How to make peace between Cat and Dog

kevin_on_putnam

Does anyone know how to bring peace between an ancient 16 year old housecat and a newly acquired dog from the pound? The dog is super affectionate and wags his tail while he approaches the cat with the intention I think of playing. The cat waits until the dog is in range and lets a mean right hook go followed by a left-right, left-right combination to the snout. This scares the hell out of the dog who barks really really loud at the cat for several minutes, which scares the hell out of the cat. This can go on several times a day which is stressing everyone out. Any advice???

opossumqueen

This isn't really advice, but it sounds like the dog is taking the cat's actions as play. I think this is pretty common, but I imagine his response of barking is not perceived as play by the poor kitty!

Can you verbally correct the dog to not bark? If so, that might help. Also, maybe you could try some "leave it" training in reference to the cat. When the dog approaches the cat, he gets the "leave it alone" command.

Good luck!

dakotas way

OpposumQueen was right on target with the "leave it" command. We've done it with our dogs and they get along great with the cats.

Also, using a spray bottle with water in it snaps everyone out of the chaos mode and then you can use the "leave it" command. It worked really well with our Shepherd, Dakota. Who sometimes takes her herding job too seriously and makes one of he cats stand in a cornor, just because.

Anyhow, good luck and know it can be done and peace will reign.

domino

Opossum Queen is right on the money.

The pup has to learn some manners around the grande dame.
Lets face it - the cat will not change her ways (nor will she likely relinquish her territory to a rambunctious interloper).

The best way is to make the interaction "non-rewarding" for the pup. A spritz with a spray bottle (water guns are VERY effective as well) or rattling some coins in a can will startle him (as well as the cat) and in a firm command leave it alone. This command will serve you well when walking the pup as well (my dalmatian developed a habit of snatching people's water bottles - both discarded and not quite finished - we used DROP IT).

opossumqueen

If you aren't familiar with "leave it" training, google it or ask us It can be invaluable.

From a quick search:
http://www.dog-obedience-training-review.com/leave-it.html

carmen

Leave-it sounds like the way to go. To give you hope, leave-it was one of the quickest commands to teach my dog. I would definately recommend starting with leaving a toy or something before even attempting the command on a live animal, though... for me it was as easy as paying attention to Bruno and every time he dropped his toy I said "LEAVE IT!" praised and treated him. Within a day he got it and now even drops tasty food morsels he finds on the street. I was shocked at how simple it was.

antigone

"Leave it", followed by praise, works fairly well with Louie, but there are still times when we have to wrestle him to the floor when he's chasing one of the cats. We've tried spray water bottle and can of compressed air but they're not much of a deterrent; he just seems interested and tries to grab the bottle. He's a weirdo.

I'm pretty sure that he doesn't mean any harm to Mia and Raoul and just wants to play, but they don't understand Dog. He'll go into a submissive position and they hiss at him. Raoul wants absolutely nothing to do with Lou, and even hisses at him when he's sleeping. Mia, our older cat, is less fearful but she is a tough cookie who will not back down. Louie has received a few swats from her, including one time when she scratched his eye. And yet he never learns.

Suffice it to say I'm not leaving them unsupervised anytime soon.

I envy all of you pet owners whose pets snuggle together. Our two cats barely tolerate each other.

subleashers

I have the same problem. I have a 7 month old Newfoundland and the phrase, "NO KITTIES," is very commonly heard in our apartment. Usually we tell him no and then put him in a submissive position. We also encouraged "Kisses" when he is around the cats so now he just licks them until they run away instead of trying to play with them like they are dogs.

Also, if he gets a lot of exercise he is much better behaved!! This is the key to human/dog happiness I believe!