Couple of Quick Question

Question:
 Max doesn't chase our own cats, in fact he's really good with them - but - it would seem that anyone else's cat is fair game to chase:mad:
Out walking last night, Max was walking really well when he spotted a cat across the road. Cat spotted him and if I didn't know any better I would swear the cat was saying "C'mon then. Chase me"!
I had the leash in a loose loop in my left hand and holding the end of it in my right hand. You all know what's coming here - and yes, I should have dropped the loop:o Anyway, Max took after the cat and the loop tightened round my hand quite painfully so I'd no option but to drop the leash. Max chased the cat into someone's back garden:o The cat got away completely unharmed (thankfully as I love cats too). Max came back and at least had the good grace to look ashamed. He knew he'd done wrong and was scolded for it.
What was probably more worrying was he shot off across the road. Fortunately, it is a quiet road and it was quite late on at night - but - if a car had been coming, it could have been a very different story. I'm a lot to fault with this incident by not dropping the loop but don't want to risk this happening again.
Up until now I haven't wanted to use a Halti or Gentle Leader head collar. I am now strongly considering it as I don't want a repeat performance of that again. At the moment Max hasn't quite learned the command "Leave", although he is improving.
Would such a head collar stop this type of behaviour? Can the use of such a head collar be stopped eventually once the dog has learned and obeys commands such as "Leave" fully?
Max has learned a lot in the past 4 weeks since we got him. He's very good at the kerb. He will sit as soon as he's told now and won't move until I tell him too. He is getting better with "Stay" - it's one command he's learning really quite well. His recall is getting better, although if he sees something more interesting (like another dog or a cat) he ignores me and just takes off. Something I'm working hard on to address but, hands up, I'm having difficulty with this particular area.
Love Max to bits and the thought of him possibly having an accident because of his lack of training just doesn't bear thinking about.

Answer:
 I dont think a halti would help...Most dogs dont learn on it and cant progress off of it. I would say get a prong collar, this way as soon as you see a cat or something else pop...and if he still doesnt react pop again. Also give your command, if he doesnt respond after two times turn around and just walk the other way and kind of pop as you go until he is back by your side and walking. Then turn back around and walk by again. You may have to do this a few times, but it will be worth it.
If you have any questions just ask...

Answer:
 Prong collars are illegal in this country so it's either a choke chain (which I've never had any success with - all the dog does is end up choking itself - I haven't got the physical strength or height to use a choke chain effectively) or a head collar.
It was a pity he chased the cat last night because up until that point he'd behaved beautifully and we were really enjoying our walk.
Of course, we come home, Max goes up to Blue, our cat, tail wagging, Blue the cat reciprocates by purring loudly and winding himself round Max's legs:rolleyes:

Answer:
 i didnt knwo they were illegal, thats really wierd...
when youg ot home was max standing over the cat tail up wagging...kind of proud and high and mighty over him or just kind fo standing there.
Because if he was then that needs to be corrected, he is not being nic to the cat he wants to rule it and chase it your cat just is smart and doesnt run like the others. If he does this then go over and kind of poke him with your ahnd on his side and then make him sit stay and re-lax. this could help lots with seeing ither cats. Cause from my impression he isnt really liking the cat, your cat just is smart and doesnt run like most...
When it comes to collars, you could try the halti but it is just holding them back it wont acctually teach any thing.Even if you are working on the commands, he wont be able to walk without it...Its to bad you cant have a prong, I think that is what you need...

Answer:
 When the cat's around sometimes it's when Max is standing. His tail is held high and wagging. Other times, like when the cat comes in the living room, Max will be lying down and the cat will rub his face against Max's and purr. Max will often give Blue a quick lick.
Our really old cat, Lucy (she's crippled and has poor eyesight now - she's 18 years old) put Max in his place very early on. He got too close so she whacked him across the nose with her bad paw. Her paw turns under so all he'd felt was soft fur, no claws. He's very gentle with her. He won't bound up to her but approaches her slowly and seems to take extra care when he's near her. I'm sure he knows she's old and a bit fragile.
On a Sunday when my husband is working, I often have a long lie. It is the one time when Max is allowed on the bed. He and Lucy are curled up sleeping only inches apart.
When we first got him he would chase our cats in our own back garden but he hasn't done that for the past couple of weeks.
Our last dog Sadie was also like that. She never chased our own cats either in our out of the house but would chase strange cats that didn't belong to us out of our garden or if we had her out for a walk she would make to chase a cat if she saw one. Usually my husband handled her as I couldn't. Sadie was a champion puller and never got out of it. We tried a Halti collar on her which did help up to a point but she spent most of the time trying to get it off. Sadie's biggest problem was she was about 5 or 6 years old when we got her (she was an ex-breeding bitch from a not very nice place) and had never been lead trained. Her biggest problem was trying to take her for a walk in the first place. It was a nightmare as she would go absolutely stupid with excitement, jumping all over the place and yelling loudly - so much so one of our neighbours thought we were beating her up until we explained what was happening:eek:

Answer:
 For now your best bet is to use a head collar, Max is still very new to you and your family. And as you know with rescue dogs it take about 4 weeks for them to feel part of their new pack and then they start showing what their really made of.
I would say it time to really work on your recall and a stop command. I use a 30 or 50 foot long line, not a retractable lead. You can do this with or with out head collar. I take the dog out to a field (you have one already that you use) let the dog drag the line around, they forget it on after a while. Then I say the dogs name and the word stop, at the same time I step on the long line. Doing this will make the dog stop, I praise "good stop", then call the dog to me. If they come I praise them the whole way and reward when they get to me and sit. If the dog stands in one spot or trys to walk away (very hard to do with a human standing on your line) I say "NO, Come" and reel them in praising the whole time "good come". But I don't give a treat for a forced march.
I practise this at random times during our walks. Once the dog will stop dead on the very long line and even if an other dog is running at him. Then I put an old 6 foot lead on and start the process all over again. Until my dog can be leash free and stop,come when called.
For your normal onlead walks I would still use a head collar, this way you have the edge over his strenth.

Answer:
 Ok....show me a pic of a head collar. I have had the gentle leaders and the haltis but as soon as you take them off the dog is back to his same old self. I have the same situations with two of my dogs python. We have a cat, but in the house we call ot a "kitty" they dogs love their kitty, but outside is a totally different story. Any cat is fair game! Oso couldn't care two hoots, Vanilla I will warn her ahead of time, and Uma....Oh boy!!! not good!

Answer:
 Depending on how big your poochie is, you can always wrap the leash around your waist. That way you still have your hand free and if he takes off you still have control.

Answer:
 HM...wanna wrap Uma's leash around your waist??? Or should I say would you like to eat some dirt? hahahah