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<blockquote data-quote="Socion" data-source="post: 1535846" data-attributes="member: 101908">Most dogs dislike loud noises and are stressed by a lot of commotion. Some fear cats, and that&#039;s not all that unreasonable. Cats have sharp claws and, besides, you suspect the cat picks on him. What do you expect the dog to do in a situation like that...? I&#039;m not sure if you are concerned that the dog is distressed, or if you merely believe he needs to change to suit your idea of what he should be. I will say this, however: You are making a mistake in petting him when he comes to you upon hearing a loud noise. You are sending the message &quot;Good boy, be anxious and fearful&quot;. You&#039;d be better off ignoring him. In fact, stop watching every little thing he does when there is loud noise or cats around. If he knows you&#039;re looking at him, he&#039;ll associate *you* with the unpleasant stimuli. If he wants outside, let him out and go on about your business.Edit: Turn your back if he&#039;s trying to &quot;sit on your shoulders&quot;.&nbsp; Or step toward him and reclaim your space. Be consistent, do it every time. You have to have a stronger will than he does. Eventually he will stop if he knows you&#039;re just going to turn your back every time. Another thing you want to do is stay one step ahead of him. You know his triggers, therefore you should be able to anticipate when to act. If you are ready to step forward or turn your back *before* he is on you, it will be that much easier. At the same time, tell him &quot;uh-uh&quot;. When he backs off, tell him &quot;good boy&quot; to confirm the behavior you want from him (positive feedback).&nbsp; There *are* training and leadership issues going on, but there is not enough space here to deal with it all. He&#039;s using his size and strength to run the show the way he wants. In that respect, he has plenty of confidence.&nbsp; Sit, stay, wait command training could help. Your techniques of distraction could be effective, but you may need to tweak them.&nbsp; I recommend you watch &quot;It&#039;s Me or the Dog&quot;. He plays with the cat outside, but he wants nothing to do with the cat inside.&nbsp; Count your blessings. It&#039;s not unusual to see questions here about dogs who torment cats.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Socion, post: 1535846, member: 101908"] Most dogs dislike loud noises and are stressed by a lot of commotion. Some fear cats, and that's not all that unreasonable. Cats have sharp claws and, besides, you suspect the cat picks on him. What do you expect the dog to do in a situation like that...? I'm not sure if you are concerned that the dog is distressed, or if you merely believe he needs to change to suit your idea of what he should be. I will say this, however: You are making a mistake in petting him when he comes to you upon hearing a loud noise. You are sending the message "Good boy, be anxious and fearful". You'd be better off ignoring him. In fact, stop watching every little thing he does when there is loud noise or cats around. If he knows you're looking at him, he'll associate *you* with the unpleasant stimuli. If he wants outside, let him out and go on about your business. Edit: Turn your back if he's trying to "sit on your shoulders". Or step toward him and reclaim your space. Be consistent, do it every time. You have to have a stronger will than he does. Eventually he will stop if he knows you're just going to turn your back every time. Another thing you want to do is stay one step ahead of him. You know his triggers, therefore you should be able to anticipate when to act. If you are ready to step forward or turn your back *before* he is on you, it will be that much easier. At the same time, tell him "uh-uh". When he backs off, tell him "good boy" to confirm the behavior you want from him (positive feedback). There *are* training and leadership issues going on, but there is not enough space here to deal with it all. He's using his size and strength to run the show the way he wants. In that respect, he has plenty of confidence. Sit, stay, wait command training could help. Your techniques of distraction could be effective, but you may need to tweak them. I recommend you watch "It's Me or the Dog". He plays with the cat outside, but he wants nothing to do with the cat inside. Count your blessings. It's not unusual to see questions here about dogs who torment cats. [/QUOTE]

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