7 month old female lab seems to think shes a male & cat chasing is costing me a fortune

Question
Desi is a 7 month old, female, lab mix who was spayed at 6 months.  We adopted her from an animal rescue three months ago and have been working on training her ourselves.  She is a sweet natured little girl who has her moments of wildness.  We actually have two major issues with her.  
1. Since she was spayed, she has taken to humping her crate pillow which she drags around the house.  I'm aware that labs can be a handful (she is) but I've never encountered this before in a female dog.  I'm concerned that this is going to escalate to people etc.  Is there some way to correct her that will stop this?  I now realize that she needs professional obedience training, but I need some help now and this soon after Christmas money is a bit tight.  Any suggestions.
2.  We have three cats.  Needless to say, Desi thinks they are lots of fun to chase.  We correct her every time and she is crated when we aren't around to supervise.  She and the female cat get along fairly well, our older male ended up so stressed that we have spent a fortune in vet bills, and our youngest cat (the only one with no dog experience) just hisses, runs and hides.  Is this just puppy behaviour that we can train out or have we got a bigger problem?
Any suggestions would be appreciated.  Thanks.  

Answer
Dear Lyn,
Thanks for the questions. Happy New Year. I'm glad you wrote to me! I can help.  

You've already mentioned the main solution, "she needs professional obedience training". I would take the word professional out of that sentence. You don't have to be a professional to teach her, you just need some help getting pointed in the right direction. (smile)

First you'll need to learn a bit about animal learning and behavior. More specifically you'll need to learn how to communicate exactly what you want and you'll need to learn how to motivate her to want the same things. It's not that difficult. You can do it. Check out the two books I mention later.

In essence, the behaviors you mention can be reduced by managing the environment and teaching your girl what behaviors you would like her to perform in those situations.

For instance, get rid of the pillow and give your girl something else to do. Teach her to play fetch. Teach her to prance through the house with a toy. Play find-the-toy games.

Increase her exercise. Take her for a couple of 30 minute walks each day.

Let her forage for her meals. Get a kong, place a bit of duct tape over the small opening to seal it. Drop some treats and some food inside. Fill it up with water, add a tsp. of chicken broth. Stand it upright in your freezer and let it freeze.

Take it out of the freezer, remove the tape and then give it to your girl. This will simulate her mind and give her something to do.

Your ultimate goal is for her to relax when the cats are walking or moving about. First you should teach her to sit, down, stay, when the cats are not around. Then practice when the cats are in the room.

In the interim, attach a leash on her so she cannot chase your cats. Provide your felines vertical territories that are easy to reach, so they can flee. Use a crate or tether her to you with a 8-10 foot line. This will keep her out of trouble.

Buy these two books. Both books will cost less than $30 including shipping. You can find them at amazon.com.

The Only Dog Training Book You Will Ever Need: From Avoiding Accidents to Banishing Barking, the Basics for Raising a Well-Behaved Dog (Paperback)
by Gerilyn J. Bielakiewicz, Andrea Mattei

Beginning Family Dog Training by Patricia McConnell.

Seven month old pups are turbos and need lost of exercise, structure and training. Raising and teaching dogs is a learned skill and you can learn it too. (big smile) Just take a deep breath, start a training and management program, take it one step at a time and march right down the path to success!

Happy Training!
Alan J Turner


Owner: How's Bentley, Memphis, TN
http://howsbentley.com

Editor: Animal News Network
An animal digital resource
http://animalnewsnetwork.org