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Pomeranian Questions and Answers

Question: Since we got our Pom Coho he constantly chases one of our cats around. He chews on her and drags her by the tail. I have tried stomping my feet and making loud noises and it doesnt seem to help.... he will go away from her but then two ,minutes later his is doing the same thing again... How can I stop this behavior? Owner: Christine, Pomeranian: Coho

Answer: Hi Christine! This is your Pom's instinct to chase after "prey". Your Pom is seeing your cat's tail as the "goal" of the game. From the 1st day that your Pom chased your cat, and your cat ran...this told Coho that chasing your cat was a game and catching her by the tail is his "reward" for catching her.

Now, you must train your Pom that chasing the cat is:
1. Not a game
2. Something unacceptable that will need to life= no fun
3. Not chasing the cat = fun, rewards and life is good.

There are several things that you can do.

We would suggest beginning in a way that gives you much more control over Coho, until he learns. Therefore, we would recommend a harness and 6 foot leash. We suggest tethering the end of the leash to you. In this way, he must stay within a 6 foot radius of you at all times. If he tries to lunge and go after your cat, having a harness instead of a leash will make sure that your Pom is not injured. (Most commonly we would be worried about a collapsed trachea).

Each time that the cat walks by, give Coho the command to "Sit". If Coho sits, immediately offer him a doggie treat and pats from you to show that you approve of how he remain being nice. Every know and then, you should also give Coho a nice, new dog toy when he does not chase the cat.

Any time that he tries to chase after the cat, being tethered to you will not allow him to. If he does try, do not bother reprimanding him... he will not understand. What he will understand is if you ignore him. For 5 to 10 minutes, say absolutely nothing to Coho. No treats, no patting, no words.

Within a couple of weeks, Coho should be getting the idea that chasing the cat= no fun & that not chasing the cat = pats, treats and attention from you.

Once you get to this point, you can then repeat this training...but without the leash. Be sure to be consistent. Even not implementing the training 1 time can confuse your Pom...and he will not be 100% sure about what you expect.

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Within about 2 weeks of training without the leash, when the cat walks by, Coho should look up to you for expected pats, praise and a small treat.

Once Coho really understands that he is expected to not chase the cat, you can then give a treat every other time or every 3rd time. When you do not give the treats, be sure to go a bit overboard with attention. Give bigger pats, hugs and kisses. This way, once he is trained, he will learn that getting great attention from you is a wonderful reward and he will not eat 20 treats a day!