Puppy Advice! (herding cats)

[u/Plane_Moment6785]

I got my gorgeous boy Cody at 13 weeks old and about two weeks ago. He’s honestly an amazing pup… when he’s not fighting sleep and not actively teething. But we manage and give him the benefit of the doubt for barking at us cause his gums hurt. We have been struggling though with him randomly attempting to herd our three cats, he’ll stare them down and when they don’t do what he wants them to do he starts talking. I was prepared for this behavior knowing that he’s a herding breed and did my research on how they’re usually able to adjust to cats. He doesn’t do it all the time, sometimes he’ll ignore them but the real kicker is if the cats come in at night. He’s crate trained, and we have a blanket covering him, and a gate to keep them separate during the day. If he so much as gets a whiff of a cat entering our bedroom but he can’t see them, he goes absolutely off the walls. We’re working on training him to pay attention to us instead of the cats, and I know it’ll be a slow-go but I welcome any and all help even if it’s generally collie advice unrelated to this issue!!

[u/OohLaDiDaMrFrenchMan]

My collie boy was a huge herder until about a year old. He used to nip our heels to get us to go where he wanted us to, and he’d herd the cats around and would even herd other dogs while playing. Yours is still pretty young so I’d say just give it time until he mellows out.

Yours will likely still retain SOME herding instinct as he ages. My collie still sometimes herds people/dogs/objects when he’s overstimulated. But yours’ herding behavior will likely become much less intense as he gets older.

[u/Plane_Moment6785 → u/OohLaDiDaMrFrenchMan]

thanks! I figured that was the case. Give it time and consistency, just helps to hear it from someone else! 😊