Well we are now into our 3rd week with 7 month old poppy. She is settling in very well. Much calmer. When we rescued her they said that she had lived with a cat. We have 2 and onyx ( other Lab) loves them. Poppy is just so crazy around them if they move, she chases them. I have tried feeding chicken to both poppy Who sits by my feet on a lead and lola or tizzy ( cats) on the couch. this works for a bit then some thing comes over poppy and she just can't contain her excitement. And the cat runs and we are back to square one. Does any one have any ideas on how to sort this out. I think onyx is missing his daily cuddles with them .
My cats were not impressed to have Juno introduced to the household but it gradually settled down over a couple of weeks. Juno was not allowed to chase the cats at any time, we had a stair gate across the stairs so that the cats could escape where Juno couldn't follow. Their food was also placed upstairs so that they could eat in peace. I also liberally sprayed around Feliway during the day. It took a couple of weeks but life did settle down and the cats started to settle down again in the living room with us although Belle isn't quite as much of a lapcat,she is happy to have Juno around. I approached it that it was Juno, as the new family member, that would have to learn how to behave around the cats so focussed on distraction through pay and training when she looked most likely to chase after the cats. Good luck
Double ditto an escape route for the cats. When Oban arrived at 8 weeks old It was to a household of three older cats used to a well behaved dog, who had been good with cats all her life. Two cats would give him a swat if they happened to meet in a hallway but usually chose to avoid him. The youngest, who had been so devoted to our first Lab I feared for her when Jet was gone, simply hid away for most of a year. The treat business didn't work a bit. Another trick I employ is to greet, feed, play with the first in line, the cats, first. This is to teach the dog his place in the family hierarchy. It made me feel better, I really did not see any sign this impacted such a young puppy at all. I still do it though. cats get fed first, played with first etc. Poppy is at that awful age when puppies ramp up in their naughtiness. Ok, their playfullness. From everything I've read it's worst around about 9 months old, so guess what? She will only get worse. Not trying to scare you at all, maybe won't happen wtih Poppy. But forewarned is forearmed. By the time Oban was about one year old he had lost interest in the cats. Not entirely but he didn't seem to see them as potential playmates in a game of tag with him IT. The two oldest have passed away but they all became, not just tolerant of each other but actually friends. Now Oban is much favoured by a new cat we've had for three years, a feral who thinks Oban is God and they enjoy a very special relationship. It's wonderful to see them together. I see training as a distraction was mentionned above but here's an idea for you. I used one of the cats to get faster responses from puppy Oban. This was suggested by our trainer for using two dogs, I only have one dog so I used a cat. Say we were working on SIT. If the response from the puppy was slow the cat got a treat. I tell you, next time I asked for a SIT that little puppy backside hit the floor so quickly you could hear it. Puppy and cat both got treats.
I love this idea i will give it a try.This morning I had them about a metre apart. Lola was having her breakfast and poppy was sitting nicely, while she was sitting she was given little bits of meatball. if she stood up or wined she didn't get anything. luckily she loves meatballs. so we are making progress. Its slow , but its in the right direction.
