Dog's preocupation with Cat

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chrysalis101
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Oct 21, 2007 6:26 am

Dog's preocupation with Cat

Post by chrysalis101 »

We got a sheltie mix a few months ago, name's BJ, he's about a year old and came to us with some obedience training (sit, down, and ok on stay). The first time he saw our cat he tried to play with it. The cat played back, got tired of it, and jumped up on our half wall away from the dog. When BJ saw this it was like a whole new world opened up for him. I don't think he'd ever seen a cat before and couldn't understand why the cat could jump that high and he couldn't. Ever since then, if he could see the cat he's been on him like white on rice. We've used sound aversion and that works for a time, but he always goes back. We've tried using a water bottle, but get the same response. We've even tried blindfolding the poor dog but he sniffs out the cat and runs into the table in the process. I've tried putting BJ on a lead and attaching the lead to me, but he almost hangs himself trying to get to the cat.

Does anyone have any ideas for us? We want all our "kids" to live together and get along together.

Thank you.
Robbie71
Posts: 57
Joined: Sun Feb 18, 2007 2:46 pm

Post by Robbie71 »

I have a dog and 3 cats and my dog keeps chasing the cats, i also have tried everything.she thinks the cats want to play even when they are hissing at her. it does get tiresome. mine is a yr old and maybe as she gets older she will settle a bit with the cats.
i guess if yours is not use to cats in time he may also settle down..
fingers crossed anyway :D
ShannonO
Posts: 18
Joined: Thu Aug 30, 2007 3:20 pm

Post by ShannonO »

Our American Bulldog, Sage, comes from a hog-catching line, so I never truly expected he and our cat (Tanner, Bengal) to get on very well. My solution is a gate. Tanner lives upstairs and Sage lives downstairs.

This is tough in some ways, since it's definitely a compromise that leaves both us and our pets losing something. Sage doesn't get to sleep on the same floor with us (but maybe that's good, lessening separation anxiety) and Tanner doesn't get the movie-night couch cuddles that he did when he was an only-pet, but at least we're all living in a somewhat peaceful coexistence.

We've had Sage for a year. Sage still goes stone-still when he sees Tanner on the stairs over the gate, so his excitement over the cat has not gone away. Tanner has changed quite a bit, though, in the last two weeks. After literally a year of him coming halfway down the steps, always staying at least six feet away from Sage, Tanner has begun to loosen his guard.

Tanner now comes down to the steps and reaches his paws and head under AND OVER the gate to touch noses with Sage. This is INSANE to watch, given the history of total fear from Tanner and total fixation from Sage.

I guess my moral of this story is that coexistence but no cohabitation is possible AND that they could possibly learn to tolerate each other a bit better (cat learns not to sprint away, dog learns that if he keeps his paws to himself, he gets a playmate), even if it takes years.
Sage is my 3 year old darling American Bulldog (CGC, PH). Lola, another American Bulldog, is 7 months (as of May 2008).
chrysalis101
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Oct 21, 2007 6:26 am

Thanks

Post by chrysalis101 »

Thank you for that option, but we live in a ranch style home. We do have a basement, but it's mostly unfinished and we only go down there to do laundry once a week. I could never do that to our poor cat. I feel bad enough for him as it is, and I didn't even WANT the cat.
It's been getting worse too lately. I think the cat has figured out that the dog gets yelled at for going after him. Now the cat tries to get the dog to go after him, then goes a hides up his cat tree or on the table or runs down to the basement while we're yelling at the dog to leave the cat alone.
I have a dream...I have a dream that one day all pets will live together in harmony! lol
Robbie71
Posts: 57
Joined: Sun Feb 18, 2007 2:46 pm

Post by Robbie71 »

you sound like me.i do tell the dog off when she goes after the cats i think i am going mad with it.next minute they are calm and sleeping in the same room, i think peace at last.then it begins all over again... :D
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