 |
Is it a Dog Eat Cat World at Your House?
Dear WOOF:
I need advice on my new dog and older cats introduction. Can you
help me? My newly adopted dog chases my cats. He wants to play
and they are terrified of him. The dog is only 15 pounds, and
they have
swiped at him, but not enough to teach him to stay away. They
will not come down stairs. I have had to put their food and
litter box upstairs and I feel horrible that they are so
frightened. I am now wondering if bringing him home was a bad
idea! They are miserable!!
Do you have any ideas on this subject? It has been four weeks
and it doesn't seem like the situation is settling down. I have
tried using a squirt bottle on the dog and that keeps him from
going upstairs, but
he is so quick when he chases them... it usually winds up with
him chasing the cats and me chasing him!!
Thanks.
Hello:
Most dogs and cats learn to live together peaceably after a
proper introduction. All you really need to do is give both
animals the chance to get used to one another by having
positive, non-threatening experiences.
The key to success will be to expose them to one another
gradually in controlled circumstances, always being careful to
avoid situations where the cat runs away and your dog's chase
instinct is activated.
You have an adult dog who has never been socialized to cats, and
a cat that has never been socialized to dogs, so the
introduction MUST be a very gradual process, potentially lasting
up to 30 days. The
following program is designed using several steps; proceed to
each step only when you feel your dog and cat have "mastered"
the previous one.
-
Day 1, confine your new cat to his or her own
room at first. After a few hours, confine the dog in a
separate room, and allow the cat to explore the rest of the
house. Then put the cat back in his or her own room, so the
dog has an opportunity to become familiar with the cat's
scent. Put a baby gate up but leave the door closed.
-
Day 2, open the door to the cat's room a
couple of inches and allow the dog to sniff and see through
the opening for a few seconds. Reward the dog repeatedly and
generously for appropriate behavior. Repeat this step a couple
of more times during the day. Continue to give the cat the
opportunity to explore the house when the dog is securely
confined out of sight.
-
On day 3 and all subsequent days, increase the
"viewing intervals" by short increments until the dog can
watch the cat calmly and quietly for a few minutes. Reward the
dog generously for appropriate behavior.
-
Allow the dog to view the cat with the door
completely open, with the baby gate still in place, for a few
minutes at a time. If the dog is tolerating the cat, go into
another room. Call the dog to you and
play a game with him or her. Then ignore both animals (but
keep attuned to them!) and engage in some other activity. The
dog will start to lose interest in the cat.
-
Eventually work up to leaving the door to the
cat's room open, with the baby gate still up, whenever you are
at home. Always close the door when you are not present! Some
pet owners will always need to keep the dog and cat separated
when they aren't around to supervise, but others will find
that after a couple of months probation, the dog and cat are
OK together by themselves. It's far
better to err on the side of caution to prevent a tragedy.
Even after your dog and cat are peacefully co-existing, make
sure that the cat's food bowl and litter box are out of the
dog's reach.
Be patient and remember to move slowly. The
longer you take helping them get used to one another, the
better.
I hope that this helps!
Best of Luck,
Lisa Patrona, Dip. CBST, CPDT-KA, ACDBC, AABP-CDT
Sign up to receive Woofology's Tip of Week via
email:
woofologist@yahoo.com
|
|