Cat + new dog = trampled baby gate

[phunluvin82]

We adopted a 1 yr old lab mix recently and she has had issues with our cat. Namely that she wants to chase her. She gets very fixated on the cat whenever she sees her (or on any cat she sees...there are lots of feral cats in our neighborhood) and has zero interest in any toys or treats once she has spotted the cat. We have kept her leashed even when in the house for this reason (on day #2, we had made the mistake of letting her roam free and she chased the poor kitty through the whole house, up 2 flights of stairs before we caught her).

We thought she was getting a little bit better, so we let her roam but put a baby gate at the stairs so she only had access to the first floor and the cat could escape upstairs. No go. She spotted the cat and chased her again, jumping/trampling the baby gate like it wasn't even there.

Since then, we've been keeping them separated, but I'm worried about how they'll ever get used to one another if they aren't ever exposed to one another. I'm afraid that this could be a major and long-term problem.

We do plan to consult a trainer about this eventually...but we are waiting until the dog's heartworm trmt is finished in about 6 weeks. Any ideas/insights for us in the meantime?

[yellowumbrella]

How recently did you get the dog? Was she cat tested?

[phunluvin82]

We got her the week before last from a local shelter. We walked around their cat room with her and she did well...no barking, whining, pulling, lunging...just walked around. I think she was more interested in us, as new people, at the time. We came back to pick her up 2 days later (she had to be spayed) and the staff at the shelter warned us that she had tried to chase after a cat that morning. So we knew this could be a problem, but decided to take her home anyhow.

[mrs.jacinthe]

Can you get a taller/more solid baby gate? The wire ones don't seem to prevent some dogs from going over/through because they can still see what's on the other side. Also, you'll probably want to get the kind that screws into the wall instead of a pressure gate.

[yellowumbrella]

It's only been a week, so I would give it more time for everyone to get settled. I don't have cats, but hopefully some more cat/dog households will chime in soon.