Why is my Golden Retriever obsessed with my cat?

If your Golden Retriever won’t leave your cat alone you might be wondering why and what you can do about it. In this post, I will show you common reasons why they do it and what you can do to get it to stop.

So, why is my Golden Retriever obsessed with my cat? Possible reasons are that it’s jealous, it’s being dominating or that it is just playing when it does it.

There are actually many reasons why your Golden Retriever might be doing it and it could be due to a combination of reasons. However, there are multiple things you can do about it and there are some things you can consider to help figure out the main cause.

Why your Golden Retriever is obsessed with your cat

Below are some common causes of Golden Retrievers being obsessed with cats and what would make them more likely to be the reason why yours

It is jealous

The reason why it is obsessed with the cat could also be that it is jealous of your cat. This would be more likely if it becomes more obsessed with it when you have been giving your cat more attention and if you have not been giving your Golden Retriever as much attention lately.

In this case, it would help to give your Golden Retriever attention throughout the day in the form of training, exercise and by playing with it. However, it would be important not to reward it when it becomes obsessed with your cat by giving it more attention when it does it.

It is being dominating

The reason that it does it might be that it is being dominating. This would be especially likely if it does it in situations such as when they are eating. It would help to feed your Golden Retriever and your cat separately since it is a lot more likely that it would become aggressive towards your cat when it is eating.

It is just playing

It could be the case that your Golden Retriever 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 Golden Retriever not to do be obsessed with it using the tips below.

It gets rewarded

It might also be the case that it does it because it gets rewards when it does it. If you tend to give your Golden Retriever things such as extra attention, toys or treats, when it is obsessed with your cat, it will likely do it more in order to get more rewards. Instead, it would help to get it to stop with the use of positive reinforcement training as shown below.

Things to consider

Below are some things that you can consider to help figure out why your Golden Retriever has been doing it.

When your Golden Retriever became obsessed with your cat

If your Golden Retriever was not always obsessed with your cat, it would help to consider what else happened when it first started.

If your Golden Retriever became obsessed with your cat suddenly, it would make it more likely to be due to things such as jealousy especially if it started doing it when you gave your cat more attention.

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

The times that it is obsessed with your cat

It would also help to consider the timing of when it becomes obsessed with your cat since the timing could also have something to do with it.

If your Golden Retriever becomes obsessed when they are both eating, it would make it more likely that your Golden Retriever is resource guarding and it would help to feed them separately.

Whereas, if it always does it, the cause could be that it is jealous, it is due to getting rewards when it does it or that it is just playing.

The age of your Golden Retriever

If your Golden Retriever is still a puppy, it would make it more likely that it has not learned to leave your cat alone yet. If it is a puppy, 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 Golden Retriever is older, it would be more likely to be due to a combination of expecting rewards, jealousy and being dominant.

How to stop your Golden Retriever from being obsessed with your cat

Below are some of the options you have when dealing with your Golden Retriever being obsessed with your cat.

Separate them

If you think that it might harm the cat or the cat does not like it, the best option would be to separate them whenever possible. This would be especially important when they are eating since Golden Retrievers can be possessive when they are eating.

Train it to be nice to the cat

To train your Golden Retriever to leave it alone you’ll do it in three stages. First, you’ll teach it to stay, then to stay while it’s being distracted and then to stay when the cat is around.

The video below shows you how you can train it to stay.

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

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

Then after your Golden Retriever maintains its attention on you, you’ll reward it for doing so. You’ll repeat this process where you get your Golden Retriever 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 Golden Retriever and your cat until you’re able to get your Golden Retriever to keep its focus on you even when the cat is nearby.

Watch the video below to see how it is done.

Train it consistently

When training your Golden Retriever it is important to be consistent with the training. It is unlikely that you will be able to achieve drastic results with just one training session. However, if you are consistent with the training, you will be able to achieve better results over the course of weeks and months.

Get professional help

If you can’t get it to leave the cat alone or it is aggressive towards it, the best option would be to get help from a dog behaviorist or trainer. By doing so, you should be able to get expert advice tailored towards your particular Golden Retriever, to see why it has been doing it and how to get it to stop.