It’s a Dog’s World…. Chasing Cats

Although your dog may not hunt, his body still bears the traits of his ancestors. In doubt?  Just take a look at his teeth – those sharp incisors and consider his eyes. They have thousands more movement receptors than human eyes.  We see color. Dogs see action.

Dogs have a chase drive that makes them instinctively go after anything that runs.  And cats sure do run. Even when dogs don’t have much of anything in mind, the sudden flash of feline movement sends a message to their brains:  “Chase”, and that’s exactly what they do.

Lucky for cats…. while the urge to chase prey thrives in modern dogs, the follow-up to kill prey has largely been extinguished. Meaning dogs get excited by cats and they enjoy chasing them, but when they get them cornered, they forget why they wanted them in the first place. Most dogs will corner a cat and then bark out of frustration because they don’t know what to do next.

Dogs bred for hunting, guarding or herding, such as retrievers, Rottweilers and Border collies, are among the most incorrigible cat chasers.  So are high-energy dogs such as terriers and Dalmatians.  Dogs least likely to chase cats include basset hounds, Great Pyrenees and Newfies. You might want to keep this information in mind if you have a cat and are thinking of adding a dog to your family.