As you can see below, my poor cat, Chipper, is spending most of his time perched on top of the gate to the kitchen. Dutch hasn’t made much progress in accepting him. The best I’ve seen so far is a temporary stand-off, with Dutch eventually barking at him and scaring him off. I’ve been watching them stare at each other, then when Dutch starts barking at Chipper, I pick up Dutch and we move to another area, where he is tethered to me and can’t interact with the cat. He seems fascinated by the cat, but doesn’t know how to be friends yet. My cat is very friendly. Any suggestions?
Hi, Beverly–you might try calmly holding Chipper on your lap while having someone else stand with Dutch on a leash nearby, praising and food-rewarding Dutch for any sign of calm, even a few seconds of it, while he watches you talk with and hold Chipper. If it’s done enough times, I think sometimes a dog finally makes a connection that the cat is indeed a part of its pack. Very best of luck! 🙂
Beverly, I have terriers as well as Shepherds so it’s a very important step to me when I introduce dogs and cats, my indoor cats were here before my dogs so that wasn’t too hard, I just got 2 barn kittens though and that was tough as the terriers are EXTREMELY prey driven, they are killers, what I did was raise the kittens in a wire crate with a section covered with a towel so the kittens don’t feel vulnerable but this allowed the dogs to get used to seeing and smelling them everyday, I now can have the kittens loose and the dogs are okay with them, I also strongly suggest you teach a LEAVE IT command as I can immediately stop them from being too rough, one of the kittens is more shy and of course that makes her more enticing, the bolder male actually chases them in play, they will get along with time and patience but a shy cat does take much longer as they don’t reciprocate the greetings and running away makes them enticing.
Thank you so much. I have been trying to food-reward Dutch for just sitting there watching the cat through the gate, but eventually he loses control and barks. That sends my somewhat shy cat racing away in an explosive blur. Chipper, of course, has always lived here, and is doing his best to continue to try to approach Dutch. The “leave it!” command is one of the first I taught him because there are so many things it applies to (fingers, socks, furniture legs, etc.). He knows it well, and usually stops immediately. When he is very focused on something, like the major distraction of Chipper’s presence, he is far less responsive. I have to pick him up and remove him from the area.
I didn’t know that Terriers had that high prey drive. It’s amazing that you were able to overcome that with the introduction of the kittens. I will keep trying, and use the suggestions above. I’m confident that eventually they’ll be friends because I have seen so many pictures of the other AT dogs and their cats getting along like great buddies.
What if you put Dutch in the crate, have Beaumont and Chipper out so Dutch can watch how Beaumont behaves with the cat? Maybe hold Chipper on your lap? My guess is, it is the cat stare that is setting Dutch off, it is just simply impolite in dog language.
I am glad Jil responded. I hope Lynda has some advice for you too.
When Dutch is in the crate, Chipper knows he is safe, and walks around the kitchen, approaches the crate, and lays in front of it with Dutch watching him. Dutch will start barking at him within a couple of minutes. Then Chipper gets up slowly, and casually leaves the room as if trying to show no fear. Chipper constantly tries to enter the kitchen, sneaking in, peering around to see if Dutch is in the crate or tethered to me. He won’t come in if Dutch is loose.
Last night, I held Chipper in my lap while I sat in a chair. Dutch watched, sat there, and was stuffed with treats for not barking. He started to paw me and the cat. Poor Chipper tried to be brave, didn’t complain as he lay there, but as Dutch persisted, Chipper tucked his head in the crook of my arm and tried to hide like an ostrich with its head in the sand. Scott finally restrained Dutch, and I let Chipper leave. Is that progress?
I would consider that progress–yes! 🙂
Something to think about is that by removing Dutch from the situation he is getting your attention, whether positive or negative it is still attention and he will learn this fast, so you may actually be adding fuel to the fire so to speak. I agree with the others try holding Chipper so he can’t create a situation and then run away from it. Hold him calmly but securely and I would sit on the floor with the cat, so that he is not up higher than the dog, more of an we are equal type thing. And slowly introduce them together whether with someone else helping you or tether Dutch to something that he can’t get to you and Chipper until you want them together. I would after time move forward closer and closer, if the cat doesn’t have front claws it is a lot easier as if Dutch does get batted he shouldn’t get hurt too bad. Good Luck!
You are right, Karen. By entering the room, Chipper creates the situation, Dutch responds by barking and lunging for him, and I react by picking up Dutch and removing him from the scene of the crime. So apparently Dutch is perceiving my reaction (intended to be negative) as attention, and I am possibly reinforcing his bad behavior.
I would like to try tethering Dutch to the doorknob, and sit in the room in his sight on the floor while holding the cat. I’m sure he will start barking, and I’m not sure what I should do when that happens.
My cat does have all his claws, but he has always been extremely gentle. I’ve never been scratched, nor has Beaumont. However, if he feels his life is threatened by Dutch, I’m sure he may try to defend himself by scratching my little troublemaker. I am really concerned, and will try all your suggestions. During the winter, the cat is always inside. During the warmer months, however, he is outdoors during the day. He’s a British longhair, bred as a professional garden cat. He’s an awesome hunter, and has cleared the gardens of all types of vermin, including chipmunks that had been destroying our historic gazebo, rabbits that had been decimating the perennial flower beds, moles and voles that had been throughout the grounds.
He’s very playful, and enjoys stalking Beaumont and our guests, and racing across their paths. He loves it when they let out a yelp of surprise. I worry that it he does that with Dutch, he may respond with his natural prey drive, so we really need to remedy this situation before summer.
We had a hard time w/Libby and our cat. We ended up putting a airline crate in the living room so the cat could come in and be part of the group again. Libby was in the crate to chill w/a stuffed kong. If she started barking at the cat from the crate we put a towel over the door for about 2-3 minutes blocking her view. Sad to say we had to keep this up for several months. We also tethered Libby to us and when she became focused on the cat we kept redirecting her attention back on us doing simple commands-the key was to refocus her as soon as it was evident she was zeroing in on the cat before obsession set in. In the end this was a good thing because she learned to pay attention during other distractions as well. Good luck
Hi Lisa! I am so glad to hear that I am not the only one with this problem. When I had seen the picture of Libby with Tinkerbell, I never would have guessed that Libby had behaved just like Dutch. When Libby was tethered to you, but started focusing on the cat, how did your cat react? Didn’t Tinkerbell race away like Chipper, triggering the prey drive in Libby?
I will try closing the door on the crate when Dutch in in there, and give him a bully stick to focus on. That seems to occupy him best. Then, I’ll try sitting on the floor in front of him with Chipper in my lap. If (when!) he starts barking, I’ll have Scott place a sheet over the crate to obstruct his view of the cat. We’ll also try rewarding him with treats for not barking, and showing some degree of calmness.
So, you had to keep this up for several months?!!! Wow. At least, your patience was rewarded, because they look like they’re buddies now. By the way, I was checking out a picture of Libby at 8 weeks old. Her ears were up, and folded over her head like a teepee, making a little “X” at the tips. That is exactly how Dutch’s ears look right now.
Al and Karen make a good point about the attention. Sometimes we unintentionally reward undesired behavior. Tinkerbell had been around 3 of our dogs 2 of which had very hight prey drive and they were fine. For some reason she was skittish around Libby when we got her. We had to catch Libby at the moment just before she started to focus & redirect the behavior from the cat to us. The crate with the sheet over it was very effective. We didn’t get that piece of advice until she was 5+ months old, so you are at an advantage starting sooner. Be careful not to say anything when you cover the crate so he learns pester cat = no visual of the fun-he is the cause of good things going awaynot you. Libby did accidently get to chase once and that set us back a bit. I would be careful when they are both outside, even if they are buds in the house. It is a whole different ball game when they are outside and the prey drive kicks in. A absolute reliable recall is a must-we practiced on the squirrels for our proofing :). Also, Tinkerbell did reach a point where she had had enough and stood her ground a nailed Libby a good one. That was a major wakeup call and brought a new level of respect for the cat. Good luck and let us know how it goes.
Beverly I just want to tell you, that is a gorgeous cabinet in the background, I love it!
Thank you! That “old thing” was the inspiration for the kitchen.
Beverly,. I personally would just put Dutch in the crate to chew a bully stick and let Chipper meander around on his own, by holding him your forcing him to be somewhere he may not want to be, really if you make a big deal of it, than it will be, when Gavin was Dutchs age he too was very curious about my two indoor cats, an Abyssinian who loves dogs and actually approached him and rubbed against him and a Siamese who didn’t appreciate being the object of his curiosity, one good wack from the Siamese stopped Gavin from ever bothering him again, and till the day he left at 18 months old he loved the Abbysinian and respected the Siamese, who would walk along the top of the sofa and swat at his back and tail!! Lol!!
I too was thinking the cat should be allowed to put Dutch in his place now while he is smaller.
Did I mention that Chipper is not de-clawed? I need a pair of those protective glasses that the NYPD police dogs are wearing! Seriously, you are right. I need to allow them to develop their pack. Right now, Dutch isn’t tethered to me, he’s tethered in the corner of the kitchen, asleep. The cat is also here in the kitchen, walking around, but out of Dutch’s reach. Every now and then Dutch lifts his head to look at him, but he’s not even getting up, let alone barking. Either we’re making progress, or Dutch is simply exhausted after our afternoon recall work outside. I am working on associating the tone with the verbal command and the hand signal. We have 12 acres, and we need his recall to be 100%, even if he can’t see us or hear us when he’s distracted by a bear, coyote, etc.
The little rascal was 100% perfect, with sit, down, stay, and come during our off-leash session in the field adjacent to the woods. Then, suddenly, he decided to completely ignore me when asked to come! He just lay there, looking at me! I walked over to him, put the leash on, and could hardly get him to move! When we arrived home, I had to carry him up the stairs to the kitchen!
Beverly you are why ahead of me with the training. My recalls…well we don’t really have recalls yet, she is still learning her name and she is a very independent little girl. Which can be good and can be bad.
I think you are making great progress, it does not matter if Dutch was exhausted he did not bark at the cat, and he practiced the behavior you want.
Please Please if nothing else get the recalls down pat.
Let me share a little story.
Al was a truck driver and we had a small chow chow that always went with him.. Well one day he was delivering somewhere out in the country and there was an open field, so he let her stretch her legs a little, which was fine until an Amish horse and buggy came trotting down the road and there was no coming back for her, no matter what Al did. With his yelling, one of the guys came out and gave him a ride to go get her. When they caught up with her it was like a parade coming into town. Horse and buggy followed by the dog followed by a police car with it’s lights on so no one would hit the dog, and AL and this guy bringing up the rear! They had went about 3 or 4 miles into town. Al learned a valuable lesson that day, not to mention scared him to death!
You are preaching to the choir, Karen! No matter what I decide to work on with Dutch, I always include recalls. But today, we did nothing but recalls. He was racing toward me each time at 100mph (LOL), until he decided to plop down and essentially say, “enough!” We had been running all over the field together, having a great time!
What a 3-ring circus that must have been, Karen! Police car, lights flashing, horse & buggy, and Al, all parading into town after the little chow chow! It sounds so funny now, but I can empathize with how worried Al must have been. I think we’ve all felt that panic at some point. I’ll bet after you made sure the little miscreant was a recall whiz kid!
Beverly–thanks to your post, I have learned a new word today: miscreant! mis·cre·ant/ˈmiskrēənt/
Noun:
A person who behaves badly or in a way that breaks the law.
Adjective:
(of a person) Behaving badly or breaking a law.
Synonyms:
noun. villain – scoundrel – blackguard – rascal – rogue – knave
adjective. mean – vile – base
This topic reminded me of Odin and Rascal, I just watched the video of Odin and little Andrew both barking at the cat. Too cute. I agree about letting Dutch know now that the cat isn’t a toy nor prey, the cat will teach Dutch manners in no time. My own cat Rascal has taught 3 GSDs who’s the boss.:D