Why is my German Shepherd obsessed with my cat?

If your German Shepherd is obsessed with your cat, you’re probably wondering why and what you can do about it.

This post will show you a number of things that you can do about your German Shepherd being obsessed with your can and why it is.

So, why is my German Shepherd obsessed with my cat? It is likely to be due to the strong prey drive that German Shepherds have. It could also be that it is jealous or that it is being dominating.

There are a number of things that you can consider when trying to understand why your German Shepherd is obsessed with your cat. Depending on the cause, there are also a number of things that you can do about it.

Why your German Shepherd is obsessed with your cat

Each of the different reasons that your German Shepherd is obsessed with your cat will likely come with a number of clues.

Below, I will mention some reasons why your German Shepherd might be obsessed with your cat and the signs to look for.

It has a strong prey drive

German Shepherds are a breed that is known to have a strong prey drive. This means that they have it in their nature to chase after small things like cats, rabbits and even small dogs. 

This is likely to be why your German Shepherd has been obsessed with your cat.

They have actually been known to kill small animals. So, it’s important not to keep them together until you have trained your German Shepherd to be as well behaved around your cat as possible. 

It is jealous

It might also be the case that your German Shepherd is jealous of your cat. This would be more likely if it only seems to become obsessed with it after you give your cat attention or if you have been giving your cat more attention overall lately.

To correct this it will be necessary for you to give your German Shepherd lots of attention and to give it lots of exercise so that it doesn’t feel the need to be jealous of your cat. It will also help to employ some of the training methods described below.

It is being dominating

Another possible reason that it’s obsessed with your cat could be that you have an overly dominant German Shepherd.

If this is the case then it could be that your German Shepherd is trying to assert its dominance over the cat.

Signs that this would be the reason would include your German Shepherd displaying other dominant behaviors such as trying to position itself in higher positions than yourself or being unresponsive to your command (although that could also be a lack of training).

It is just playing

It could be the case that your German Shepherd is just playing when it does it. This would be more likely if it does not become obsessed with it in an aggressive way.

However, even if it is just playing, it will still be helpful to train your German Shepherd not to do be obsessed with it using the tips below.

Things to consider

Before trying to get your German Shepherd to be less obsessed with your cat it would help to have a better idea of what is causing it. Below, I will mention a few particularly helpful things that you can consider.

When your German Shepherd became obsessed with your cat

The timing of when your German Shepherd started being obsessed with your cat would likely be a helpful thing to consider.

If it wasn’t always obsessed with it and it started being obsessed it suddenly then it would make it more likely that it is obsessed due to jealousy.

However, it could also be that your German Shepherd is being dominant if your cat has been doing things like sleep where your German Shepherd normally does.

The times that it is obsessed with your cat

It would also help to consider the timing of when your German Shepherd becomes obsessed with it.

If you notice that it only seems to do it at certain times then it would help to consider what else happens at around that time.

Perhaps, your German Shepherd does it when you are about to feed it food and it doesn’t want the cat beating it to it.

The age of your German Shepherd

If your German Shepherd is still a puppy then it would make it more likely that it has not learned to leave your cat alone yet. If it is a puppy then it will be very helpful to take the time now to train it to behave the way that you want it to so that it is well behaved as an adult.

If your German Shepherd is older then it would be more likely to be due to a combination of having a strong prey drive, jealousy and being dominant.

How to stop your German Shepherd from being obsessed with your cat

Below, I will mention a number of things that you can do to get your German Shepherd to be less obsessed with your cat.

You can look at the book Training Your German Shepherd on Amazon to get more tips about how you can train your GSD.

Separate them

One way to get your German Shepherd to be better behaved with your cat would be to simply keep them separated. By doing this you will be able to keep your cat safe and to prevent bad interactions.

You could do this by keeping your cat in separate rooms or you could try sectioning off areas using room dividers.

If your German Shepherd is still a puppy then you might not want to do this since it’s easier to get your German Shepherd to get along with cats when they’re younger. So, you’ll want to emphasize on the training method in the video below. However, it would still help to separate them when you are not around.

Train it to be nice to the cat

The next option is to train your German Shepherd to be less obsessed with your cat. If your German Shepherd is still a puppy, it’s very important that you take the time to do this now. It’s also important that you train it regularly and that you continue to over a long time period.

To train your German Shepherd to be less obsessed with your cat you’ll do it in three stages. First, you’ll teach it to stay, then to stay when it’s being distracted then to stay when the cat is around.

I have written about how to teach your German Shepherd to stay and how to do it when being distracted in the past here.

After you have taught it to stay when being distracted it will be time to slowly introduce the cat.

You’ll do this by telling your German Shepherd to stay and then start by just putting the cat in the same room.

Then after your German Shepherd maintains its attention on you you’ll reward it for doing so. You’ll repeat this process where you get your German Shepherd to stay with the cat in the same room until you’re able to get it to keep its attention on you easily.

Once it’s good at doing that you’ll continue to tell it to stay but you’ll reduce the amount of distance between your German Shepherd and your cat. You’ll continue to do this until you’re able to get your German Shepherd to keep its focus on you even when the cat is nearby.

Watch the video below to see how it is done.

Feed them separately

You could also take measures to ensure that you feed them separately. The chances that your German Shepherd will lash out at your cat is much more pronounced when they are eating. This is because it will naturally want to protect its food. So, by feeding them separately you’ll be able to reduce the likelihood of something bad happening.

Train it consistently

It is unlikely that you will be able to get your German Shepherd to be less obsessed with your cat in one training session. However, German Shepherds are a very smart breed so, if you stick with it, you’ll be able to make good progress over the course of weeks.