dog and cat

Whispered

I've posted before about my dog who we got as a pup, and my two older cats. The cats have always ran from him, even as a small pup and when he got the chance he always chased so any interaction has been strictly monitored. Up until recently, I thought the chasing was not serious and so didn't really worry about it. But now I' not too sure.

The dog will go to bed and stay there when told, which allows the cat to wander around the room, but I have to stay beside the dog to prevent him from taking a dash at the cat.

I have tried the sit/stay which works for a few seconds.

I have tried to keep a lead on the dog so if the cat comes into the room I can simply stamp on the lead if the dog goes to chase. This works indoors, but outdoors it doesn't as he's too quick.

If the cat is out the back, I have to go out first to carry him in.

This is the only aspect of his training which I can't get a handle on. He usually is very responsive to what I am saying, but it seems that when he sees the cat, all thoughts of me and my commands leave his head and he even pushes past me to get to him.

I'm starting to worry about not only the cats physical safety, but his life.

I don't need them to be best buddies. But ignoring each other long enough to pass in the hall without the hackles on either coming up would be nice.

With regards to draining his energy to make it less likely he will chase, he gets 20 mins in the morning most mornings, about 40 - an hour in the evenings then a 20 - 40 min fast paced run with my OH at night. His weekends are usually high activity too. So I think he is exercised enough?

Can anyone please offer any advice. I was trying to find one of those spray collars with a remote control but they seem to be very hard to come by.

wexford202

I think if it's in the dog's instinct there isn't a whole lot you can do about it. It is like a monkey not liking bananas!

I have the other extreme. My staffie is afraid of the neighbours cat. She comes into my garden and slaps my dog in the face and makes him whimper!:rolleyes:

Glogg

I have a dog & cat also. I've had my cat for years and we got the dog at xmas last year. You are being an overprotective parent. I went through all this as well. Let your dog chase the cat and it will no become apparent who is boss. Like children, they have to learn. Cats are survivors. If you are always stepping in and splitting them apart you are preventing both from reaching a mutual understanding. They will reach this and I guarantee the cat will be just fine :-)

Whispered

I know you could be right Glogg, but because I disn't allow it happen earlier I'd be very reluctant to allow it now. The dog is now a year old and large enough to seriously hurt the cat should he get his paws on him.

Also, there has been occasion where they came very close and instead of defending himself, the cat simply runs.

dee o gee

I had the same problem, my cat is extremely nervous and not at all confident. We got our dog (a terrier, probably not the best choice) last may, we've had the cat nearly 4 years, when we first brought charlie (the dog) home we stupidly let him straight into the house where bunty (the cat) was and of course he chased her, she was terrified, shaking with the fear, the poor thing didn't come out of the utility room for nearly a week, wouldn't go near the patio door when he was outside and would hiss with hair raised whenever she saw him.

Eventually she calmed down a bit with the hissing and growling, but the real breakthrough came when charlie was put into in-home boarding. The couple that was looking after him had a few cats that were well used to dogs, and had dogs that didn't bother with the cats, the cats are well able to take care of themselves and would'nt be afraid to give a dog a clobber across the face if the dogs bothered them, they also didn't run when a dog chased them, which would be charlie's main problem, once the cats stop running he stops in his tracks.
When we brought him home bunty must've picked up on his new found appreciation of cats, because she started clobbering him across the face and if chased she would stop and sit and look at him, once he realised she wasn't going to run anymore and that he was going to get clobbered he kept well away from her!
They now can at least be in the same room as each other without any major rows, they're not exactly best friends but I never expected them to be. He still chases her but thankfully not as much anymore.

Is your dog chasing your cats just for the fun of chasing them or is it actual aggression, if that makes any sense? Does he use his teeth when chasing them? Could you maybe put a muzzle on the dog, maybe until the cats realise he's not going to hurt them just chase them, they might start defending themselves a bit more. Have the cats somewhere to go up high out of reach of the dog, like a window sill or something, or could you install baby/pet gates to keep them seperated?
If its not actual aggression he's chasing them for and just a high prey drive, could you borrow somebodies cat or bring him to somebody elses house that has a confident cat? Maybe once he gets a few clobbers and the cat doesn't run when chased he might lose interest in them?

Calhoun

helena.ryan wrote: »

I know you could be right Glogg, but because I disn't allow it happen earlier I'd be very reluctant to allow it now. The dog is now a year old and large enough to seriously hurt the cat should he get his paws on him.

Also, there has been occasion where they came very close and instead of defending himself, the cat simply runs.

My old cat a ginger tabby used to bully my dog (jack russel), had to watch her when feeding him and everything but they were best of friends. I would agree with allowing them to interact more, might get the two of them to being friends.

what type of dog do you have?

iguana

Be very careful about just letting the dog and cats be and expecting the cats to stand up for themselves. Cats might be scrappy and that can often shock the dog into stopping the "attack" but it can also cause the dog to switch from mindless "chase" mode into real aggression. Even a mid-size dog is stronger than a cat and it doesn't take much time for a dog to inflict serious or fatal injury. When I was about 5 I saw a dog chase a cat into our garden, catch it and kill it within seconds.

I'd definitely work on increasing their contact, but make sure you control it until you know they are safe together. Try sitting with your dog held closely to one side of you while petting one of the cats. If he sits quietly pet him with your other hand. If he starts to growl/makes a move to chase give him no positive attention. When he goes back to sitting quietly praise him immediately. This would be easier done with two people as one could control the dog while the other controls the cats. You could start off a distance from each other and slowly move nearer. You will need to be sure taht everyone involved is doing the same thing consistently. This is probably going to be a long slow process, but as the dog is used to chasing the cats and the cats are used to being chased, there are hard habits to break.

luckat

Keep it really, really calm, helena.ryan, and for now only allow them to be together after the pup has had a huge walk and is tired and happy.

I had the same circumstances, with a friend's terrified cat who came to live with me and a lively young dog who loved to chase.

For months - almost a year, I think - the cat lived upstairs. (My dog isn't allowed upstairs.)

I tried gradual and gentle introductions, like bringing the cat downstairs if I was watching TV and holding her on my lap while the dog was in the room. But as soon as the dog became too interested or the cat too frightened I'd bring the cat out and put her through the banisters so she could go back upstairs.

It took a long time, but by the time she died a couple of months ago they were becoming good friends. I know from experience that they would have been real friends in a few more months - already they were touching noses and occasionally playing chase (in a way that was obviously a game).

My dog was distressed and depressed when she died, and obviously misses her - to the point where she heard miaowing outside a few weeks after the cat's death, and barked happily, tail going like mad. When I let her out and she saw it wasn't our cat she came in with tail and ears drooping and got into her bed, and lay there staring into space for a couple of hours.

Just keep things very gentle, and use a soft voice with the puppy. Any time she's with the cat, make sure she's tired and fed, she's under your supervision, and she's being gently stroked; if there's any rowdiness, remove the cat without comment.