Hello, would appreciate some suggestions from experienced dog ( medium size dog ) owners that also have indoor cats. What dog breeds are good around cats. My perfect dog would be medium sized with a good attitude but not to demanding or loud. Is there such a dog breed with those traits?

katieperez

Are your cats dog savvy? Cats are very independent and willful and sometimes it may not matter how cat savvy your dog may be, the cats may not like it anyway. I've got 2 cats, one is 3 and one is 13. I've also got 2 rottweiler puppies at home, 5 months and 6 months, and everyone gets along great. I'm not necessarily recommending rottweilers, what I'm getting at is, if a pup is introduced to cats at a young age and taught to behave properly, then it's usually much easier to keep peace at home. The cats on the other hand, may have their own ideas. A lot of times they warm up and can tolerate the dogs. I wouldn't expect them to be best buddies or anything, but it's been known to happen. I adopted a beagle mix from the pound once and called her Lady. Shortly after, I adopted a kitten and called him Tramp. They were like 2 peas in a pod. Lady was elderly when I got her and passed away about a year ago but I still have Tramp and he is great with my rottie pups. The other cat I adopted, Snoops, around the same time I got Tramp, was older and not as keen on dogs. He accepts them though. He'll be in the same room and walk past them, but doesn't like it much when they get to wrestling. Where as Tramp will join in on the action a lot of times. My best guess is if your cats are older, it may be best to adopt a dog that is grown and not as full of as much spunk as a puppy would be. But that's entirely up to you. I always recommend checking out your local pounds and animal shelters as they are chock full of great pets that need homes. A lot of them are dumped by people, for a variety of reasons like divorce, new baby, moving, etc. and are already housetrained, have manners, and know basic commands. You may also want to check out this link, it could give you somewhere to start as far a choosing a breed is concerned.

Animal Planet :: Guides :: Dog Breed Selector

labman

American Kennel Club - akc.org and Pet Food: Premium, Healthy Pet Food | Purina.com have breed selector pages on their site. You
might try them. Don't take a recommendation for some obscure, hard to find
breed too seriously. Even if your puppy doesn't grow up like you expected,
how you raise it helps make it what you need. The first 12 weeks of a dog's
life greatly affect its adult personality. Expose it to your lifestyle, and
it will be comfortable with you. It is a fallacy that you can shop the breed selectors, and then go buy a puppy that will turn out as you expect. No, I would not suggest getting a terrier or a hound since often they have a high prey drive, but I am not saying you could count on a Poodle, a Sheltie, an Australian Shepherd, etc. to be compatible with cat either. I too would suggest an older dog.

One of the best sources for dogs with a predictable personality is the rescue
dogs. These are dogs that lost their home, but were taken into a foster home
to be retrained as necessary and placed in the right home for them. You may
find a rescue near you starting at American Kennel Club - Breed Rescue The rescues charge a fee to help cover their expenses, but is much less than the price of a puppy plus all its medical expenses the first year.

lexi2392

WE have Akita's.. They are large dogs, however good with kids, and cats, (as long as you get the Akita as a puppy, and raise them around the cat) We have 3 Akita's and the 6 month old puppy tries to chase the cat, but never hurt or or even catch her. We have puppies for sale if you are interested?? just a thought.. you can email me hope this helps

lulu2912

I have an English Bulldog puppy inside and I also have a 3 year old inside cat. The puppy loved the cat instantly, but it took about a week for the cat to be okay with the puppy. I have only had her for 3 weeks and she and the cat are friends and they even play together. She will get about 10-12 inches tall and 40-55 lbs. English Bulldogs are also great with kids.

marmerch

Thanks everybody for taking the time to help!