[Ed]

As I recall cats and dogs getting along may or may not happen. For us a cat is out of the realm of possibility, given our dogs behavior with wildlife. Robert will have the best answer. As I recall it involves crating the dog for a period of time, and ensuring the cat always has an escape route… someplace they can jump up to. A dog with low prey drive would probably help, and a terrier-type dog would probably make things more difficult.

[Amy]

When I Read your comment on crating the dog for a period of time it made me smile while I remembered how my cat jumped into the area that I had portioned off for my dog with the dogs open crate as a barrier. My mix GSD was around 5mo old at the time. The cat was not happy but no cat fur flew.

The Cat always wanted the dogs attention but once she had it then she would get overwhelmed by the dogs energy.

Any way, this time the dog turned and chased the cat who instead of jumping over the crate she ran inside with the dog hot on her tail! The cat was not happy but no cat fur flew.

I am glad that I had already established, from the moment I brought the dog home at 8 weeks old, that the cat was mine and not to be bothered.

I know that the crate should not be use as a punishment but my pup from the moment she first saw the cat she wanted it. If she tried to get to the cat when she was out of her crate I would grab the leash and lead her back into the crate. She was only able to be semi-free if she didn’t bother the cat. This was not exactly fair because the cat usually instigated the interaction.

[Cody]

Thank you for your response. I know cats and dogs do not always mix. I did not watch all of Robert’s training before taking in this dog that was living on the streets, and I definitely should have. At this point I’m just trying to manage the behavior to create the best environment for everyone, because the cats were here first. I’d like to avoid re homing the puppy at all costs unless it becomes more beneficial for him to be elsewhere. The cats don’t have many escape routes at this time, and I am working to get shelves installed in the walls and such so they have places to climb and sleep where he can’t reach them. Also the crate idea hasn’t worked so far because the cats will hide if they hear him even if he is in the crate. So I would have to force the cats out of hiding just to execute the crate experiment. I will continue trying and see what advice Robert has as well. Thank you again.

[Ed]

Oh the crate is not an experiment. It is meant to show the dog that the cats are valued members of the household. So the cats get freedom while the dog is in the crate. I’m not sure how long that would go on for. But if you are providing the cats with shelves, and if you have good control of the dog I would at some point have the cats on the shelves and the dog under your supervision and try to get the dog in a relatively calm stance… perhaps starting off with the dog in the crate and then a wire pen… and eventually free. Maybe someone that has done this will join the discussion. I think a lot will depend on the individual dog and your relationship with him. And any success is a reason for celebration 🙂

[Gene]

This is for reactivity to the neighbor’s dog. Leash reactivity towards other dogs can be a problem. This issue has come up numerous times on Ask Me Anything. It is a unique problem because you need others to pitch in. You have to find someone with a balanced dog and you know can control the dog and it has to be worked on a regular basis so it is a hard thing to do.

Go to the Lesson section and go to Lesson Categories and scroll to Leash Training, click it on. Numerous videos will pop up on this subject. Go to page 2, there is a dog named Koda. a GSD I would start there. Do the same exercise but you are trying to get to the fence. Maybe you can have your neighbor keep the other dog calm. A few items to note, no treats are used, no corrections are given, if I remember correctly, no commands are given either, maybe a “Sit”. The main verbiage is “Let’s Go”. When you get to the fence (it may take some time) I would give each dog a treat. Just keep it up until you get to the fence with a calm pup.

[Ben]

I have an 8 month old high drive GSD and a 5-6 month old cat. I think it’s a little easier because they are both young and like to play, but I still have to stay on top of the dog for no chasing the cat. If your pup was able to do 10 minutes of training in front of a cat then I think there is hope. You just got to correct the dog every single time it gets out of line with the cat, with increasing intensity of corrections as needed. An e-collar will help a lot. Get a good one and it will have a vibrate button. I would say “leave it” and hit the vibrate setting anytime the dog tried to go for the cat, and it helped a lot at first. Now I don’t really need it. If things start getting out hand, then I crate the dog. They do like to play with each other and I allow that, but before the dog got to play with the cat he learned to leave it completely alone.

For the reactivity, is it just he neighbor dog or all dogs he sees?

[Cody]

Thanks for the advice! Good to know there is hope. My cats don’t really have much interest in playing with the dog or even being around him even though two of the cats are pretty young and rambunctious. I will continue the corrections and start e collar training!

With the dog it’s any and all dogs. Sometimes he only reacts in the dog is barking, lunging, etc but he has also done it to dogs that are showing absolutely no interest in him. I was able to get his attention despite the distraction the other day but it is rough. He reacts this way to dogs that are two yards over and sometimes across the street!

[Cody]

Also, when I attempt to walk away to a different part of our yard where he can’t see the dog, it is almost as if the corrections I’m making on the martingale collar don’t effect him. He will power through it and even if I’m not actively correcting him, he will run to the end of the leash and push through the pressure. As soon as he is out of sight of the other dog, he relaxes and goes about his business. If he hears dogs barking in the distance, no reaction. It is only if he can see the dog.

[Gene]

You have to get him before he goes off. Once he starts to go into what I call “La La Land” basically just hang on and remove him but he is beyond taking direction so you are back to square one.

You want to look for subtle changes in his body language which give you a heads up that he is about to throw a hissy fit. Signs such as his head may jut forward and or his ears perk up, that is when the correction occurs. He may start to crouch/recoil as if he is about to lunge etc. Lets say you are exiting your house and the dog is out next door. When he orientates towards the other dog and his body language shows signs that he is going on alert, he is immediately brought back into the house. No correction just a calm “Lets Go” wait maybe 20 seconds and try again, trust me he will catch on as to what you want after a few exits. You will probably have to do the same procedure the next day but he will get the message. When you are out in the backyard and the other dog is let out you should be able to see a change in him right away. Remove him 7/10 steps then bring him right back to where you were or try a step or two closer. I know this is a complicated issue to deal with but your main objective is to get him before he goes off.

He may not be aggressive, he may just have bad manners.

[Cody]

Haven’t even thought of immediately going back inside the house and then trying again, so thank you for that piece of advice! Sometimes I wish my neighbor directly next to me with the very calm male dog would leave them outside more often so I could work through this process with my pup. I know when my dog starts going crazy, they feel bad and call their dog inside. I just think if he was outside more it would give me a chance to desensitize my dog to him. It’s also strange because with new people in my house, he can completely ignore them and engage with me unless I give him permission to get a pet from them. It seems to be just a dog thing and a cat thing. However the dog reaction is very different than the cat reaction and reactions he gives to birds, squirrels, rabbits, etc. our neighbor on the other side has several chickens and he was very interested and focused on them at first but now doesn’t even care to look at them. I will try these approaches that have been mentioned in this thread and hopefully move toward some progress.

[Stella]

Re cats & dogs… After the initial puppy phase we kept cat and dog separate for a while (dog crated or physicaly separated from cat), until around 8 months. We were worried they would never co-exist. I know the use of bonker ( plastic jug with coins \ pebbles) is controversial but that’s what we used. We got the dog and cat together in the same area of the house and let the interaction happen , when the dog got too intense and charged at cat we (said no) threw the bonker down , I think we only did it a couple times. We still “supervise ” and are close by when the dog is free but she knows not to “mess” with the cat . She is still VERY INTERESTED in the cat, follows her around, staring, they will get nose to nose and then it’s like now what?! Cat always has escape route , cat door to basement and upstairs of house. They share a water bowl now 😊