Hello. I have a 15 week old yellow lab who we have had for a little over a month. I also own 3 cats who are all declawed. For now my puppy (Arthur) stays on a leash inside so we can keep a close eye on him partly because he wants to chew on everything but also because he wants to chase after my cats. He is pushing 30 lbs and growing every day and I am worried he might really hurt one of them if he got a hold of them. I have tried introducing them to each other when the puppy is calm, but he just wants to chase them. I’m open to any ideas on what to do so I can feel comfortable that he isn’t going to hurt them.
My cats have always put puppies in their place quickly. My cats also have their claws, which plays a HUGE part in this. One clawed swipe from an angry cat and a puppy yelp... Puppy usually learns his lesson then and there. Declawing cats is such a bad thing to do. You have a problem on your hands. The cats cannot defend themselves and the puppy is treating them like toys. You'll have to train the puppy. I would leash him when you try to introduce him to the cat. When he goes after them, get him to stop (I usually use the word NO) and then get him to sit and stay. Don't smack him or anything but be persistent. He will learn eventually that cats are not toys and are not to be chased. After a while, you can unleash him and work further there. You could also try distracting him with a toy or food to help train him... But I don't train this way. Everything is just repetition for me.
Thanks for your advice even though as I mentioned in my post, I have already tried this. I was hoping for some new ideas. I also don’t really appreciate you shaming me for declawing my cats considering I rescued all of them from certain death at local shelters and they were already declawed. I had nothing to do with that decision. You should probably have all the facts straight before you post a shaming remark. If anyone else has something positive to post in response to my original post, I would certainly appreciate it, as I believe there is a solution to every problem. This was my first time posting in this forum and I have to say I am hesitant to post further concerns or questions.
I did not say YOU had them declawed. I did not attack YOU for the procedures. I merely said that declawing cats is a bad thing to do (which you likely know seeing as you rescued them) and that it has made your situation harder to deal with. Also, you did not say you tried leashing him to try and introduce him to them directly nor did you say you have tried training him to sit and stay, you merely said you tried introducing him when he was calm and that he's always leashed in the house. What I suggested was quite different than what you said you've tried. You definitely over reacted about the declawing and took what I said about the declawing as a personal insult to your pet care when it was not personal at all and did not accuse you of anything bad. Sorry for offending you though, take it easy and have a nice day.
Hi @Erin Johnson - welcome to our world, although we only have one cat so I don't envy you having triple the chaos. We tried the "sit/stay" thing which didn't work, and the leash just made her more frustrated. One thing we are trying at the moment is "Look at that" training. If you search for it in the search box then it should bring up some helpful articles on it. We have to try it at a distance though otherwise she's too over threshold. @mjfromga makes a good point about the role of the cat(s) in all this. Our cat runs away which makes the situation worse because all Luna sees is this blur of fur and she automatically chases. I think the feistier the cat, the less this problem arises. Persevere with them while Arthur (amazing name by the way) is little - I wish I'd done this when Luna was that age rather than constantly keeping them apart. Best to do it while the cat has a bit of a size advantage. Good luck - make sure you keep the cats free of stress though through all of it. We've created a little haven for our cat upstairs - bed, litter tray and water/food in case she's not feeling brave enough to make the dash to her cat flap. She also gets lots of cuddles in the evening.
Hi Erin & welcome I was in the same boat with our pup a few months ago. I have one cat who is also declawed, and it did make it harder for them to sort things out. It was crazy for a few months. I did many of the things suggested to manage them the best I could, but I think it was really time that helped the most. Eventually Poppy has lost her intense interest in the cat and while she sometimes will get carried away it is much, much better. So while I don't have any other tips to share, I did want to share that it did improve a lot over time.
Thanks so much for your posts. I’m glad I’m not the only one in the world who has a puppy and declawed cats. I have been giving my cats lots of extra attention, mostly in the evenings when the pup has zonked out for the night. I will keep trying to expose them to each other and hopefully I will look back on this time and laugh because they will be the best of friends. Even if they learn to tolerate each other I will be happy. Thanks again for your positive posts and messages of encouragement.
Hi Erin and welcome. 30 days may seem like forever but it's a short time in which to expect good behavior from the pup, especially a 15 w/o. We have 3 elderly cats who did well with our previous elderly dog. When we got Johnny at 20 wks. we put up pet gates with cat doors that allowed the cats to roam the house or retreat where Johnny couldn't get them. Johnny came from the SPCA and was very poorly socialized. He was clearly frightened of cats and would alert bark and chase them. One fine day after Johnny apparently offended the oldest cat, the cat came thru the door and scratched Johnny on the nose with much yelling and barking as a result. After I settled the dog, I found the cat had fractured his claw and needed vet attention. I still struggle with Johnny @ 80 lbs if he sees a cat on his walks. We did look at that exercises which were very successful for the carriage horses that come through our neighborhood but not so much (yet) for cats. In January we adopted Maggie, a lab hound mix, at 9 wks. We did the recommended feeding on either side of a closed door, reinforcing calm behaviour, etc. We also rubbed Maggie with a towel and let the cats sniff this and vice versa. It's hard to say Maggie is fine around cats because they don't come down stairs much because of Johnny the terror but Maggie isn't interested in cats on her walks and doesn't chase them in our house. Keep working on it. You'll sort it out.
Have you got a stair gate where the cats can get to escape. You could try "leave it" Willow is very interested in other dogs and people out on walks but given a high value treat she leaves the dog or person and concentrates on the treat. It's a lot of work but you should get there in the end. Also try "find it" throw the treat on floor and get the dog to find it. I also throw the treat tell him to leave it don't let them have that treat. Hope you find a way for them all to get on.
So, the main things to implement are: 1. Make sure the cats have somewhere 'safe' and dog-free to go when they want to - so they don't feel that everywhere is dangerous, or they may well leave home. (Or get very stressed.) That might mean that the cats can go upstairs but there's a stairgate on the stairs so the dog can't. Or it might mean there's a stairgate on other doorways in the house to separate cat and dog. 2. Use barriers (stairgates, crated puppy, pen etc) to help pup and cats get used to each others' presence and hopefully bored and habituated to it. 3. Daily, try to have one session where the pup is on a tagline (puppy house line) which you can hold the end of to prevent pup from reaching the cat. Redirect any interest from pup in the cats, back onto a stuffed Kong or chew or something. You want to aim at the pup feeling relaxed and calm in the presence of the cats. 4. Time. It can take a long time for habituation to happen and for them to get bored of each other. 5. Do not allow chasing of cats or predatory behaviour around cats - immediately interrupt that and try to set things up to avoid it in the first place.
[QUO ="Jo Laurens, post: 391912, member: 12594"]So, the main things to implement are: 1. Make sure the cats have somewhere 'safe' and dog-free to go when they want to - so they don't feel that everywhere is dangerous, or they may well leave home. (Or get very stressed.) That might mean that the cats can go upstairs but there's a stairgate on the stairs so the dog can't. Or it might mean there's a stairgate on other doorways in the house to separate cat and dog. 2. Use barriers (stairgates, crated puppy, pen etc) to help pup and cats get used to each others' presence and hopefully bored and habituated to it. 3. Daily, try to have one session where the pup is on a tagline (puppy house line) which you can hold the end of to prevent pup from reaching the cat. Redirect any interest from pup in the cats, back onto a stuffed Kong or chew or something. You want to aim at the pup feeling relaxed and calm in the presence of the cats. 4. Time. It can take a long time for habituation to happen and for them to get bored of each other. 5. Do not allow chasing of cats or predatory behaviour around cats - immediately interrupt that and try to set things up to avoid it in the first place.[/QUOTE] Thanks for all the great ideas! He is already losing interest and the cats are not bothered by his presence. The cats just usually walk away or sometimes walk away. They have plenty of places they can go where he can’t get to them. I still don’t trust him alone with the cats but hopefully in the future he will be more reliable. I am working with a trainer who started working with him using a pinch collar. It seems to be very effective and I use it a lot to let him know when he is doing something that is not ok. It works well when cats are around and he looks like he might chase him. I tell him “no” and “sit” and he sits and the cats usually just hiss and go away. I know it’s going to take some time but I have hope. Thanks again for all the feedback.
Please don't use a pinch collar on your dog and I would stop taking the advice of a trainer who suggests things that cause pain. You can train a dog to be well-behaved without causing them pain or discomfort.
Absolutely not necessary to use a pinch collar and I think you can really damage your relationship with your dog if you keep causing them pain. My dog has learnt to live happily with my elderly cat without any harsh training methods. Initially they lived in separate parts of the house ( he was a boisterous 6 month old when I got him) and I would have him sit and give him loads of treats when the cat needed to walk through his domain to get in and out of the house. Now I can even feed them both in the same room. Maybe one day they'll share a bed like my old dog would!
Gosh, please don't use a trainer who uses aversives and on such a young puppy! Simply not necessary and it's only going to damage your relationship with him. You want him to WANT to work with you and co-operate - simply because that's what he enjoys doing and finds reinforcing - not because you've made him afraid and so he is acting to avoid a punishment
