Pippa goes beserk when she sees a cat! Help!

When Pippa sees the neighbours' cat she literally loses the run of herself. She barks and barks. This happens from inside the house. So I'm conscious of attached house beside me.
They like to sit on top of the chair in sitting room and look out the window. When it happens I remove her immediately and try to calm her down. I usually keep them away from this window but I would prefer to let them watch the world go by as it's a great stimulus for them. Any advice as to how I could stop/reduce her over excited barking?

I have :xctly:the same problem with Pippin, so what I am about to say is based on what I'm trying, and it is still a work in progress.

I go up to him and calmly take his collar and tell him to "come away", lead him to his bed in the kitchen and reward him with a treat once we're there. The frequency of him making noise when he sees a cat (and magpies - he hates them. ) hasn't lessened yet in the house, but he is easier to move from the window, and as long as I stay calm and Maddie doesn't join in with the barking 50% of the time I don't have to get him, I can just say "come away" and start walking to the kitchen and he follows.

He makes the most terrible racket when he sees a cat or magpies when we're out as well, but this morning for the first time I managed to walk him past our neighbours cat with no noise. i*no: For out on walks I tell him to "watch me" which is a command he's known since he was a little puppy, and once he makes sufficient eye contact he gets a reward, closely followed by being told to walk to heel. If he does this until we're away from the cat/magpie and stays quiet then its another treat. As he's really food orientated this is working quite well. Sometimes though I have to put the food on the end of his nose to get his attention.

Once again a work in progress. Good luck with whatever method you try and let us know how you get on. Unfortunately I don't think there's a quick fix for this behaviour.

I think this is pretty impossible to resolve (at least to the extent of making her uninterested in barking) -- it is really more a matter of having a dog trained enough to be able to call it away from an overstimulating situation, or to stop barking on command. Or managing the situation so that it doesn't occur. That means blocking the view, or blocking access to the view. It is a long slow process to get a dog to not bark at something, when it does work. But you can train her to stop barking, or call her to come to you the minute she starts.

I'd keep curtains closed or block access when you are out. Maybe talk to your neighbours to find out if they even hear anything. Lily is the same!

I'm not surprised Pippa barks at cats, I remember her trying to eat a cow! :jmp2:

My dog is very similar when he sees a cat on our walks, and he is 11yrs old! We have a cat at home and he just loves her, it's just that he gets so excited when he sees a cat outside, I think he just wants to play What Madpip is doing sounds very sensible - just taking your dog away from the window and getting them to do something else + giving a treat when they behave.