Too Exuberant With The Cats!

[Borneogoat]

My furry friend is Chief a 4.5mon pure bred Staffordshire. Friendliest little fella you could ever meet. He wants to play with me, anybody who walks by, people who are nice to him, people who don't want to play with him, nice dogs, grumpy dogs, the lizards in the yard, and the birds in the sky! Play generally involves wiggling, chewing, running like mad, and the jumping up that we are working to stop.

Unfortunately, Chief also wants to play with my partner's cats when we are at her house, which is often and he always comes with. The cats are those skinny Cornish Rex things and they are a bit fragile. So when Chief jumps on them, chases them, or just stares at them while stomping his paws, the cats runaway and are stressed. Stressed cats = stressed partner = stressed me. He never tries to eat them or "attack" them, just wants to play rough and they are dainty ladies.

Who has mixed pet households with some advice?

[WExtremeG]

keep him on a leash when you visit? simple really.

[The Spotted Devil]

I have 2 dogs, 3 cats and a temporary resident puppy.

From the second my pups come home they learn that cats are NOT for chasing. The only time there is an exception is when one of the cats initiates play (which is regularly) but the dogs absolutely know who they play with and who they step very carefully around. My cats are very sweet but, because I always back them up, will teach new pups a quick and swift lesson. Personally I would be putting your Staffy on lead and teaching him to settle on a mat in the house with absolutely no tolerance for chasing. Teach him that lying quietly means rewards come his way often (food, attention, all the good stuff!) Give the cats some clear escape routes - climbing towers and baby gates are great. It's very difficult for the cats to keep swapping between dog present and dog absent - they just get used to one situation and it changes. Stressed cats can develop UTIs and start toileting outside the litter box so you want to avoid that. If you can't supervise the dog - pop him in a crate or outside. Provided he's well exercised and has plenty of mental stimulation there is no problem with either of these options.

[Pretty Miss Emma]

Hamish loves cats and he tries to play with them (I think he thinks they are puppies!). So everytime he looks at a new cat I tell him good and he runs to me for a treat. So now he does a lot of looking at cats and running to me for treats, and very little chasing and "playing". But, to get to this point... he was restricted access to cats eg at work he had to stay on lead until the cats were in the office and safely on their trees. I also have 2 cats at home, one of which has taught him cats are not for playing in no uncertain terms. This has helped!

[betsy]

I have separated my dog and cat as they don't get along.

I wish I had spent more time on training the dog when he was a puppy, but unfortunately my cat is not dog savvy and made it worse. (The dog actually is scared of some other cats and won't go near them, but alas, not the cat at home).

Anyway, the safest thing was to put a babygate up to allow the cat part of the house where she is safe. It works well for now, and I am still trying to train the dog! Maybe one day......

I think that some form of containment (crate, leash, etc) whilst you are training your puppy would be a good idea and would certainly reduce everyone's stress levels.

Edited November 29, 2012 by betsy

[persephone]

So when Chief jumps on them, chases them, or just stares at them while stomping his paws, the cats runaway and are stressed. S

..and Chief should not be allowed to show such bad manners in someone else's home.

It is your responsibilty to have control of what your pup does.

if he is reliable using your voice...then that's great .

if not, he needs to be on a lead, or seperated by baby gates/closed doors.

It's a little like taking a toddler to someone's home, and letting the kid open drawers, and run through the house screaming

Edited November 29, 2012 by persephone

[Mad Mary]

I have 2 dogs, 3 cats and a temporary resident puppy.

From the second my pups come home they learn that cats are NOT for chasing. The only time there is an exception is when one of the cats initiates play (which is regularly) but the dogs absolutely know who they play with and who they step very carefully around. My cats are very sweet but, because I always back them up, will teach new pups a quick and swift lesson. Personally I would be putting your Staffy on lead and teaching him to settle on a mat in the house with absolutely no tolerance for chasing. Teach him that lying quietly means rewards come his way often (food, attention, all the good stuff!) Give the cats some clear escape routes - climbing towers and baby gates are great. It's very difficult for the cats to keep swapping between dog present and dog absent - they just get used to one situation and it changes. Stressed cats can develop UTIs and start toileting outside the litter box so you want to avoid that. If you can't supervise the dog - pop him in a crate or outside. Provided he's well exercised and has plenty of mental stimulation there is no problem with either of these options.

Hi Borneogoat,

Good on you for asking for advice.

I agree wholeheartedly with the above comments particularly and the good advice in the rest of the replies. I have brought up two Dobermann, a Dalmatian and a Toy Poodle with a very timid cat we were given before any of the dogs arrived. Each of the dogs had varying interest in the cat but none of them were allowed to chase, jump on, mouth or stare down the cat in anyway - zero tolerance. This also included teaching distraction and ignoring cats we met while out walking. Your pup needs to be taught manners and behavioural boundaries before he gets bigger and stronger. You will need to be persistent and consistent with your training for sometime to come, you have a young exuberant dog who has already learnt it is fun to chase and jump on cats. It would be good if your partner could also be involved with Chief's training too, it would be fun for him and hopefully build a positive relationship between them.

There is a Puppy Socialisation topic in the pinned section of this thread by K9Pro which may interest you.

Hoping your training goes well and everybody feels less stressed - particularly the cats :)

[Crisovar]

He needs to be restrained either on leash, in a crate or the house made more cat/dog friendly with baby gates to allow the cats safe zones, it is simply unacceptable behaviour.

[sheena]

My furry friend is Chief a 4.5mon pure bred Staffordshire. Friendliest little fella you could ever meet. He wants to play with me, anybody who walks by, people who are nice to him, people who don't want to play with him, nice dogs, grumpy dogs, the lizards in the yard, and the birds ithe skyn ! Play generally involves wiggling, chewing, running like mad, and the jumping up that we are working to stop.

Unfortunately, Chief also wants to play with my partner's cats when we are at her house, which is often and he always comes with. The cats are those skinny Cornish Rex things and they are a bit fragile. So when Chief jumps on them, chases them, or just stares at them while stomping his paws, the cats runaway and are stressed. Stressed cats = stressed partner = stressed me. He never tries to eat them or "attack" them, just wants to play rough and they are dainty ladies.

Who has mixed pet households with some advice?

Apart from cats....I can't understand why you allow him to chase & play with wildlife like lizards...so very stressful for them. Also even if another dog is "nice" or "grumpy" it is still bad manners to just let your pup run up to them & jump all over them uninvited. I would be teaching him some manners & especially protecting my wildlife

[persephone]

Chief sounds as if he needs to channel all that energy ..like most kids !

Teaching him manners & tricks will help , bigtime~ using his brain this way will satisfy a lot of his need for reward/excitement.

A few very short training sessions each day help both of you learn to communicate well ..it's amazing what you learn from your pup doing this :D

You might also find that these help :)

LINK

LINK