What to do about cat hysteria?

[kjdonkers]

Every time when I walk Lela and Binti and we encounter a cat (chicken, hedgehog etc.), they go from calm to ballistic in a fraction of a second. Especially Binti, on her hind legs, shouting at the top of her voice as if we are sawing a baby in half…
I have not found a way to calm them, so what I do now is to give the whole thing no attention at all, keep walking with arms as relaxed as possible. This way calm restores itself fairly quickly.
Is there anything else I could or should do?

[eeeefarm]

You could try distraction by asking them to do something…....like sit or watch you.......in exchange for a food reward. Depending on the dog, this can work well, but with two it is definitely harder. At least they aren't attacking each other, as my girls used to do when they encountered a barking dog they couldn't get at! (transferred aggression, lots of fun!)

[agilebasenji]

Can you get a copy of the book Control Unleashed? I think it would help a lot.

[DebraDownSouth]

A lot of training at home for distractions and leave it command also help.
http://www.clickerlessons.com/

[Chealsie508]

Oakley tend to try and drag me when he sees a cat- I don't help it any by saying the word "kitty" which excites him. I know it's not a way to fix the problem but I just stop and stand still until he's calm enough to continue to walk.

[Shaye's Mom]

Both my girls will try whatever they can to get to a cat, squirrel, other dog, whatever they see that they think they can chase - the only thing I can do is keep their leash short and keep on walking. It slowly changes from pulling on their hind legs to walking with their heads turned backward to finally giving up and continuing the walk. Not a lot of fun at first though. I have tried teaching them to sit on command during the walk when there's nothing there, and turning to walk the other way so they are concentrating on which way I want to go, and other methods I've heard about, but in the end, when there's something to try to get at it's all for nothing. Mostly I pray they don't see the kitty - and it's probably not a great idea to call their attention by saying "kitty." If we are in the house and talk to our cat by saying "kitty," the girls are up and looking out windows and running form room to room to see if there's a kitty they can chase. They do know better than chasing "their" cat - and have scars on their noses from when they tried.