty pop can usually only works w/the bigger breeds, but it worked fine on my mini-beagle.