i rescued a 4 week old kitten an introducing her to my 3 yr old dog, but it triggers a prey drive?

Question

we decided to keep a 4 week old kitten found in a ditch an my dog acts like she wants to grab it. what im doing is ill put the kitten in a airplane type kennel on the floor an make the dog lay next to the entrance. when she looks like she might be too interested in the kitten i flip her on her side an make her submit an say "be nice". am i doing this right?

p.s she is a bull terrier

whats a cezar milan? so far its been working, my dog started shakeing a little though because shes not used to me being strict with her, but so far now i only have to *say be nice as she looks away an i was able to sit in a chair an watch her an she lost intrest when i walked away.

i really trust my dog wont bite me. but if i thought for a second she would she has a muzzle that would go on her, im not a moron

Answer 1

My dog is also a high prey driven dog. She used to chase and tree cats all the time, not to mention every other little animal she sees. I did excatly what you did. I kept on her. Told her to be nice, and got on to her when she was being mean to the cats. I would actually say, "are you being mean to the cats" and she would tuck her tail under and stop. She eventually understood that it's okay to PLAY with cats EASY. Still sometimes she chases stray toms if they are being mean to the kittens or our females, but she is protecting our cats. So it all works out in the end.

While the animals are together and you are at home watch your dog and correct her when you need to. Make sure that when she does something good you praise the hell out of her. I would suggest that you do not leave the animals together alone. But I suppose you already knew that. Eventually, everything will work out. Don't give up and give it time.

Do not declaw the kitten, please. Perhaps letting the kitten (when it gets a little older) slap the dog once or twice will help. Sounds a little mean, but it's effective.

As people have said....You might not be able to get rid of the dog's high prey drive. So what. My dog still has a high prey drive. She goes after rabbits, moles, raccoons, and anything else she thinks she can catch. But she hasn't hurt one hair on a cat's head.

Answer 2

No - on so many levels. If your dog has a prey drive, no amount of BS cesar milan 'training' techniques will end that.

Sorry, but you are probably going to have to give the kitten up. Start contacting rescue groups http://www.petfinder.com and let them know of the situation.

You aren't going to desensitize a dog with a high prey drive. Get the kitten out of the situation as soon as it's safe for him.

The other issue is with the 'flipping her'. This can make an alpha dog more aggressive and can actually harm your animal if you do it incorrectly. One day, the dog may decide not to let you be alpha and will bite your face off. That's why the only responsible thing that Mr. Milan does is to say that his techniques should only be used by professionals. And even then, a lot of it is just BS. Please, be careful and get your dog into some REAL training classes to prevent future problems.

Answer 3

Bull terriers are known to have a high prey drive and to be unfriendly towards cats. I think subjecting your dog to the alpha roll is a huge mistake when he's only doing what his instinct is telling him to. In the best interests of this kitten, to say nothing of your dog, you need to find a home for the kitten.

Answer 4

Hi hon... I hope the "milk" you are feeding this kitty is a baby kitten formula? You can get this at most pet stores, or from your vet.... kittens need a different formula than humans. The kitten chow is a good idea... but you need to soak it in warm water until it's soft.. then mash it with a fork.. You can soak a cup or so at the time, and keep it in the refrigerator. When you take it out, just try a tablespoon at the time.. put water in it, so it's the consistency of creamed corn. Microwave it a few seconds, then PUT YOUR FINGER in and stir so you make sure it's NOT hot... if so, let it cool a bit. If your kitten won't eat readily, try a small spoon and put it up to her lips, getting food all over her mouth.. she will taste it, and probably eat from the spoon readily. After that, it won't take long for her to eat it out of a small saucer. As for her not having a bowel movement, try wetting a paper towel with warm water and wiping her butt with it... this may stimulate her to go to the bathroom. If you are worried she won't go, give her about 1/4 teaspoon of dark karo syrup in her next kitten chow meal. that might help. Call the vet Monday if things don't improve.. and good luck. I love cats! They are so neat!

Answer 5

Well that is remarkably close to what I did to introduce a cat to my two field champian whippets (translation: prey drive coming out their ears). I just gave them what for (grab collar drag the away yelling)not an actually alpha roll (I think that a tad overrated) if they looked like charging the cat. It took TWO MONTHS, though by the last couple weeks I could let cat loose dogs on lead or dogs loose cat on lead. so go slow.....
Do not declaw the cat - it will need those claws to keep the dog in line.
If you eventually have the two loose togher make sure the cat has refuges to hide from the dog if things get hairy.

Answer 6

I think that your doing just fine. For all those who say that a drive can't be counteractive I have two cats and a hamster along with the dogs. the hamster runs free (when watched) and the cats leave it alone and so do the dogs. Let her sniff the kitten and then give her a treat if she reacts well. Good luck

Answer 7

Until the kitten is bigger and able to defend itself, you are going to need to keep them separated. You can't train away prey drive in high prey drive dogs like terriers. If the kitten grows up to be the type that runs away from the dog, you may need to find a new home for her because your dog's prey drive will kick in and he will chase. If she stands up for herself when she gets bigger, it may work out OK.

Answer 8

Be nice, the dog doesn't understand this. Instead say something like, "NO" or "WRONG". Try to stay away from words like BAD DOG. Bull terriers have a natural instinct to prey on smaller animals. Try feeding them at the same time. Another thing you could do is keep your dog on a leash and whenever the dog ignores the kitten, give it a treat.

Answer 9

The so called 'alpha roll' seems a little extreme to me. I have a very prey driven dog and I just tell her 'no' and remove her from where the cat is. If your dog is being REALLY aggressive I would consider rehoming the cat for its own safety.