Has anyone had success with introducing a full grown dog thats never been around cats into a home together?

Question

I have 2 cats that I have had for 3 years. Recently my boyfriends parents moved-leaving their lab mix behind and told us if you want him take him. We feel awful for the poor guy so we decided to bring him home. The dog has never been around cats in a home setting and I suspect he has chased cats before. Both my cats seem to be ok with the dog-one actually loves dogs. The dogs looks like he wants to go for the cats but he minds really well and trys hard to be good. You can tell if I wasn't there he would love to make them into chew toys so I keep him on a leash in the house and watch him like a hawk. This is getting tiresome though and I am wondering will he ever get along with them to the point I can trust him to be alone with them or not to attack them at all? Has anyone ever had any success or knowledge of this sort of thing? Suggestions very appreciated ") Oh & I should mention-I can't just put him in the backyard, I live in a REALLY hot city so he has to be inside part of the time.

Answer 1

IF he is managable and minds you on leash he is cat trainable, so a very good sign , only dogs that can not be distracted easily are untrainable

I was a foster parent for retired racing greyhounds and being I had cats became the cat tester/trainer for the adoption group

A couple training tools that are good the have a muzzle so that you can let him off leash for training and at the same time protect the cat and a spray bottle with water that produces a stream, and baby gate the first 2 or 3 weeks strict supervision when training off leash is a necessity.

Put the muzzle on the dog use a room that you can put up babygate(s) for the introduction so you are not chasing the dog all over the house and losing sight on what is happening plus allows the cats and escape route if needed, when every the dog goes to run after the cat a firm/stern verbal command is given eg "no chase" and the sprayed in the head/neck area (most effective place) and this is repeated with in a couple days the dog should just have to seen the bottle and stop in his tracks so not spraying is needed if the verbal is followed, only once there has been a couples days of no attempts to chase, does the gate come down and you start slowly following the dog around the house repeating correction whenever needed when good consistency occurs with the muzzle still on try staying in the next room so the dog can't see you. you will be able to here chase attempts so verbal correction to see if the dog will stop if not come charging out with a very harsh verbal command to stop and a good spraying

Build up till you are comfortable enough to remove the muzzle and the dog is consistently ignoring the cats.

Please reward and praise the dog as well during the training for ignoring the cats it is just as important as correction maybe more so to have the dog know you are pleased with him for leaving the cats alone.

Most of my fosters where reliable within one to two weeks, one took a little longer because she want to play with the cats rather than harm them she just had to be taught to be more gentle, and calmer with her approaches, so she was allowed to calmly approach but corrected if she got carried away and wanted to play chase

Answer 2

It can be done and I have done it. Leash the dog to you with a long lead when it is inside with you at first and prevent him for even acting like he wants to go after the cats. A spray bottle of water kept on hand works VERY WELL!! Also NEVER leave the cats and dog alone together even for a min. If he is not leashed to you and you can't have your eyes on him create him. Good luck. Stay on top of things and every one will adjust. Also you should put up some baby gates so the cats have a "safe" place to escape to when they feel threathend by the dog.

Answer 3

My dog was a year old when I adopted her. But I chose her because of her gentle tendencies, and because her reaction to meeting a cat at the shelter was to wag her tail and try & sniff its behind rather than to chase it.

It sounds to me like you're approaching things right by supervising carefully.

When I brought my dog home she was a bit nervous of my cats (they're very bold and tended to follow her around and stare directly at her), and she growled when they came too close to her bed. I used treats to make the cats' presence positive for her, and now she LOVES the cats (if only because their presence in her mind=yummy stuff being fed to her). If your dog is food motivated but not overly possessive, perhaps you could try that to teach your dog to relax around your cats? As long as you don't think he'll become aggressive if you give him a treat when the cats are near - you'll need him to focus on eating the treat & not protecting it.

I kept some treats on me in a treat bag (you can find the kind that clip on your belt in a pet store if you don't already have one). Any time a cat walked close to her, I'd give her a little treat, and keep giving her treats until the cat began to walk away. After she started to associate the cats' presence with treats, I focused on rewarding her if she showed any signs of relaxing or being friendly toward the cats. She soon stopped being nervous and looked forward happily to the cats' presence.

But I still don't leave her inside unsupervised with them, though. I used to work in an emergency vet clinic, and saw & heard too many horror stories from shocked and grieving pet owners who couldn't believe what their dog had done, to ever take that chance. There are too many things that could happen to trigger a dog's prey drive and cause it to chase & grab by instinct: cats getting the zoomies, cats fighting, wrestling, or playing, cats getting too close to an object the dog is possessive about...you never know what could happen if you aren't there to supervise. When I leave home & it's too hot to let her outside, I'll either put her in her kennel and let the cats have the run of the house, or I'll put the cats up in the spare bedroom with their litterbox, cat trees, water, etc., and let the dog have the run of the house. I'm 99% sure she wouldn't hurt them, but it's just not worth the risk.

I think you should definitely try to get the dog to be more relaxed around the cats & less focused on chasing them, but I strongly believe you should trust your instincts about this and never leave him unsupervised around the cats. If you have enough room in your home to separate them and put a closed door between them when you aren't home, that would be the best solution. If space is an issue and you aren't gone too long during the day, crating the dog would be a good idea. There are also cooling products available for dogs, including cooling mats such as the 'canine cooler', cool water misters, or even a kids pool with enough water for the dog to lay in if the dog likes water. And of course if you don't have shade you would need to build or buy something to shade part of your yard or porch.

Best wishes!

Answer 4

Well, I can't say for certail that
your dog will be able to get along
with the cats. I would say it depends on
the character and age of the dog. I was in
the same situation when my dad
brought home a three year old
doberman pincher. The dog wasn't around cats either but seemed to
understand when my dad told him
to leave the cats alone. We had
to bring him out back
everytime he started misbehaving.
It took a good six months ot so
before he stopped trying to get
my two cats. He got use to my
cats and didn't bother them only
if they got in his way. I think
since he wasn't reised around
cats he didn't take a bonding to
them.

Answer 5

Many years ago, I was in a situation similar to yours. I was moving in with my boyfriend. I wanted to adopt a kitten; he had an 11 year old Irish Setter that had been his, but had spent many years at his parent's house, where she chased cats, squirrels, and intruders out of the yard. Cats were her favorite prey. When we joined households, I noticed that the dog was very obedient, in spite of being very 'prey driven' by the neighbor's outside cats. I got a kitten at the shelter, and brought him home. My boyfriend held the dog's collar and kept her sitting, while I held the kitten on my lap, within view. The dog started quivering, from head to toe, and began to drool. It was so gross! Still, she did not try to move from her spot, or to pull away from my boyfriend.

We did this for about 5 minutes, several times a day, for a few days. The cat was totally facinated by the dog, and wanted to run up to her, so it was more of a challenge to keep that tiny thing out of the dogs snapping range than it was to get the dog to 'stay'. Finally, something in the dog's behavior told me it was time to let them meet, nose to nose. (The dog wasn't staring so intently anymore, or growling, although she still shook, drooled, and whined.)

I held the kitten up so that they could touch noses, and guess what? The dog licked him. Nicely. I put the kitten at her feet, and he crawled between them and looked up at her. It was so cute! Then, the dog picked the kitten up in her mouth and carried him to her bed. For the next month or so, my cat was always wet - when she was awake, the dog carried him everywhere - head and two legs out one side of her mouth, tail and two legs out the other.

They were inseperable. My cat was two when the dog died of uterine cancer. By then, she was his surrogate Mom, and he was devastated. It took kitty valium, cortisone shots, and a new puppy to bring him out of his depression, but that's another story. When that dog was grown, and the original cat was older, they had to meet and accept ANOTHER cat! LOL!

My point is that a very strong bond can develop between dogs and cats. It takes lots of patience, a gradual introduction, as well as reteaching or reinforcing household rules and your position as the 'alpha dog'. The 'stay' command needs to be obeyed, without fail. If he doesn't do this, retrain him, and lavish him with treats when he obeys.

Try the two person introduction, but take it a step further. Bring only one cat into the room at a time. Have kitty on your lap, and have your boyfriend keep the dog at a sit, within a few feet of you. You pet kitty and give her treats, have your BF pet the dog and do the same. Reinforce the good behavior, and get the dog to associate pets, praise, and treats with the cat's presence. Then do the same with the other cat. Keep the sessions short and to the point, but fun. Maybe do this a couple of times a day for a few days, moving closer together each day. Then try kitty on the floor, while the dog remains in a sit/stay and under your boyfriend's control. Keep up with the treats (hopefully the dog isn't overweight by now - lol!)

Here's wishing that someday, you'll think back, trying hard to remember a time when the cats and dog didn't hang out and play together! Good luck!

Answer 6

sorry. luv, but it depends on the dog's temperment. labs are hunters...good luck....