Hi All. We recently adopted a 3 year old black lab from our local SPCA after losing our 11 year old golden to cancer. We have no background information on her other than an estimated age. Our previous lab got along wonderfully with our cats. Phoebe (our new one) shows a serious interest in the cats, however, more like something to chase. Has anyone else gone through this? We have them separated by a baby gate so at the very least they can size each other up through the mesh. Getting rid of any of the animals is not an option.

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Originally Posted by bruinsoctoberjuly

Hi All. We recently adopted a 3 year old black lab from our local SPCA after losing our 11 year old golden to cancer. We have no background information on her other than an estimated age. Our previous lab got along wonderfully with our cats. Phoebe (our new one) shows a serious interest in the cats, however, more like something to chase. Has anyone else gone through this? We have them separated by a baby gate so at the very least they can size each other up through the mesh. Getting rid of any of the animals is not an option.

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Maybe u should give it soms time getting rid of them would show favoritism so put them in the same room and let them get to know each other. U see your cats may think u got a new better friend. Give them the same amount of attention hope it gets better

Bruins, we have a member named froggy7 here who did the same thing you have done. I am sure she can give you some very good ideas, suggestions, and input. I have no idea when she will be back on. She may show up today, or it may be in a couple of days, so please be patient. I think she is the best person here to answer your questions about integration. For now, you are doing the absolute right thing by separating them in a way in which they can get used to each other without worry of the dog targeting the cats. That is how most people do it. Anytime you leave your home, make sure they are in completely separate rooms, and there is no way either the dog or the cats can get to the other.

One of the best ways to protect the cats from the dog when you aren't around is a crate. Other dogs may
Not be as bad as the young Labs I am plagued with. Still your house and dog
Will be much safer with the dog in a crate when you are away. The dog may be
Happier in its den than loose in the house. It relaxes, it feels safe in its
Den. It rests, the body slows down reducing the need for water and relieving
Its self. Dogs that have been crated all along do very well. Many of them
Will rest in their crates even when the door is open. I think the plastic
Ones give the dog more of a safe, enclosed den feeling. They are harder for
Dogs to open too. Metal ones can be put in a corner or covered with
Something the dog can't pull in and chew. Select a crate just big enough for the full grown dog to stretch out in.

Leave it some toys. Perhaps a Kong filled with peanut butter. Don't leave
Anything in the crate the dog might chew up. It will do fine without even any
Bedding. You will come home to a safe dog and a house you can enjoy.

A dog that has not been crated since it was little, make take some work.
Start just putting its toys and treats in the crate. Praise it for going
in. If you have been able to trust it with any bedding, put that in the crate.
Feed it in the crate. This is also an easy way to maintain order at feeding
Time for more than one dog.

I would try having the dog on a leash and giving the cats a chance to approach it. Let them sniff each other if the cats will come near. Try to keep the dog calm and quiet. I wouldn't be surprised if the cats want nothing to do with her. If you then try letting her loose, give her an sharp ''Ah, ah, ah!'' and offer her a chew toy. Praise her if she stops going after the cat. I am sure it will take many repetitions to stop her from chasing the cats if ever. You might make sure the cats have plenty of safe retreats. Perhaps give them some of the cat furniture with the boxes on poles. You may never be able to leave them together alone.

The corrections may be more effective if you are securely in the position of leader. The key to most behavior problems is approaching things using the dog's natural instincts. Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at Raising Your Dog with the Monks of New Skete For more on being top dog, see Establishing and Keeping Alpha Position, Letting your dog know you are the boss

Hi! First, let me say thanks for adopting a dog. I have recently gone through this, so I will tell you the advice I got. I adopted a greyhound, and they are always a bit chancy with small animals, including cats.

First, DO NOT leave the animals together when you are not around to supervise. When you aren't home, they should be in separate rooms, or the dog needs to be crated. Even when you are home, it is a good idea to give the cats a "safe" room by putting a gate up across the door so that they can get in the room but the dog can't. Give them food, water, and a litterbox in the room so that they can feel secure.

Next, you will have to be serious and quick on correcting the dog when it starts to show undue interest in the cat. In order to make this easier on you, you may want to tether the dog to you, so that you can control it. Praise and reward the dog lavishly whenever it ignores the cat. Working on an emergency recall (a command that will bring your dog to you, no matter what it's doing) is also a good move so that you can distract it from chasing the cat, if needed. You may want to consult with a behaviorist or a trainer to learn about how to train that.

You may also want to consider getting a turn-out muzzle. These are commonly used with greyhounds, and allow the dog to eat, drink, lick, etc. They can even nip ears and tails, but can't do any serious biting while wearing them. My Trinkett wore hers for 48 hours straight while we were in the introduction phase. There's a picture of one here: Chinook Winds Greyhounds. I don't know how well it would work for a dog that's not raised with them, the way greys are.

Another important thing to keep in mind is that, if the dog and cat start to get along inside, you may be back to square one if they meet outside. And, like in my case, a dog that gets along fine with a calm cat, may still be inspired to chase a running cat. So, if you can keep the cat calm and slow-moving, it will help with the introduction. And finally, even if you get to a point where your dog is fine with your cats, inside and out, it may still try and catch cats that don't belong to your family.

And finally, while I know that you said that getting rid of one of the animals is not an option, you may need to reconsider that if, after a few months, things are still tense. Because you may not be able to cat-proof the dog, which means either living in such a way that you can ensure the cat's safety at all times, or re-homing one of the animals to an environment that doesn't need such close supervision.

I am also including some links to greyhound sites about cat/greyhound introductions:
Advice on Greyhound and Cats by Lynda Adame
Greyhound/Cat Introductions

And finally... always remember that your dog is inclined to chase cats, and that trust KILLS. I'd gotten to a point where the dog and the cats were getting along pretty well, no sign of chasing, no undue interest in the cats. And then they were both out in the yard, and the cat decided to chase a squirrel. That was enough to trigger the dog to chase the cat. So now I am back to being vigilant about who's where, and what's going on in the area, and only allowing them out individually if there's too much stimulation going on.

Good luck, and do not be afraid to bring a professional in if you think it would help the situation.

I hope you can manage this situation, but if you don't think you could give up any of the animals, it would be very hard if the dog killed one of the cats. In the end, if you can't teach them to get along, you may have to give up the dog or cats for the cats safety or even yours. I think my son is finishing up his series of rabies shots after extracting a stray cat from the mouth of his Fox Hound.

Oh.. and another thing. It may take months before things settle out. I'm going on 4 months now, and the cats and dog are still not "friends". They have reached a state of truce (more or less, and one cat is the aggressor more than it being a dog problem), but they don't curl up together or anything like that. But they can be in the same room without it being a major problem.

Also, be careful of how you define the behavior that your dog is showing. Is it aggressive to the cats (lunging at them, growling, pulling on the leash, trying to catch and kill)? Or is it more of a prey drive? (This is what I have in my dog... she'll generally ignore the cats, but a small running animal triggers her instinct to chase and kill). If the dog is cat-aggressive, then you have to train it to ignore and respect the cat. If it's a prey-drive problem, you need to train the dog to break off chasing when commanded (much harder), and you also need to be aware that it's specific to a situation, not a species. In other words, the dog may act the same way with squirrels, rabbits, small dogs... anything that acts like prey, not just cats. You don't want to fix the wrong problem.

A 3 year old lab and a baby gate? Umm, rethink this one.
Just kidding around on this, but,
Take the dog outside, then carry dog into the house and let mother nature take its course, should be a good race with one dog to chase three cats.
No , seriously,
Try to introduce them slowly, and if you can get them to eat together in the same room, you will win your battle.