My dog is going to kill the cats

[Muneraven]

When I had my first dog I was laid off and moved home with my parents. Then I decided to go to school and my parents said they would keep my dog for me. That dog meant SO much to my Mom. She talked about him until the day she died. He was my dog, but he also was her dog. His heart was big enough for more than one person. And that she didn't treat him like I did was a joke between us. I trained him and then she got him and spoiled him rotten. I used to make her laugh by telling her she was ruining MY dog. But she wasn't really. He was always obedient and well-mannered . . .he just got to eat a piece of buttered toast in the morning when she had him, lol.

It's okay for parents to care for a person's dog as long as they WANT to do it. Sometimes I think people who would talk themselves out of having a dog end up having a dog and loving it because they can say it is their kid's dog, lol.

[debbiebrown]

funny i never had any real problems with the cats and dogs in my house. although the dogs usually came to my home as young pups and the cats were already here. not saying it didn't have to teach a few of them to leave the cats alone. had a few that would play or herd the cats or chase if the cat ran, but when they caught up with the cat they would just nose them never nip or bite. and one of the highest prey drive dogs i ever had never even bothered with the cat, he knew the cat was part of the pack, the only thing he ever did once in a while was put his paw on her as to say i like you. it might be different if the cats came after the dogs were already in the house, but they should understand high prey drive or not that the cats are part of the pack. sometimes i think if people separate them from the beginning the dogs don't understand the cats are part of the pack. unfortunately this happened to a friend of mine, she had separated the cats from the dogs, the cats lived in the basement. one day the cat came into the kitchen and both dogs went after it before she could get there they had killed it....................very very sad.

[gsdlover91]

Originally Posted by debbiebrown

funny i never had any real problems with the cats and dogs in my house. although the dogs usually came to my home as young pups and the cats were already here.

I got Berlin at 9.5 weeks old, and the cats were already here and over a year old.

Originally Posted by Muneraven

When I had my first dog I was laid off and moved home with my parents. Then I decided to go to school and my parents said they would keep my dog for me. That dog meant SO much to my Mom. She talked about him until the day she died. He was my dog, but he also was her dog. His heart was big enough for more than one person. And that she didn't treat him like I did was a joke between us. I trained him and then she got him and spoiled him rotten. I used to make her laugh by telling her she was ruining MY dog. But she wasn't really. He was always obedient and well-mannered . . .he just got to eat a piece of buttered toast in the morning when she had him, lol.

It's okay for parents to care for a person's dog as long as they WANT to do it. Sometimes I think people who would talk themselves out of having a dog end up having a dog and loving it because they can say it is their kid's dog, lol.

Aw, thanks for sharing this. Thats how my mother is, spoiling him with the 'goodies' and what not...and I'm the enforcer of the rules, all health conscious about what he eats and what not! I think my mom enjoys his company, but also enjoys the fact that its MY dog, so she doesnt have 100% responsibility! LOL! It works out..

Originally Posted by zivagirl

It's wonderful that your mom loves your dog, btw.

It is! I'm glad she does, it would suck if he was crated all day instead of out with her and my little brother enjoying his family!

Originally Posted by zyppi

Didn't read all the posts, but some dogs just do not "do" with some cats...

I have similar situation so have the Invisible Fence solution.
No more dog gates - Avoidance Areas, Indoor Dog Fence - Invisible Fence® Brand

It works! The cat now has her dog free area.

Good luck

Very interesting, didnt know you could have one of those in the house! Thanks!

Originally Posted by RocketDog

I have a new model Dogtra Sure Stim. The handheld remote vibrates if you choose, to let you know when you're delivering the stim. I prefer that, because it helps with the timing in my opinion. Also he wears the collar only for training. It doesn't matter to me if he becomes collar smart, because I'm working on teaching him the behavior and using rewards. And the two times I've had good success with him outside unplanned, he wasn't wearing the collar so that tells me it IS working. Also, he is a happy dog. He runs to it when I put it on because he knows its training time!

Patience and consistency!

Glad to know it doesnt have to be on all the time, and still teaches. Ill have to check out the Dogtra, thanks for all the info!

Originally Posted by robinhuerta

Katie.....
I have multiple dogs and a cat....we even have "outside cats".
Some of my dogs could care less about the cats, and a couple would LOVE to "invite her for dinner".
We find the use of an E-collar a very effective tool in our "tool box". One must learn the proper way to "use" it, so that it is effective and FAIR.
Your dog is still very young.....he is a puppy still. He should be able to be taught what is APPROPRIATE behavior around the cat, and what is UNACCEPTABLE.
This is your job as the owner.
When you are not "in control" of the situation......put the dog/puppy away.
When you are not home.......put the dog/puppy away.
There are videos available on the use of the E-collar.....buy one and educate yourself.
Your mother has cats, and you have dogs...to live in the family home...there must be boundaries for your dogs.

YOU CAN DO THIS. Do not jump to the conclusion that you need to re-home your puppy......
I don't know where in Chicago you are located....but you can also call a training facility by the name of TOPS Kennel in Grayslake, Illinois. Ask to speak or leave a message for Jody, a very good friend of mine. Perhaps she can also help you.....there may be a class or personal training available.

Best of luck to you.

Thanks Robin! He is always crated when im not home, or when he cannot be watched. Just sometimes random accidents happen in a split second when he is with me. And actually, TOPS is like 15 minutes away from me. I was planning on taking him there for his obedience training. I will definitely call there and talk to her, and see if she can help. And I will most definitely watch some videos on how to use an e-collar before I ever use one!

[debbiebrown]

with alot of work and the right help, hopefully you can solve this. i think some dogs especially dogs with high prey drive need to be taught self control., and house rules. takes persistance and doesn't happen over night.

[Justaguy]

My dog trainer had told me the best thing to do is look for the signals and snap him out of it. Once they are locked in its very difficult to snap that drive.

[JakodaCD OA]

tough situation for sure..

I would consider the e collar.

I would also do this, (cats don't think like dogs!),,I would have all your 'cat stuff in ONE room, kitty litter box, feeding station, block the room off and give it a few days so the cats "know" where food is, where litter is..a 'safe' room

I've told my 'aussie' story a few times but here goes again. I got Jag at 12 weeks old, a rescue,,I had 2 cats at the time (indoors)..the first few days he left the cats alone, probably just settling in..He then started charging them, and would pin them, get in their face and go 'off' on them..This happened maybe 3 times..The first time, I tried the 'soft' approach, the second time I amped it up,,the 3rd time,,(won't be popular but oh well ), I hauled his butt off that cat, had him by the scruff of the neck on his back legs and got in his face GOOD. He KNEW I was VERY PO'd and wasn't going to tolerate it one more time .. He's never bothered them again..

I didn't "beat" him, But I wasn't going to go 'easy' on him either..He's a tough dog who's now 13 and STILL can be a real pain with the other dogs..BUT he doesn't touch my cats..If he did, he'd be gone, they were here first.

So, management, a safe room for the cats with food/litter..and you can definitely try the prong collar, putting a cat in a carrier, and work that,,or an e collar..He's young, some dogs will overcome it, some won't.

All my gsd's have been fine with my cats, but I am positive they would go after one and possibly kill it if they came across one outside my house..

Good luck

[SiegersMom]

So much depends on how the cats treat and act with the dog. My GSD is almost 3 and raised with our cats. A new 5-week-old kitten we adopted/found was a worry to me becasue Sieger was so big and gets rough but they get along great now. But we had a stray half grown tom decide to move into the garage. Sieger goes crazy barking at strays and nieghbor cats through the fence...I trust him with mine but he would go after a cat he does not know. THis new cat had been around long enough I decided it was time to do the meet and greet. Sieger was nicely sniffing and this cat out of no where the cat turned on him jumped on his head and took 3 whacks at his nose. Sieger just hit the floor with this look of shock on his face. It was literaly a one second attack and I was standing there. Now he takes a wide berth of that cat. They only see one another in passing...as Sieger goes from the yard and through the garage into the house. He barks at that cat through the gate constantly. I could not leave them together. THe cat is calm one minute and whacks at him the next. My son said they had a little spat a few days ago and they had been getting along for months. THis time the dog did not cower back...he is getting fed up too. I just hope that cat does not ruin Sieger for all cats in the future. My daughter is the only person in the house that likes the cat and I feel bad about just taking it to the pound so I just keep them apart and someone is always there when they pass another to make sure Sieger does not decide to go after the cat. So far Sieger should get an award for his patience with that cat!!!

[RocketDog]

SiegersMom's post is very true. My white and black cat, in the photo I posted earlier, will not defend himself in the least. Now, I don't want him to attack my dog, but if he'd shown him a little bit of correction when Rocket was a small puppy, things would be very different. Unfortunately, he won't raise paw ever. Grrrrr. Frustrating.

[kiya]

This is our story Nipped the kitty
I had a problem with Kiya and our new kitty, she tried to bite him, I don't know about kill but she definately wanted to taste him with her teeth. It took almost 6 months to work it out. I can tell you any time I had her on a leash, used a muzzle or tried to hold her back it made it worse.
You need a lot of patience and time. I would concider the ecollar. Now you know never ever let the kitties get into that kind of situation.
Good luck.

[zivagirl]

Beth is now beta to our smallest cat's alpha. lol.