Hi there, wanted to give you some hope that this "is" possible to work through. We also just rescued a dog with some pretty serious aggression issues, and was violently so with my 3 cats. We feel certain that, if he could have gotten to them, he definitely would have killed them. We 1st very strictly and consistently enforced the alpha rules, and began with basic obedience training. At the same time, we pretty much did what Todd has suggested, which is desensitized him from the cats. In our case, the cats were inside, so I put up a mesh door gate, separating the dogs from the cats. He could watch them, smell them, etc but not touch. Every time he would act violent, growl, etc at them we used the grrr & "off" command. We would make him sit until he would relax, and then praise him for his calm, relaxed behaviour. He would be so intense on them, he would shake! After about a month of this, we allowed (1) cat into his area (while he was leashed). If he acted like he was going to chase, etc. we would grrr, "off", make him sit, praising for calm behaviour. Over & over, this took almost 3 months.
Now, we all happily exist together! He may watch them, but his tail is wagging! So, good luck - it can be done & well worth the effort! P.S. THANK YOU FOR RESCUEING!!!! THEY COME WITH BAGGAGE, BUT MOST CAN BE CURED WITH DISCIPLINE & LOVE!
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