This is my first post, and I have found lots of solace in reading other people's stories about their challenging puppies. Monty is 9.5 weeks old, we have had him since he was 8 weeks. He is quite noisy and bites a bit (especially in the morning and evening). We are first time puppy owners and despite doing lots of research, nothing prepared us for this! We are clicker training him - he can 'sit' and we're working on the 'hand touch', and we are also crate training him. My question is about our cat flap, which he pushes open then barks at. He is being introduced slowly to our 10 year old cat - the cat is spending his time in another room where he is now fed, but does access the kitchen a few times each day to exit through his cat flap or kitchen door. We have held Monty when the cat is in the room, or he's been in his crate. Yesterday they met for the first time without him being restrained - he chased the cat out of the room. Does anyone have any advice on 1. increasing the familiarity between cat and dog without dog being harmed by cat, and 2. cat flap barking - do we ignore and reward when he stops barking, or intervene? He's only done it a few times so far but I don't want it to become a habit, or perhaps he will get bored and stop of his own accord?
Hello, its really early days for you but in my experience dogs and cats eventually work out their relationship. I wouldn't force it, just make sure the cat has plenty of escape routes and their food is safely away. Distracting or reward for silence by the cat flap. That might take a while as it is a really interesting thing for a pup or could you restrict his access to it for a bit, that might help as he grows and develops a bit of impulse control. Good luck, its a really challenging age.
Thank you EDP for your helpful message. We have locked the cat flap when Monty is in the room which seems to have helped quite a bit - as it has taken all the fun out of him pushing it open! We just make sure the cat isn't in the same room so he's not trapped.
