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Cat woes

3K views 26 replies 12 participants last post by  Chip18 
#1 ·
My pup is just shy of 11 weeks old now. We have had him for 4 weeks, and ever since we got him he has, of course, been after the cat (who is 3 years old). At first it was not bad, they were mutually playing and it was ok, but now that the pup is getting bigger than the cat I am worried it is not going away. After the first week we decided to keep them separated in hopes that would help stop the play fighting, but unfortunately it really hasn't helped. Whenever they are together the dog is always, always, always, trying to play fight with the cat. If we tell him no he stops, but 5 seconds later he's right back at it. It's killing me! What do I do?
 
#2 ·
You need to stop letting them play.

Make sure your cat has tons of escape routes. There are baby gates with cat doors in them. Or you can leave a crack space UNDER a baby gate that the cat can go under but puppy gets stopped.

And you need to WAY up your exercise/training with the puppy. A tired puppy is a well behaved puppy so adding puppy classes, socialization trips, hiking etc. will help get your puppy out of the CRAZY land so he will be able to better listen.

Along with starting up some real 'leave it' training. ClickerSolutions Training Articles -- Teaching "Leave It"



 
#3 ·
I used the Zak George video as an inspiration when we trained our dog. We use "leave the kitty" command. When dog focuses on kitty, we say "leave the kitty" which sends the dog to me for a treat. We have faded treats now at 6 months for the most part. Search this forum for some great tips. And I can attest that a tired doggie won't chase the cat. Here is our Samson after a long hike letting kitty (Joey) lick the yogurt off of his morning meal...so sweet!
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#5 ·
This link has more tips:
http://www.germanshepherds.com/foru...-introducing-shepherd-cats-6.html#post5239610

The clicker thing is interesting. Not fan of them myself but hey if it works you..go for it! :)

There is only one rule in cat dog training..."The Dog NEVER chases the cat ever!"

I have had up to 5 dogs 16 or so cats (cat rescue) and over 14 years of living with cats and dogs together. In all that time I have never had a single cat dog incident.

This is a puppy not a dog put a drag leash on him, tell him go to bed. If the cat wants to play with him fine. But don't allow the dog/puppy to chase the cat...period! Use the leash if he trys to chase down and stay...play time is over!

This is in the link somewhere but here is directly:
Leerburg | Introducing Dogs or Puppies into Homes with Cats
 
#7 ·
Our dog is obsessed with our cat. She goes crazy with excitement when she sees him, tries to lie with him and plays all the time with him.

I agree with NO CHASING! We worked on the leave it command but didn't stop the playing. Leave was used when play got too rough. We tried stopping play for a while when we thought the dog was getting too big to play but the cat would then tease her so we left them to it.

For me the bottom line is no chasing and make sure the cat has an escape route and as long as they're both having fun, let them enjoy each other. In my experience the cats always come out on top in the end. Just watch out for the dog, one of my dogs nearly got his eye scratched to pieces when playing with kittens.


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#9 ·
I would make sure your pup knows the don't touch command.
and ONLY let him ''play'' with the cat when he is in a down position.
that's what we do w/ Teana and our 3 cats.she gets a bit rough too but keeping her down lessens her overall power. but they do need to be watched whenever they play.
good luck and may they all play nice together.
 
#10 ·
One of the reasons I got Komet back was a cat obsession - besides the new baby....

He was in shock when my Bengal, Giza, walked up to him and rolled over....the cats, who have no fear of dogs, walk under him, over him, on top of him, sleep beside him....but still when he is in play mode, he will chase them a few steps in the house....just because...then run to a crate as he knows!!!! I also put him in a down a few feet from his dish at meal time.....the siamese colored barn cat rescue will march over to his dish and EAT from it...with Komet 1-3 feet away....and Komet just stares at her, then me, then her....LOL LOL It is actually pathetic....

The dog has to be taught in no uncertain terms that the cat is untouchable.....but it helps to have a dog savvy cat who does not run every time the dog sees it....

Lee
 
#12 · (Edited)
LOL yeah when cats "know" a dog is safe they have absolutely no fear and show minimal respect!

Cat move!! Is a frequent command in our household, Rocky wants to go outside and the cat stands in the way!!

They hop on him lay on him block his way etc. He does not see ctas on walks! I saw one while I was picking up a potty. I told him to stay, I look up and see a blk cat about 5 feet away frozen in fear eyes wide open!!

I quickly look back at Rocky for a reaction?? He has to see him! I look at him nothing zero absolutely no reaction whatsoever!

Still I had to make some allowances for him "his" food/treats is his limit! The cats can eat their treats near him! But if it's his food/treat it's his! If a cat gets near him while he is eating, I hear a low growl! I say "Cat" then Rocky!! Cat strolls, leisurely away Rocky continues to eat!

He will growl but he has never struck at one of them! Cats can be disrespectful A holes, they know it ticks him off and they continue to do it!

I only noticed that behaviour when I went from three dogs down to one! :( So maybe something about losing his buddies?? Other than that cats are a none issue. Seven years no problem. I'm not thrilled with it but you need to know when to pick a battle! So I let that one go! :)

That's why I commented on Tratkins, pic! My Boxer or Bull Mastiff could/would do that! My GSD yeah that's a bridge to far for him!

I settle for Cat Safe! :)
 
#14 ·
Chip18 I think crazy cats run in our household. We used to think our border collie was getting way too rough with one particular kitten so we would put the kitten outside the back door only for it to sprint round the front, through the cat flap and launch a fresh attack on the border collie!

Our current cat makes it his business to visit the neighbourhood dogs.....he just walks right in to their house! No fear.?




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#16 ·
So far I have not had any dog nutty cats! The bedroom/sunroom/outdoor cats run up to Rocky to try and head butt him! But he's to tall so they just follow him around.

Those guys are good kitties and never leave the yard! The living room cats (4) to separate cat packs! Three of them are indoor only! They had a habit of leaving the yard!!:mad:

So no more outside for you! Three of them are actually threshold trained!! They won't go out the open door! Cesar stuff, finger snap and Tsss! Works wonders on three out of four!

Number four however ugh 'NO!" He won't stay inside! He will dart outside and "demands" to be let out some days! So he goes in and out and goes across the freaking street and out front on occasion!!!

I lost one of my favorite cats that way! He left the yard and never came back!:( Spike is the same way. If I see him out front I give him heck for it! He usually goes out and comes back in the house off an on during the day! Some days he will stay in all day, wake up and go what the hey!!! And dart out before sunset if he gets the chance!:mad:

If he comes back in late in the day...he knows he is in for the night! He pretty much accepts that. But he expects demands to be let out during the day! I love him dearly but I don't want to become to attached to him because, I never know if he might disappear one day??:(
 
#17 ·
I have lost a cat from him just going out and never coming back. It's heartbreaking so we've said after this guy goes I don't think we will have another. I like to see the dogs and cats together but I just haven't got the nerves for a cat!

Our current cat is a lost cause. He moved in with a neighbour for 3 months once. He loves people and dogs and we were working all day so he just left! I eventually had to practically steal my own cat back!? He now spends his time meeting and greeting tourists of coaches in the car park next to our house! We've accepted he'll meet his demise by either transport or dog, but he's happy and all efforts to stop him have failed.?


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#22 ·
Yep three of mine living room amin house cats are never allowed outside!
Four bedroom/sun room cats are free to come and go in the yard or indoor as they please, they never leave the yard.

But the one Spike, I can't keep him in and I can't trust him not to leave the yard! He usually comes in at sundown sometimes earlier. If he comes in before sundown he knows he is not going back outside! He's pretty much fine with that but he's like I'm out of here in the morning!! I 'think" he is in the yard?? I give him heck if I "see' him in the front but he's a cat so who knows??
 
#18 ·
I'm still having issues with our pup chasing our cat. My partner has put in a no tolerance rule when it comes to the cat and our pup gets a smack. I tried the treats - giving her one when she listened but then she seemed to chase him more and came up expecting treats. I think I inadvertently taught her she gets a treat when she harasses the cat :(

We have a baby gate that the cat can get through, though he never uses it when she harasses him. Only goes over when he wants to. And when I put him on the other side he just jumps back over. He's not scared of our pup but I hate seeing her all over him, cos she's so big now.

Oh, and he's an indoor cat. So they're both indoors together when we're not home. Usually the cat gets closed in our room now.
 
#19 ·
My cats start with the dogs everytime. They have no fear. My female played with them until she was about a year, then on her own decided they were much nicer to sleep and cuddle with. I am still a year later working with the male. One of my cats just doesn't like him and it drives Midnite nuts, especially when the cat hisses at him. I have a couple foster cats that don't have a clue, for their safety I have a gate up and he can only smell them through that and they still kinda tease him that way. I sometimes feel sorry for the dog:)
 
#20 ·
I have 4 cats. 2 are dog savvy and know how to tell the puppy to buzz off and he does, the other 2 run from him!! Drives me nuts! He is getting better at not chasing them and we are trying to teach these 2 cats to stand their ground and not run and that is helping a little but sheeesh! the other 2 cats have raised puppies before and know what to do, now just need to train the other 2! I do think it has a lot to do with your cats. Like I said 2 of the cats rule the dog and he knows it! And yes the cats are wicked about it! They block his way or sit right in the middle of the room where he wants to play! They will ignore him until he gets right where they want him and then spring on him! Poor guy! Lured in with a false sense of safety and then BAM! Those 2 will chase him if he starts to get to playful and he backs off! Hope to get the other 2 to gain a bit more confidence!
 
#21 ·
I can't offer any advice, but only to say you're not alone. The problem with my situation is my cat will actively go after the dog if he feels the dog is after him. He is somewhat an instigator in this. The dog goes into kind of a short shock moment then goes after the cat. Back when we let the cat stay out with the dog, the dog was a pup and we used a baby gate to keep the dog confined to the area we were in. Again as usual, the cat would creep up to the gate and basically tease the dog. So even if we break the dog from associating with the cat, there is no guarantee the cat won't still go for the dog. He did this with our previous GSD, but that dog was of a different temperament and had a great threshold when it came to things like that.

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#24 ·
Just try to do everything you can to train your dog with the cat. Addie and K-bar used to stay in my bedroom while I was at work. The way we found out that they learned to open the door was when my husband came home to our stray 4 month old kitten taking his last breaths. He was soaked in saliva and died within 10 minutes of my husband finding him. I made it home just before he died and it was the saddest thing I've seen in a long time. I had gotten the kitten neutered at my work and was pretty attached to him. :(

Addie grew up with our adult cat in the house and K-bar had lived with him for a year. I don't know what set them off, but they had to have shaken the poor kitten to death. There were bits of fur all around but no bleeding. Ugh. Our adult cat is no longer with us and we can never have a cat again.
 
#25 ·
I am so sorry! That is something I want never to happen!

My BullMastiff/APBT/Lab mix and my Boxer actually watched kittens being born! Not an issue with kittens... there was an issue between the dogs! Struddell did not much care for Gunthers excitement over the new arrivals! Different story!

I have been searching for alternative methods, Only thing I have found is Lou Castles:

Game Chasing (Crittering)

Pretty sure no one is doing anything like that in the real world..normal "pet people."

If folks hide the cat, that can happen! You do have to have stuff ready to do intros but yes accidents can happen!

5 dogs, 16 cats and 14 years "never" a single cat/dog incident. I even have stray cats coming into the yard! Dogs saw them, first time I ever knew they were there was when, I looked outside and saw a giant Blk fur ball eating on the table with my regular guys?? :) There have been others showing up off and on.

I'm sorry but I make it "crystal clear" to my dogs that cats are off limits!! I will drop the hammer of Thor on a dog if he "dares" to step a single paw towards one of my cats!

I have never had to do that but...they "seem" to know that "we don't want to cross daddy in this regard!" Not sure how that explains my (new to me GSD) and his attacks on Gunther?? But he (GSD) never stepped a single paw towards the cats!
 
#26 ·
It was pretty upsetting. And the bad thing is that we were not home when it happened, so I have no way of knowing the scenario and how long the kitten suffered. If I had to guess I would say that the kitten ran and prey drive kicked in. Our adult cat never ran from the dogs because he was not scared of them. The kitten was found in a back bathroom where he would've had no escape if that's where he retreated to. :( My dogs were not necessarily "friends" with the cats but they had never shown any intent to harm. They co-existed seemingly in peace. Looking back I would say that there were a couple red flags with K-bar. He would fixate on the cat door to the basement occasionally but we (naively) thought he saw it as a "Jack-in-the-box" type of reward when the cat would pop through. We didn't see it as threatening.
 
#27 ·
They co-existed seemingly in peace. Looking back I would say that there were a couple red flags with K-bar. He would fixate on the cat door to the basement occasionally but we (naively) thought he saw it as a "Jack-in-the-box" type of reward when the cat would pop through. We didn't see it as threatening.
Most likely that!

Sometimes we learn crap the hard way! My journey with my GSD has been filled with some red flags I had "never seen that before" things. Things I did did not view as an issue??

One I caught "people aggression" the other I did not "Rank' drive thing! Me and Gunther dealt with that the hard way!

Sadly sometimes that how we learn things!
 
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