[SirDrums]

We have a Lab/Corgi mix we brought home from the shelter about 2 months ago. She was about 12 weeks old when we adopted her.

When we brought her home we knew to slowly introduce her to our 2 year old cat. We really wanted the Cat and dog to get along.

Almost immediately the dog wanted to chase the cat. So we read everything we could find on the subject. Nothing has worked so far.

Below is some of what we have tried and the result:

1. Keep Dog on a leash - She will run as hard as she can until the leash catches her.

2. Tell her to "Leave it" - SHe doesnt even blink.

3. When she starts to stare get her attention - She ignores us even if we are jumping up and down clapping our hands, she stay fixated on the cat.

4. Have he make eye contact if she starts to stare - Same as above, I have even tried grabbing her and making her look at me but while her nose is facing me her eys are trying to stare through the side of her head.

I have been trying these thing and more for 2 months.... we are getting very fustrated. The cat wants to get along. Seems to be accepting of the dog but the dog only wants to chase the cat and lately it seems like when the dog is chasing she is starting to nip at the cat.... yes the dog is on the leash so she cant actually get the cat and most of the time I can stop it before it even becomes a chase but every now and then the cat will come by while I am not paying attention and the dog will dart.... I am beginning to thik the dog will be on a leash for ever....

Is there such a thing as a hopless case?

 

[dibbythedog]

Is there anything that will get her attention at all? squeaky toy or cooked liver ?

She is young and perhaps the commands like Watch me and Leave havent be reinforced enough or become a habit yet.

 

[Dawnben]

This helped us. The training is slow but works. Keep you dog on the leash in the house and reward calmness. Do not let the dog run to the end of the leash by the time it gets there it is to over threshold to get under control.
Diamonds in the Ruff

 

[newdoggirl]

We successfully introduced our EXTREMELY prey motivated dog to our VERY moody cat. Be warned, it took a long time...a year to be exact.

Step 1: We started out with a baby gate separating them. We would ask them both to the gate and practice gentle and leave it while they were separated by the gate. It took 5 months before the dog could just sit and ignore the cat and for the cat not to hiss at the dog.

Step 2: Then we started practice sessions where we leashed the dog and let the cat have free reign. We rewarded the dog for positive behaviour (like ignoring the cat or staying in sit or laying down when the cat went by) but as soon as the dog would get wound up, we would separate them by the gate again.

Step 3: Then, we finally (and very warily) had practice sessions with the dog off leash around the cat. We practiced sit and stay with the dog while the cat wandered around and gave the dog tons of treats for good behaviour. Eventually, those times got longer and longer and we finally took the baby gate down.

There might be faster ways but this is what we came up with and it worked. The dog still tries to chase the cat around from time to time but are great 99% of the time. They even sleep near each other now.

Some key tips:
- practice every day
- don't rush the cat, even if the dog is ready to progress to the next step
- put the cat's litter and food in a place the dog can't get to
- putting the cat food up high is especially nice for the cat because she will feel she has a safe place that's all her own
- be patient...it took roughly a year or so for us to finally have the two of them together
- if dog starts failing at any one step, go back to the previous step until the dog shows good progress again
- teaching your dog to be nice to your cat will not change your dog's interest in other cats

Let me know if you have any questions!