Odd behavior

Question
I have a retriever mix adopted rescue dog.  She's approx. 2, spayed female, and we've had her for about a month.  She was very calm and docile, and basically still is.  But, with the cold weather, we think some cats have taken to living part-time under our deck.  This dog gets so worked up and wants to spend so much time outside (it's single digits out there right now, so I won't leave her out long), that when I keep her in, she gets herself so worked up, she's panting, drooling and shivering all over.  She can't relax even at night to sleep.  Is this normal retriever behavior?

Answer
Retrievers often don't have the prey drive other breeds do, but she may have more plus may have been encouraged to control the vermin she may see the cats as.  Or, perhaps she wants to play with them like she did cats in the past.  I encourage adoption, but sometimes the dogs come with past baggage.  

I would give her plenty of attention and perhaps as much walking as the 2 of you can stand.  I would also call animal control about removing the cats.  Once evicted, I would close under the porch before even less desirables move in.  

Better leadership should help too.  The key to most behavior problems is approaching things using the dog's natural instincts. Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/ For more on being top dog, see http://www.dogbreedinfo.com./topdogrules.htm