How to train for no Cat aggression in Akitas

[.Survivor.]

viewtopic.php?f=44&t=1416519

The link says it all. Please read the story of my Kiki in the link above and then please read my last post on that page.

I just found out today that my beloved car was attacked and killed by my Akita. I am NOT putting anything against the breed because they are and still will be my favorite breed of dog...but cat aggression is strong in their blood. I need to know how to re-train my Akita to where he can be around cats again. He was fine with cars when he came to us as a stray and had never hurt one.

Please, don't post hateful things here about Akitas but please post helpful tips on training. He is a sweet dog and I'm not getting rid of him, but we have an older cat as well an my mom is afraid for the older cat. Please help me...

[IAmLink]

Akitas actually have a very high prey drive that can be focused on cats, not that they are aggressive to cats.

You need to do some serious desensitizing training with your dog. Do you know why your dog attacked your cat? Was your dog eating and/or guarding his food? Or maybe he had a toy that he was trying to protect? Finding the reason behind the attack is the first thing you need to do.

I have a Shiba Inu with very similar problems, but though she has attacked our cats, she's never hurt any of them, just scared them. My dog is very food possessive.

One of the best things to do to help with desensitizing is to get a clicker and/or do some positive reinforcement training. You need to take your dog around your cat(s) and teach him that it is a good thing to have the cats around. Only give him treats when the cat is in the same room. When he looks at the cat, very quickly say "good!" or use the clicker and immediately give him a treat. Try to get him closer and closer to the cat (over many training sessions), clicking and treating both when he looks at the cat, and also when you call his name and he makes eye contact with you.

If he gets stressed and/or seems to get aggressive when the cat is near, immediately remove him from the same room. Take him back into the room after he has calmed down, and go very slowly.

It will take a lot of time to see any improvement, but if you train enough and have enough patience he should become desensitized to the cat being around.

Also, when you are not home, make sure he is kept separate from the cat at all times. You don't want to have an incident when you're not at home.

[.Survivor.]

My dad said he had let the Akita into the fenced back yard and apparently Kiki had climbed the fence (she was an out door cat) and she had tried to get under a shed and the Akita got to her. It's weird, they always seemed to be the best of friends and Kiki always love to sit outside the glass storm door and tease the dogs. I will try what you have suggested as the Akita responds very well to training. Thank you for posting those hints!