Cat and Dog re-introduction: Curiousity vs Anxiousness

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soonerj
Posts: 46
Joined: Wed Jan 25, 2012 1:07 pm

Cat and Dog re-introduction: Curiousity vs Anxiousness

Post by soonerj »

I have been slowly reintroducing Jack (10 yr old lab mix) to my most dog-friendly cat, Oni. The cats are usually sequestered in my bedroom but Oni is young and needs space to play without cat fights breaking out (the 2 older cats have no patience). I've been letting Oni out of the room and have Jack on a leash. When he sees her he'll look (but not stare) and his ears are not pricked. I'm assuming this is just curiousity as his body language is relaxed. Typically he'll just look for a few seconds and when he looks back at me he gets a treat. I gave Oni some treats and gave Jack some at the same time (Oni was probably 10 feet from him). He wasn't paying her any attention. She started to come over to Jack (Oni loves my other dog and will lick her muzzle) and his ears pricked and I felt that her was more on alert. He wasn't paying any attention to me (I issued a verbal correction because I felt his interest was escalating) so I walked away and called him to me and he finally came (although he did look over his shoulder at her several times). He settled back down and I went back to treating when he would look at her and look away. Then Oni decided to go into Misa's (my other dog) crate and Jack popped up from laying down, ears pricked, body tense.

My questions are: am I reading his body language correctly? I feel that once he pricks his ears he has gone from casual interest to a more anxious/alert state. Is there a better way to do these introductions? If he were to have a go at her I know I could call him off (he is very quick to respond to a stern verbal correction) but I'd like for him to realize that it's ok for her to go into Misa's crate (I don't allow her to approach his crate though) or that she is allowed to move freely throughout the house without his interference. I'd hate to close off Misa's crate because she likes to lay in there with Oni. I do have a baby gate at my bedroom door, but my one older cat is so dog aggressive I can't really use it for introductions (although I suppose I could put it up in the bathroom and put Oni in there; she does like to jump the gate though).

For anyone who has followed Jack's progress over the past few months, he is now pooping outside regularly (no more standing and staring for 20 minutes), he's no longer bullying Misa, and the marking has almost completely stopped. If I can get him to coexist with the cats (obviously with supervision) everything will be perfect!
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