Some Dog & Cat Advice Please

[Steve Justice]

We got our first dog yesterday, an 8 year old JRT. He's very friendly and obedient, but he likes to chase cats, of which we have 2 of. He doesn't hurt them, just likes to chase and if they stop or hiss back then he stops (this is in general, not our cats). Our two have never been around a dog and are shit scared. They don't want to come back in the house unless the kitchen door is shut and he's in the living room. He used to live with cats up until he was about 5, so it's not really him I'm worried about. It's more the cats getting used to his presence and not feeling threatened that he is in the house. Basically, should things not get better, he may have to go because the cats were here first. Not my preference, but it is only fair I guess.

 

So what I'm asking for is some advice (not from advice dog) on how to get them all settled together.

[TNA Inception]

I can only speak from a cat's perspective owning 2 myself.

 

If the dog has already chased them and they're already shit scared of it you'll find it very hard from now on. Cat's have a very select memory and only remember thing's that they feel will benefit them in the long term. I'm pretty damn sure they'll remember the threat the dog brought on them.

 

Hell, I used to own three cat's until one died and integrating the third cat to the other two was hard enough, nevermind a dog.

 

While it's still early I'd keep the dog seperate for a few day's to allow the cat's confidence to grow a little. Then slowly integrate the two together. Walk the dog into the room the cat's are in but keep it under control. If you see the cat's are scared take the dog away and rinse and repeat again ensuring you have control of the dog every time. Eventually, hopefully the dog and the cat's will get use to being in each other's presence.

 

Another tip would be to do the opposite. Do you have a partner? Ask her to control the dog while you pick one of your cat's up and take it into the room with the dog in. The cat should feel safe if your holding it and the dog is under control so can't charge. Give 'em both a fuss in the same room, maybe a few treats etc and try and get them both relaxed together. (Obviously do this with both cat's) Any sign's of attacking from the dog take the cat away and again rinse and repeat.

 

How old are the cat's? If they're not do old and usually set in their way's eventually they should come around.

[Ronnie]

Why on Earth did you get an adult dog if you already had cats, especially one that was developed to chase things of a cat's size? Surely you must've had some supposition that your poor cats would get tormented and subsequently spooked.

[Steve Justice]

I can only speak from a cat's perspective owning 2 myself.

 

If the dog has already chased them and they're already shit scared of it you'll find it very hard from now on. Cat's have a very select memory and only remember thing's that they feel will benefit them in the long term. I'm pretty damn sure they'll remember the threat the dog brought on them.

 

Hell, I used to own three cat's until one died and integrating the third cat to the other two was hard enough, nevermind a dog.

 

While it's still early I'd keep the dog seperate for a few day's to allow the cat's confidence to grow a little. Then slowly integrate the two together. Walk the dog into the room the cat's are in but keep it under control. If you see the cat's are scared take the dog away and rinse and repeat again ensuring you have control of the dog every time. Eventually, hopefully the dog and the cat's will get use to being in each other's presence.

 

Another tip would be to do the opposite. Do you have a partner? Ask her to control the dog while you pick one of your cat's up and take it into the room with the dog in. The cat should feel safe if your holding it and the dog is under control so can't charge. Give 'em both a fuss in the same room, maybe a few treats etc and try and get them both relaxed together. (Obviously do this with both cat's) Any sign's of attacking from the dog take the cat away and again rinse and repeat.

 

How old are the cat's? If they're not do old and usually set in their way's eventually they should come around.

 

Cheers for that. Certainly give that a try. I hope it's just a matter of time. Our oldest cat took a while getting used to the second one. I know this is different. He's not aggressive, he doesn't bark at them or anything. He's just playful, hopefully they'll come to realise that and won't be bothered too much by him.

[Steve Justice]

Why on Earth did you get an adult dog if you already had cats, especially one that was developed to chase things of a cat's size? Surely you must've had some supposition that your poor cats would get tormented and subsequently spooked.

 

Well yes, but they'd get spooked even if he didn't chase them. One of them runs off whenever I come into the room. The fact he does chase them is a bit worrying when we do want them all to get along. This is our first dog, I thought it best to get one that is already house trained, already responds to commands and suits our needs and requirements. He lived with cats previously, which was a benefit to us. And had the cats lived with a dog previously it would have made a difference with the integration.

[PowerButchi]

Drown the cats and put that Jack on a pedestal for they are the world's finest dog.

[FLips]

Buying an 8 year old dog for a house with cats in it is the stupidest thing I've seen in a while.

 

Buying an 8 year old dog isn't even the best idea in the first place, because no offence here but it'll be dead soon. You'll end up getting attached and then before you know it, the dog is dead. At the very very best it's got another 5 or 6 years in it, but that's a stretch, it'll probably only have about 4.

If you have kids, they'll be gutted if they fall in love with it.

 

You already have 2 cats, so why buy a dog? and one that chases the cats around? Even like you said, eventually the cats will be threatened because both cats and dogs are highly territorial. It'll be nothing but a disaster.

 

How well trained is the dog too? because you've heard "you can't teach an old dog new tricks" haven't you?. My mate's family got a dog that was only about 4 I think, and it had a habit of barking at people when they went up the stairs, and throwing up in the house. Years later and they've not been able to stop the dog doing those. There's a very small chance that if the dog has any flaws you'll be able to crease them out at that age.

 

Also, this is just from my point of view, but I'd never get a dog that wasn't a puppy. Aside from the whole long life/proper training stuff i've mentioned, I personally wouldn't feel like it was my dog. I'd feel like I was looking after someone else's dog. Someone else has raised it, trained it, looked after it, loved it and now 8 years on you've got it.

 

This is just me, but the entire thing sounds like a massive waste of time. You should have got a pup and started fresh.

[BritFan]

Kick the dog and give the cats a Chinese burn, normally sorts the situation.

 

In all seriousness, give the Dog Whisperer a watch, he has some amazing techniques that do work for real.

[Loki]

Steve, you may have missed your opportunity, but the advice from TNA Inception as regards introducing them slowly in small bits is correct; however it's pretty vital that you do that from the outset. Just throwing them together as you've done was a bad idea.

 

But give it a try - separate them, put the dog in a single room and slowly introduce them for short periods of time with the dog firmly under control. It might take weeks or even months, and you have to be prepared for the fact that they might never really see eye to eye.

 

Poor cats.

[Astro Hollywood]

Drown the cats and put that Jack on a pedestal for they are the world's finest dog.

 

DIS MAN KNOW ^^^

 

Buying an 8 year old dog isn't even the best idea in the first place, because no offence here but it'll be dead soon. You'll end up getting attached and then before you know it, the dog is dead. At the very very best it's got another 5 or 6 years in it, but that's a stretch, it'll probably only have about 4.

 

Yeah just leave all homeless dogs over the age of 9 months to rot in shelters. You absolute tit.

[BiffingtonClyro]

Hi, I just bought a 19 year old cat as a friend for my pet rat but they don't seem to be getting on. The cat has eaten my rat. Blood everywhere. Any ideas?

[Steve Justice]

I never expected it to be smooth sailing. But we've got to give it a chance. We didn't buy the dog, but that's neither here nor there.

[FLips]

Buying an 8 year old dog isn't even the best idea in the first place, because no offence here but it'll be dead soon. You'll end up getting attached and then before you know it, the dog is dead. At the very very best it's got another 5 or 6 years in it, but that's a stretch, it'll probably only have about 4.

 

Yeah just leave all homeless dogs over the age of 9 months to rot in shelters. You absolute tit.

 

Did he mention anywhere he got it from a shelter?. Also, there's a massive gap between 9 months and 8 years.

 

KEEP YOUR STUPID COMMENTS IN YOUR POCKET.

[Astro Hollywood]

Buying an 8 year old dog isn't even the best idea in the first place, because no offence here but it'll be dead soon. You'll end up getting attached and then before you know it, the dog is dead. At the very very best it's got another 5 or 6 years in it, but that's a stretch, it'll probably only have about 4.

 

Yeah just leave all homeless dogs over the age of 9 months to rot in shelters. You absolute tit.

 

Did he mention anywhere he got it from a shelter?. Also, there's a massive gap between 9 months and 8 years.

 

KEEP YOUR STUPID COMMENTS IN YOUR POCKET.

 

He didn't, but what's that got to do with your ridiculous post?

[FLips]

Buying an 8 year old dog isn't even the best idea in the first place, because no offence here but it'll be dead soon. You'll end up getting attached and then before you know it, the dog is dead. At the very very best it's got another 5 or 6 years in it, but that's a stretch, it'll probably only have about 4.

 

Yeah just leave all homeless dogs over the age of 9 months to rot in shelters. You absolute tit.

 

Did he mention anywhere he got it from a shelter?. Also, there's a massive gap between 9 months and 8 years.

 

KEEP YOUR STUPID COMMENTS IN YOUR POCKET.

 

He didn't, but what's that got to do with your ridiculous post?

 

It's not ridiculous to not want to buy a dog on it's way out. Especially if he has kids who'll become attached to it. Half the fun of a dog is raising it from being a pup and training it properly and watching it grow. It just seems pointless to me to buy an 8 year old dog who's already lived it's life with someone else, so basically you're just looking after it after all the hard (but rewarding) work has been done by someone else.