The method
How to stop a dog from chasing cats and small animals
A dog that bolts after the cat, the squirrel, or the neighbour's rabbit is not being defiant. Chasing is self-rewarding, which means every successful sprint makes the next one more likely. The fix is not one command. It is a layered plan: physical management so rehearsal stops, an interrupter the dog believes in, and enough impulse-control work that movement stops flipping the switch.
Last reviewed August 26, 2026
Prey drive plan
Manage the rehearsal, then pay the alternative.
Start by closing the gym. Every chase your dog completes is a rep, so use leashes, long lines, baby gates and a covered crate to stop rehearsal cold. Indoors, the cat gets vertical escape routes and rooms the dog cannot enter. Outdoors, the dog drags a long line until recall is proven. Management feels like a loss. It is actually the foundation, because you cannot train a behaviour the dog keeps practising.
Then teach the skills that replace the chase. Leave it starts with food on the floor and graduates to a tossed toy, then a moving one. Recall gets paid heavily, first in the hallway, then the yard, then at growing distances from real temptation. Add impulse-control games: sit while a ball rolls past, wait at the door while the cat crosses, calm on a mat while something scurries. Marker training makes each win obvious to the dog.
- Long line until recall holds
- Cat gets escape routes
- Leave it paid generously
- Impulse games before real tests
Wildlife and honesty
Hares on the pathway, and the breeds built to chase.
Calgary raises the difficulty. Hares sit motionless on winter boulevards until your dog is nearly on top of them, squirrels run fence lines through every mature neighbourhood, and deer step onto the pathways at dusk. A dog who ignores the cat at home can still lose its head when a hare explodes from a snowbank at close range. Proof your leave it and recall around the wildlife you actually walk past, not just in the kitchen.
Honesty matters here. Some dogs were bred for this, and a husky, a sighthound or a working-line terrier may never be trustworthy off leash around small animals. That is genetics, not failure. For those dogs the goal shifts: rock-solid on-leash manners, a leave it that interrupts the stalk, and recall that works before the chase begins. Our Functional Off-Leash program, $3,030 plus GST across three weeks, builds recall around real distractions, and we will say so if your dog is not an off-leash candidate.
The programs
Extra hands for the introductions.
When the mix needs a professional read, these are the options.
W · One-hour session
Private Training
One-on-one coaching with you on the other end of the leash.
Includes a written weekly plan to work from
S · 5–6 week board & train
Behaviour Rehab
Kaitlin's specialty, and the work she loves most.
Includes assessment-built plan, 2 follow-ups, deep owner education
Asked and answered
The questions people ask us.
How do I stop my dog from chasing my cat?
Block rehearsal first: gates, a leash in the house, and vertical escape routes for the cat. Then pay heavily for calm around the cat and teach a leave it that beats the urge to launch. Most dogs need weeks of managed exposure before they can be loose together.
My dog keeps going after my cat. Is that aggression?
Usually it is prey drive, not aggression, though the risk to the cat is the same. Watch for stiff stillness and hard staring before the launch; that stalk is your window to interrupt. If the dog has grabbed or injured the cat, separate them fully and get professional help before trying more training.
How do you train a dog to leave cats alone?
Teach leave it as a game the dog wins, starting with food and building to moving objects. Reward the dog for looking at the cat and then back at you, at a distance where it can still think. Close that distance over weeks, not days.
Can you train a dog to ignore cats completely?
Many dogs get there; some high-drive breeds only ever reach managed coexistence. The realistic goal is a dog that disengages when asked and settles with the cat in the room. We assess drive honestly in a consultation before recommending a program.
Keep reading
Chasing you cannot interrupt?
We build leave it, recall and calm around real temptation. Book a consultation and tell us what your dog chases.
From real owners
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Real Northline dogs