Trouble with Raven

I was going to say a trip to the vet was needed. Make sure he does blood work to see if there is something going on with Raven? Some diseases will change the dogs personality/behavior. I feel bad for the cat and for the family. It's very scary. Good luck and keep us posted.

Make sure you are the top dog. It sounds like Raven has gotten away with ramping up her teritorial behavoir and no one has stopped it. I will not let my dogs ramp into agression. I get between them and stop it. Although, actually, I rarely let them play together because it always becomes an issue of whoe is going to be second in command to me. We also have one dog who is never off leash in the house as he would definitely kill the cats if the could get them.

When I firt brought Joe Boxer home I made it abundantley clear to him that aggressive behavoir toward the cat was not tolerated. I moved between him and the cat any time he acted up and stood up as tall as I could and made sure I was top dog. But, I also watch him like a hawk because I know he is a dog and if the cats ran just right, he would probably chase them.

How much obedience work has Raven had? Is she spayed? Are the other animals spayed?

If you can't find anyone close to you, send me a private message and I can put you in contact with a trainer near Lebanon. A person from Lafayette comes down to him once a week or so. He said it isn't a bad drive.

Don't give up. You can't believe what Joe Boxer was like when I started working with him. He has made huge progress mainly from more exerciese, more obedience work and lots and lots of work on my part.

I ditto what Connie says. If everything checks out ok at the vet start with some basic training. You have to make yourself the pack leader. Make everything yours but you let Raven have it. That way she is not so prone to being territorial towards the other animals. Mom can usually tell when we want to chase Cooter. She says she can see it in our eyes. She gives us a really loud "Agh-agh" and claps her hands to break our attention. Training might also help because it will stimulate her mentally and physically. A tired dog is a happy dog and less likely to get into trouble. I agree with Connie that it also seems to help when all animals are S/N. Please keep us posted on how things are going. I am sure this can be resolved, it may take alot of work but obviously she is your baby and worth it.

I would definitely keep her on lead in the house so you can correct her behavior immediately until you can get some professional help. Having the vet check her is absolutely a great idea. Maddie is a notorious cat chaser, but she is small, and it's usually just Chaka that she targets and then humps if I am not right on top of her. It has the potential to turn ugly because every once in awhile that triggers Sydney's prey drive and the 2 of them circle the cat. With your big dogs, that could be awful if it happened. Some dogs also respond to squirting them with water when they are chasing cats. Keep us posted. Most dogs' behavior can be modified with time and the proper tools. I think Connie is right that Raven may have been ramping up her rank in the pack subtly over the past year. Has she been getting less exercise since the weather has been cold?

Everybody in the house is spayed or neutered. But I think we are partly guilty because we haven't been walking/playing as much these last 2 months. Rave's had some basic training, but I've been thinking about enrolling her in another class just so that me and her can work together. I have pack leader issues with my animals, but they all definitely see my husband as the leader and are usually well behaved when he is around. This is another reason why this incident worries me, my husband was actually home. We have to drop Raven off at the vet tomorrow and they are going to run some tests...I hope it is just a behavioral issue, not a medical one.

A refresher course is a good idea. She will start seeing you as being in charge, plus get more exercise, activity and mental stimulation from the classes. When Maddie has cabin fever and starts acting out cause she's bored, I try to find some focused activity to do with her to make her think, like hiding one of her toys in a box full of papers, or work on teaching her a new trick. She loves it because she gets lots of treats and attention, and it really does seem to improve her behavior.

The whole pack leader thing is harder than it sounds. Since I picked up Joe Boxer, I've done lots more reading on behaviorial issues and being the pack leader than I ever did before. I even spit in his food because one of the dog books I read said it helps with pack ranking (the theory that the pack leader eats first, so his salavia is on the food that is left over for those lower in pack rank). No idea if that really works, but I am now more of a leader to Joe rather than just a resource he was guarding because I provided food. I found some good information at http://www.dogproblems.com/ You have to subscribe, but it isn't much and you can download the articles and keep them. They also have a forum for subscribers that seems to have a lot of trainers who post.