dog chasing cat

Question
We rescued a year old, bluetick/lab mix, she is a wonderful dog, and we are trying to work out some of her behavior issues...we are however having no luck keeping her from the cat.....she seems to not respect any boundaries in regards to the cat...i know bluetick are bred to "tree" their prey, and sure enough, a switch goes on, and she is relentless. I read the answers you had listed...we have tried everything...even just letting them loose in the house and have it out....the cat doesn't actually have a problem with the dog ( we have another dog, that she tolerates, and is...OK with ) the dog just won't let up....like she's possessed....any suggestions...we have had her just about 2 months...the cat actually enjoys most of her time outside...we give the dog plenty of exercise...it would just be nice to have an hour or two of peace when they are in the house together, thank you, any in put would be appreciated.


Answer
As you are familiar with the bluetick need, this won't be too difficult.  Does she have an outlet where it is OK to "hunt"?  Not even where you go shoot things-just somewhere to explore and possibly chase some squirrels?  This would be the first thing-and not in your yard, somewhere like a park or state land, open to hunting.  Anywhere she can "work".  Really make that fun for her, praise and treats if she does tree something, and plenty of time to burn her energy off.

At the house, keep her on a leash and reward her when she ignores the cat.  It may be a serious fight at first, with her trying to get the cat-and you may really hate me the first time you try this!!  But eventually she will give up-even if it is because the cat left the room, or she is just frustrated.  When she does-BIG reward.  Something really good-like hunks of cheese or meat.

You will have to take baby steps with her, and may never be able to completely trust her around the cat-but she should get to the point where it is manageable on command.  As you work on it, use a "leave it" command when she stops trying to get the cat, and then she will build the association between the command and the behavior so you can use the command in the future.