Which dog breed for a jogger?

Dilbert75

This one's a beauty too, good size to have in the house too... The cat "thing" is the biggest problem though - and mickmcl09 has expressed the same concerns that I've been having. Will the arrival of an adult dog traumatise the cat - she's nearly 8 and we've had her most of her life, so we do owe her the decency of strongly considering her happiness.

caseyann

http://upload.irishanimals.ie/Uploads/77_P100310_11_34.jpg

I love this one she is beauty http://www.irishanimals.ie/dublin_homes.html

With the Cat maybe look up how to introduce them?

Meteoric

As with everything talk to the person who knows the dog, be it a rescue or a pure-bred.
My background is labradors, but there were ones that were fine with cats and ones that were not.
If your rescue dog has been fostered with cats and is fine with them, or has come from a pedigree breeder who had cats, dog will probably just ignore cat, who will get into a huff for a day or so and then make friends. I don't recommend testing it out on your own cat but if you have some sort of history of dog being fine with cats it should be fine.
One thing I have noticed is that there is a lot of generalisation on these threads about breeds of dogs/mongrels Like all are the same, they are not. My first two labs put up with a cat on top of them kneading them for comfort, my current one does not like cats, 'cause he did not grow up with them.
In all cases we were told if the dog would get on with cats without work (yes, yes, no) and it proved to be right

The Sweeper

Dilbert75 wrote: »

This one's a beauty too, good size to have in the house too... The cat "thing" is the biggest problem though - and mickmcl09 has expressed the same concerns that I've been having. Will the arrival of an adult dog traumatise the cat - she's nearly 8 and we've had her most of her life, so we do owe her the decency of strongly considering her happiness.

Very pleased to see you're considering your cat!

The upshot is your cat will be upset. How upset depends on how you manage your cat.

First, if your cat is an indoor/outdoor cat, you will have to keep her indoors when you bring the dog into the house, or you run the risk that she'll be so frightened and upset that she simply absconds and goes to live with a neighbour - or gets killed on the road roaming about to find somewhere she feels 'safer'.

When introducing any dog or cat into an established home structure, it's vital to basically ignore the new animal. In most situations in the animal kingdom, the newcomer is bottom of the heap (unless they're the super alpha king of the heap, in which case they come in, kill the challengers, eat the young and screw the females, and honestly you really don't want an animal like that in your house.) Essentially most people make their first mistake by presenting a cute puppy or kitten to their established household animals, expecting the animal to be as enamoured of the newcomer as they are, and then when the existing cat or dog snaps, hisses or scratches at the newcomer, the owners give out, scold the existing pet and pick up the cute new addition and cuddle it.

That behaviour, to your existing animals, feels like an emotional punch in the guts would feel to you. Imagine how you'd feel if someone brought a stranger into your home without telling you or asking you, and then told you off if you weren't nice to that stranger, didn't immediately feel like sharing your space, your food, your bed or your family with that stranger, and then started to give out to you for not simply being nice. You'd feel bloody awful - same goes for your animals.

It's not anthropomorphising the situation to say your animals often feel extremely upset by a new addition. There is a simple pack structure in every household, even with cats. When you introduce a new addition and artifically promote that addition through the ranks and place it above your established pets, it upsets the applecart completely.

Basically, if you bring a new dog (that you've already established with the foster or shelter is cat friendly or cat-oblivious) into your house, you need to spend all of your time spoiling your cat, praising your cat for ignoring the dog, and not admonishing your cat if she goes to smack or hiss at the dog. (Obviously intervene if she's trying to kill it.) The existing animal is always king of the house.

I've written stuff on here before about introducing a new dog to an established cat - it's up to you to keep the dog under control and on a leash at all times, and to make a real fuss of the cat. Put the cat up somewhere high for first introductions so they feel safe and can watch from a height, and step in smoothly if things escalate.

It's hard work, but it can be done - but you really need to take it seriously from the outset or it'll all end in tears. ANY dog can kill a cat - and it doesn't take much for horseplay to escalate.

I have a nine month bull arab x puppy who weighs in now at 27kgs or thereabouts, and he's perfectly capable of killing any one of my cats. However, virtually every single interaction he has with them is supervised. He is never allowed outdoors offlead into the garden at the same time as the cats are. (The garden is cat proofed, so escape proof for the cats.) Inside the house he was initially kept on a lead for every single interaction. I made good use of babygates in open plan areas to keep him from being able to pursue the cats.

The cats were spoiled and treated like kings and reassured when he was introduced first. They were not given out to for smacking him or hissing at him. He was given out to for barking at them or bouncing at them.

Six months on, he's still interested in the cats, and will try and get them to interact with him, but they're unfussed. One of them quite likes him and will rub herself off him, but still defend herself by smacking him in the face if he tries anything (he has a tendancy to 'butt' or nudge the cats with the end of his muzzle, mouth closed, to see if he can get a reaction. It works. The reaction is usually a hiss and a smack.)

My cats have their own room where the dog is not allowed and cannot physically get in (by means of a baby gate) so they have sanctuary where they know he can't bother them. That sanctuary has helped a lot.

However I have a large dog - a mutt, basically, a stunning mongrel of dubious origin - who has proven to have a prey drive as he's grown up. It's up to me to put a hell of a lot of work into the first 18 months of his life to ensure he reaches his young adulthood with a very clear idea that my cats are above him, they're not to be snapped at, not to be chased, and not to be harassed, and any instance of bouncing, snapping, chasing or harassing will be chastised.

It's difficult, however, because there's a HUGE and exciting reward to be had for the dog by chasing and bouncing at the cats. The excitement of the negative reaction is his reward, so I have to step in before they even react to him - because that's what he loves. He bounces around huffing and squatting and then darting away while the cat becomes more and more agitated, and it's a great game altogether. It's up to me to stop that game happening so he never gets the reward.

If you pick a mutt from a shelter, do not underestimate the potential for him to have a prey drive regardless of what breeds you think are in there. Shelter dogs are in an unnatural environment and often behave differently - there are so many animals around them and it's such a scary environment that their natural dog aggressive or prey drive can be very muted and their confidence can be low. Get them into your house for two weeks, feed them up, give them love, and then watch them suddenly barrel after your cat in joyous exultation one day because their confidence has grown and their natural tendancies are coming out.

I've had my bull arab x since he was 12 weeks old, and there's not a resource guarding bone in his body, but all but one of the cats were adults before I introduced him to the house, and they have their own minds in terms of how they feel about him.

cocker5

Dilbert75 wrote: »

Howdy folks. Having thoughts about getting a dog. Have 3 kids (youngest 5) and a (very nervous) cat to consider. My wife particularly loves Golden Retrievers, while I've a fondness for Spaniels.

Thing is that both myself and my wife do a wee bit of running - one or other of us will go running almost every day - and I was thinking it'd be nice if we could get a dog who could run with us. Distances would be up to 12k, for about an hour.

Are there any breeds which would be able for this? There is a perception that greyhounds and whippets would be ideal but I understand they are not great for any distance - correct? We could accomodate a retriever but not really any larger and we would have to get a small pup, as we think our cat would need to get to know him/her when its small and get used to them as they grow.

I've probably not listed some other things but I don't think I've omitted anything key to this particular aspect of the decision. Any thoughts?

def not a puppy... this would mean serious over excerising... they cannot run this amount until well into adulthood... around two years...i have a cocker spaniel he is 6 years of age now...(hence the name), i run 6 k four times a week with him and he loves it he would keep on going and going.. but im trying to built myself up to more than 6 k.... when we get home he flakes out by the fire all evening.. spaniels are excellent dogs... great personalities too i would def say adopt a spaniel.. lots of them are cat friendly.. plus you dont have all the halle of the puppy stage... while they are extermely cute... the stress and work last two / three years until they mature... my cocker was the devil puppy until around 18 months, from crying, to chewing, wrecking everything he came in contact with etc... to digging the entire garden.... i love him loads really...

the love to run and run... so from experience i would def recommened a spaniel... ... i would also say if your gonna to run your dog make sure you give him / her some extra help with their joints... ie i give my guy a tine of sardines one per week in oil.. this is great for his coat and joints...

best of luck... and well done for looking into getting a dog that can be involved in all areas of your life ie your exercise...

madon

I have a husky cross and run with him, both of us started canicross at the same time so both built our fitness up together. We go up to 10k at the minute but hope to go longer distance and try for a half marathon later in the year (but don't qoute me on that:D)
Any breed can run as long as the dog isn't under a year.
You have to build up their fitness though especially if you are already running long distances (we started doing the C25K!!)
Please don't run the dog using a neck collar- there is harness you can get as well as belts for yourself and bungee leads for taking the impact! I don't know if i can give a link to where I got my stuff? but I can remove it if mods request-
www.countryhounds.ie
Also be careful in warm weather dogs overheat quicker and in lower temperatures than humans do so read up on how to spot signs of heat exhaustion.
There is a club where you can get advice on canicross www.tailsandtrails.ie
you can talk with other canicrossers there- it is a very popular past time and its amazing how many people actually do it.

Tranceypoo

Just another thing to add on to the cat situation, I would think that having a puppy would be more stressful for the cat than an older dog that ignores her, a puppy by definition will be inquisitive and wanting to play and you'll have a hard time getting pup to leave the cat alone, especially if she just 'goes into shock' as you said rather than giving him a swift punch round the chops to put pup in it's place, also, you will be giving a lot of attention to the pup for training, housebreaking etc etc, if you think that any dog will cause her grief/stress then surely it would be better to get an older dog so you would then find it easier to give the cat extra attention etc as Sweeper mentions in the above post.

timshel.

Dogs in Distress have lots of pups lookin to be rehomed. this little guy currently lives with a cat (see pics) and by all accounts a pointer / collie cross could be good for running...

http://www.dogsindistressforum.org/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=7280&sid=fbaee5f7f66c7f2b01e434864f494e81

Dilbert75

Thank you all for your very excellent advice. Aside from the recommendations of specific breeds, there has been some very good information posted here and I appreciate that.:D

Cat would certainly be traumatised. She currently sleeps in a basket at the top of the stairs so I had considered resuscitating a baby gate from the attic to let her have that safe area - interesting that from successful experience its been recommended above. Her food and toilet areas, however, are under the stairs (I can put a door on them, so inside she'd be safe but she'd still have to have access and egress), so I'm concerned that she'd starve herself until the dog was out.

Cat has never successfully interacted with a dog. The perspectives about small pup vs. mature dog are interesting also. I think it'd be easier for her physically if she was bigger than the pup initially and got used to it as it grew. But then the pup will want to play / investigate, as described. And there's the "fun" of maturing the pup.:rolleyes:

The exercise notes are certainly irrefutable - no way I could run a small pup for any distance for quite a while - that's what brings me down on the side of the more mature "couldn't be ar$ed about cats" dog.

As in so many things, there's no one right answer. What we need to do now is make our decision in the light of all this good advice with the good of our cat, our family and the prospective dog in mind. Sounds so easy....

faw1tytowers

Ideal dog would be a dalmation. They are carraige dogs, breed to run along side horse and carraige. Lovely breed and at the moment there is one in Madra rescue and ive seen a liver spotted pup in a rescue but cant remember which
one. They are a head strong breed so make sure you do you research.

Dog Breeds that Make Great Running Companions

Labrador Retriever
Australian Shepherd
Border Collie
Vizsla
German Shepherd
Doberman Pinscher
Rhodesian Ridgeback
Dalmation
Huskies
Boxers

bernardo mac

labrador/beagle cross.Runs for fun

Artistic_Love

Labradoodles (a cross between a labrador and a poodle) are a "breed" that I couldn't recommend highly enough. They have vast amounts of energy, so they're ideal exercise/running dogs (and as such, need some amount of space nearby to exert the energy!) and they're perfect family pets. They're incredibly loyal and gentle, so with children (and other animals) they're fantastic. They're also very smart and easy to train, which makes things a lot easier. They grow to being about the size of a springer spaniel.

My experience would also suggest that they best dogs are the rescue-dogs. You should check our Sharpeshill Animal Sanctuary. They always have alot of beautiful dogs waiting to be re-homed. http://www.wicklowspca.org/

**EDIT** Just checked the site (dunno why because it makes me sad that I can't currently adopt more!), and there's several that could be perfect for what you say you're looking for...Hope you'll consider it

koneko

Huskies on the whole aren't great with cats, so particularly if you're getting a rescue, I would not go for a Husky because of that.

toadfly

If you get a rescue that has been in foster with cats it would make more sense IMO than getting a puppy.

ISDW

TillyGirl wrote: »

But if you get a rescue that has been in foster with cats it would make more sense IMO than getting a puppy.

Yes, but not a husky, I would never rehome an adult husky to somebody with a cat, especially not a nervous cat like this one, unless they had huskies before, and knew exactly what was needed for the two animals to live in the same house. Someone had an 18 year old cat and two 9 year old huskies that had grown up with the cat. Came home one day to find the cat had been killed by the dogs. An experienced husky owner, but never, ever leave a husky and a cat alone together, it doesn't matter how much you trust that dog.

We have a locked door (not a shut one, a locked one) at all times - even when we are in the house - between our huskies and cats, and when my cats die, no matter how much I love cats, I will not get another one while I have a husky.

toadfly

ISDW wrote: »

Yes, but not a husky.

Oh ya I know, just meant in general.

koneko

But it was in reply to me about Huskies specifically

Even if the rescue was used to cats, I would not risk it, particularly with a nervous cat. Huskies and cats pretty much just do not mix. The cat is nervous and will bolt, and the Husky will run after it.

toadfly

koneko wrote: »

But it was in reply to me about Huskies specifically

Sorry I didnt really mean in response to you have edited my post.

ISDW

TillyGirl wrote: »

Sorry I didnt really mean in response to you have edited my post.

But now my post will look silly, cos I replied to yours:P I quoted you, so its still out there;)

Dilbert75

Can I wrap up this section of the discussion by pointing out that I will not be getting a Husky or any relative of a Husky because I suspect it would probably eat the cat?:rolleyes:

The Sweeper

Hee hee hee...

Yes, yes it would indeed have kitty for breakfast.

In terms of other breeds, just out of observation and I think this has been mentioned before - rescue greyhound.

There are a LOT of greyhounds in rescue and they'd most certainly love to run with you daily - and then they'd be total couch potatoes the rest of the time. It may sound completely counter intuitive that an animal bred to chase small furry creatures would be suitable for life with a cat, but interestingly many greyhounds prove to be cat friendly. They have extremely placid natures, and the best part is they usually spend a lot of time in foster so their foster carer can tell you precisely what their nature is like and whether or not they get on with cats.