Aug/Sep 75
Behaviour and trainingBehaviour and training | | PETSPETS
http://www.petsmagazine.com.au 75
RUNAWAY HOUND
Q:
Dear PETS team, my dog Cassy has been
running away recently and won’t come
back. She used to do this but then stopped and
we thought this habit was gone for good, but
she has started doing it again. My mother said
that if she keeps running away, we will have
to sell her because it is becoming too hard to
keep fi nding her. What can we do to stop her?
Dharma, via email
A:
Hi Dharma, running away is a common
and frustrating problem. Dogs are highly
intelligent and curious creatures who become
bored easily when they’re left outside for long
periods of time. Dogs repeat behaviours that
have a rewarding outcome for them. If Cassy is
repeatedly running away, the reason is because
the outside environment is more exciting for
her than the backyard.
There are a few things you can try to help
her want to stay home instead of running
away. Provide her with lots of daily exercise and
mental stimulation in the form of environmental
enrichment. This can include feeding her daily
meals in a food-dispensing puzzle toy, providing
her with some new interactive toys and rotating
them often, as well as doing daily training sessions
with her using treats to reward good behaviour.
Raw meaty bones are another way to help her keep
busy and enjoy spending time in the yard.
Escape-proofi ng the backyard is important. As
long as Cassy knows she can run away, she will
likely do it again in the future. Allowing her more
time inside the house to spend with you can also
help make it less likely she will run away.CAT FIGHT!
Q:
Dear Dr Kate, my pet cat doesn’t get
on very well with another cat in my
household. Most of the time, Elvis avoids
Stooge, but sometimes they have small fi ghts
and I wonder if there’s anything I can do to
stop it. We have separate litter trays and food
and water bowls for them, so they’re not in
competition, and it almost seems that when
they fi ght, it’s over nothing. Please help!
Rebecca, via email
A:
Hello Rebecca, aggression between cats
living in the same home is common,
especially following new introductions. Fighting
is often due to fear/anxiety, competing for
access to resources and territorial behaviour. You
are on the right track with having separate litter
trays and food bowls, but it’s also important to
reduce competition for access to other resources
such as favourite resting places, hidey holes,
scratch posts and toys.
You can work on building a more positive
association between the cats by feeding them
their favourite treats whenever they are near
each other and remaining calm and tolerant. You
can also try having daily play sessions with each
cat to avoid them targeting each other in play,
which can escalate to aggression. With time and
repetition, Elvis and Stooge will learn to associate
each other with more positive experiences.Dogs run away because they
fi nd the behaviour rewarding.