Advice Needed! My Puppy Keeps Hurting My Cat!

[Baxy]

Hello! Im desperately in need of some advice!

I have a 4month old chocolate lab. Hes gorgeous. Lovely natured wee boy and usually very well behaved.... However, he keeps chasing my cat and grabbing her around the neck and shaking her and dragging her around. She doesnt do anything, she doesnt swipe him, hiss, nothing. But this is leading to her getting bald patches around her neck where hes pulling the hair out. And, hes drawn blood a couple of times. I have tried growling 'no!' at him and now i separate them when im not there. She cant be frightened of him because she still rubs up on him and sleeps with him at night. Im sure hes not doing it to be aggressive, more playful but im so frightened hes going to hurt her. Rehoming one is not an option as i am very attached to them both.

Any advice would be much appreciated!!

[Dame Aussie]

That's not at all fair to your cat, whether you think she is scared or not, you cannot let this go on. He's drawing blood!

If you can't teach the puppy to be gentle with the cat then I would be seperating them altogether.

What does he do when you tell him no?

[minimax]

I'd be training him not to do that to the cat before he accidently kills her

Perhaps keeping puppy on a leash around the cat, so immediate corrections can be made, and lots of treating when he displays appropriate behaviour (whatveer you want that to be, ignoring perhaps?).

You probably can't use a bitter taste deterrant on a cat as that's not fair on the cat, but it sounds like he needs to learn very quickly that the cat is not a play toy.

Does the puppy know what "no" means? When you growl no, do you also remove him from the situation and direct him to something more appropriate?

[BlackJaq]

I think a lead on the puppy sounds like an excellent idea, that way you can intervene without having to "catch" him first.

[Baxy]

I know its not fair on my cat, hence why i am asking for advice.

I have separated them, and now they are not together when i am not there.

He does know what no means, but perhaps i need to start using another command like 'leave it' and try that to teach him to ignore her.

Its just so hard because she does tease him a little. He will be happily playing with his toys and she will come up and pounce on him. Then he thinks its all just a fun game.

[Dame Aussie]

I think if you are really consistent with telling him No and removing him from the situation he should hopefully get the message. If not maybe get some advice from a trainer? Has he done any training yet?

[MarieEvans]

Poor cat. The best thing you could do is separate them and make your dog understand no. Growling no at him wouldn't help your cat unless your dog understands what it means. Putting a leash on your dog may also be helpful.

[tdierikx]

All of my dogs and my foster pups get taught "leave it" - often even before they learn "sit"... one of the most useful commands I reckon.

T.

[Teebs]

Dog on lead at all times when it has access to the cat. once he gets over it and is more gentle then he can have free run.

[espinay2]

Baby gate so pup and cat can be separated and cat has a 'safe room'

high cat tower so cat has a place to escape to out of the way of the pup

Crate for pup for sleeping in at night etc.

ALWAYS supervise the pup in the presence of the cat - at this point on lead. When you can't supervise they need to be separated.

TEACH the pup to leave the cat alone and ignore the cat. The pup will not learn the rules unless it it taught. correct it when it goes to move towards the cat and praise/reward for leaving the cat alone/ignoring it.

As mentioned, teach 'leave it' - first as an exercise with food and other objects - which you can also use in reference to the cat.

Also teach the pup to 'watch' you and pay attention to you rather than focussing on the cat.

As the pups leader YOU need to be in control of the situation. I recommend Patricial McConnells booklet on leadership: http://www.dogwise.com/itemdetails.cfm?ID=DTB479

[love.is.a.pei]

our sharpei was the same as a pup, well sort of, would chase the cats but never rip hair out etc.

we put him on harness and lead and walked him around the cat, whenever he lunged forward to try and chase them we tugged the lead back, told him NO and SIT.

took about 5 days and he was over it, they have got a long great ever since.

[melzawelza]

Never leave unsupervised.

Leash at all times when the cat is around and when he goes to do it a big UH UH! and very firm correction on the collar. This is dangerous and possibly life threatening for your cat - no time for niceties with the dog. He needs to learn very quickly that you will NOT tolerate this behaviour or you will end up with a dead cat.

[I love goldens]

Did you introudce them slowly? Never ever leave them alone together if your dog is doing this!!

Teach the dog that ghe cat is higher in the pack than the cat. Let the cat eat first, give the cat high scratching posts/ trees so it is physically higher than the dog etc.

Never let the cat and the dog come face to face unless the dog has a lead and until there is no growling, snapping or whatever signs your dog does. Then you can let them meet off the lead, but with a baby gate or something on one of the doors which the cat can bolt through if it feels threatened. When you are doing this, do not leave the room! You need to be there, on call if he grabs the cat. Once he has settled and and he doesnt lunge or try to go for the cat you can let them both have the whole house but with a room or a hallway babygated off so the cat can run away with your supervision. Only ever leave them alone together when youare sure that they are completely fine together, because this is life threatening to your cat!

Ps. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong somewhere!

Edited January 14, 2013 by I love goldens