HELP - new dog won't leave cat alone (long)

[runforrest]

Hi ladies:

I'm hoping you can give me some tips on how to hopefully get our new dog and resident cat to live peacefully.

We adopted an 8 month old boxer/retriever/bulldog named Jake about 3 months ago, and we have a 9 year old (front declawed - also a rescue) cat (who was great with our previous dog, a Golden).

Overall, he is a great dog - he was previously surrendered by a family with a 3-year old, so he is great with our 2-year olds, knows commands, walks really well with a Gentle Leader, is housebroken and beside being a puppy and wanting to chew everything, has really settled in quite well.

The only issue still is our cat - Jake wants to chase Z every time he sees her...we tried introducing them to each other slowly (kept J in a crate so Z could investigate a bit, have kept them in separate areas but brought J downstairs on a long leash so he could learn to relax and not be distracted by her), but he still flips the freak out when he sees her move or if I go over to pet her, for example.

He does not growl or bark at her (only a few yippy "I want to play" barks at the beginning), and when he does get close to her she swats at him A LOT but he doesn't seem to react at all. He just REALLY wants to chase her, and I'm worried that he will hurt himself (by running into something), her, or one of the kids (by accidentally knocking them over) if he is chasing her around all the time.

We've come to the conclusion (duh) that keeping them separated just seems to get him even more excited when he DOES see her because he thinks she is some sort of prize, so I am working from home tomorrow to try and start seeing how they react to each other without leash/separation.

Any tips on how to make this transition easier? I've been told by some people to just sit in a room with them and let them go at it, but I'm a bit cautious about that.

Sorry so long. I'm just frustrated and my H is now threatening to take Jake back to the rescue, which I am not willing to do right now.

[kellbell191]

Hell no you do not sit in a room and let them go at it, especially when the cat is declawed. Our dog tried to chase each cat once, got smacked upside the head, and now lets them do anything they want. But they have claws. I would babygate the upstairs so the cat can come and go as she pleases and leave the dog on leash, let her approach and let them interact as the cat sees fit. I would also teach him a leave it command and tell him to leave it every single time he tries to chase her.

I'd be worried he would hurt her, especially as she is declawed, and would not leave them unsupervised ever. We had a bulldog foster who was very interested in chasing the cats and slow to learn that they would beat on him. He was never allowed around them off leash.

[runforrest]

Thanks Kel - I am no expert but didn't think that advice was good.

I really want this to work out - he does great with "leave it" but with the cat he gets so excited he loses focus and won't really listen, which is why we have kept him on leash and then removed him from the situation if he gets too excited.

We are moving the baby gate to the top of the stairs so the cat can come and go and so that Jake can't jump over it - I'm hoping that after a few days, Zoey will start wandering around the house and we can keep Jake focused.

We've been working really hard on the "leave it" with other things that normally entice him (flip flops, the kids' toys, etc.), and he does great, but the cheese we reward him with is still not as exciting as the kitty.

[kellbell191]

Most of the pets people don't use any of the boards anymore. I'll circulate your post and hopefully some of the old regulars will be able to respond.

[runforrest]

Thank you!

I'm willing to take any and all advice at this point. I also love your avatar.

[kellbell191]

I would supervise all interactions, let them be on her terms, and always scold him for chasing. He's bound to outgrow it eventually. But I really wouldn't leave them unsupervised together. If he wants to play with her, it would be easy for him to pick her up and hurt her without meaning to.

[audnicole]

Kell had solid advice. I would also get a squirt bottle, and when Jake gets really focused, squirt him, do the Eh-Eh, and show him something else fun to do.

Use a long lead if need be, or, as they get more used to each other, let jake drag his lead around so that if he lunges at the cat you can pull him away.

Put Z in the crate and let J investigate her that way, too. he can get close, but not close enough to eat her.

To me it sounds like puppy exuberance, not a long-term problem

[runforrest]

Thanks ladies - our trainer is coming over tomorrow morning to watch them interact with each other, and we are going to start letting Z have free roam of the house (with baby gates so she can escape if being chased) tonight, and whenever the kids are napping/asleep/playing elsewhere.

We will also use the squirt bottle and make sure we have rawhides/toys nearby for him to play with if he gets distracted by her.

I do think it is just that he's a puppy, and it is just going to take time. With that being said, he will not be allowed free roam of the house unsupervised.

My H has calmed down since last night and agrees with me that we need to stick it out and work with him and eventually everything should just be fine.

[katietornado]

When we first brought home our dog (maybe 2 years old, an Australian Kelpie), he didn't leave our cats alone for about 7 months. We had to keep them separated at all times, whether that meant crating the dog, or shutting the cats in the back of the apartment. We supervised all interactions, corrected when he went after the cats ("eh eh"), and kept him leashed until he was totally trustworthy. We seriously thought there was no hope for him, but eventually he got it, and now we leave everyone home alone every day and they do just fine.