[froggy7]

I've often heard that you shouldn't let your dog sleep in your bed, because that may cause them to feel dominant to you.

So, if I have the dog sleep on the floor, I'm in the bed, and the cats sleep in the bed with me, will the dog assume that the cats are higher rank as well?

[Wondergirl]

Yes. The dog is going to get an inferiority complex.

[labman]

That is an interesting question I don't think I have ever seen before. I don't have a cat to draw any personnel experience from. Cats are more difficult to control, often choosing higher places to sleep on furniture in addition to beds. Perhaps it is their lordly ways that causes some dogs to hate them so much.

[Wondergirl]

Why not let the animals share the bed and you sleep on the floor on one of those air mattress things? (jk)

Do the animals want to sleep with YOU or just want to sleep on the bed?

[misterdooey_15]

If your dogs sleep on your bed with you they do not think that they are over powering you. They just want to be your companion and want the privilege of sleeping with you. It is a time of bonding. As long as you show your dog that you are in charge in other ways then not allowing he or she to sleep on the same bed with you.

Also your cat is a friend to your dog. It is not a competition.

[bushg]

I had problems between a cat and dog a long time ago. One of the excercises the trainer made us do was to have the cat sit beside the dog while giving the cat his treats first, and the dog was not allowed to look at the cat... ever. Also the cat was allowed on the furniture. But not the dog. This dog had a very high prey drive and we had to teach him to respect the cat as off limits. :) *edit*To answer your question everything I was taught by the trainer, is that yes this could make the dog to feel lesser in rank than the cat... which may not be a bad thing, depending on what breed of dog it is and the dogs temperament. I was told they do not feel hate or hold grudges that they just react to certain situations. This is just my opinion, but I want a dog to have a choice of places to sleep something hard and something soft, but that is just me. My dogs have a choice of a hard crate or a soft bed, I leave it up to them to decide where to sleep.

[bushg]

To answer your question everything I was taught by the trainer, is that yes this could make the dog to feel lesser in rank than the cat... which may not be a bad thing, depending on what breed of dog it is and the dogs temperament. I was told they do not feel hate or hold grudges that they just react to certain situations. This is just my opinion, I want a dog to have a choice of places to sleep something hard and something soft, but that is just me. Mine has a choice of a hard crate or a soft bed, I leave it up to them to decide where to sleep.

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Note, deleting a post does not hide it from the forum expert or moderators.

Labman Abusing his powers yet once again!

I did not delete this look up I added it into my original answer, if you care to go back and read it look at the part and see the word *EDIT and read I thought that it would be better if I added it with the first if that is OK with you Honey OK darling glad to see your watching out for me sweet heart *EDIT* so God you decide who gets to delete what... what if I thought it would have caused a dogs death then would you have put it back up there . You are an expert are too cute. Thanks for helping me out I am fairly new and do not know everything, but with your careful mentoring I should be OK. Why put it back up here when I added it in when I first wrote it, you do not make much sense.

[froggy7]

Well, Trinkett is a greyhound, and hasn't shown the slightest inclination to get on the furniture. Which, seeing her rather vigorous nesting habits, is probably a good thing. She has a dog bed next to the bed, and migrates between that and the carpet at the foot of the bed. The cats, on the other hand, have been sleeping on/next to me (depending on which one it is) for the last nine years. Surprisingly, Rana has been sleeping out on the cat tree the last few days, and Pyret has been staying on the bed. Normally Pyret comes to the bed in the colder weather and sleeps elsewhere during the heat, and Rana stays on the bed year-round. I think her nose is a bit out of joint with the new dog, especially since the dog gets to go out and she doesn't.

[labman]

From my S&S Guide to Dogs on Greyhounds: ''It is also an incorrigible enemy of domestic animals, especially cats and geese.. . It absolutely requires long runs daily'' Good thing Trinkett can't read. Note you will not find the S&S guide in the recommended books at https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/dogs/i...tml#post251804 I have long been very skeptical of breed descriptions. The above may be true of Greyhounds bred for their original use as hunting dogs. I keep bad mouthing websites, but not all books are to be trusted either.

[froggy7]

How old is the book? Greyhounds are tricky dogs with regards to other animals. Some are fine with everything, most have _something_ that triggers them. Trinkett seems to be OK with cats and dogs, but watching her with squirrels is a little spooky. It's actually how I can be pretty sure that she is OK with cats, although I do still keep an eye on her since we're all still settling in. Some of them are OK with cats but not small dogs, some are the other way around. And, even then, they will sometimes react differently to white animals than to other colors. Quite frankly, if you have small animals in the house, I wouldn't get a greyhound from anyone but a rescue group that fosters and small animal tests.

And they don't really need that much exercise. They are sprinters, and even when racing they run for about a minute and then lay around for the next 2-3 days. We go for a walk in the morning, but a lot of owners don't even do that.

[bushg]

Froggy how old is your dog? And how long did rescue have her? And how long did she race. I must say you are so kind for adopting her, I am so sorry for the dogs that must race:( and then are tossed by the wayside.

[jillianleab]

will the dog assume that the cats are higher rank as well?

Being the owner of both a cat and a dog, I assure you 100% the cat has a superiority complex over the dog. She is the queen of the house and will chase, attack and torture the dog whenever she pleases and no one, NO ONE will tell her she may not do this. She frequently sleeps on a large "princess pillow" or on the bed and looks down upon the dog when the dog walks past. My mom's cat also has a superiority complex and has, in fact, trained the dogs to give him a wide berth when passing by, otherwise a swipe to the nose, side or other body part is in order. This is well known by all animals in the house.

Ok, silly post over. I know I was no help, but I couldn't resist. :)

[labman]

Like I said, perhaps it is why dogs hate cats.

[labman]

The book is copywriten in 1980, yes a little old, but I doubt Greyhounds have changed much since then. It was a gift, and useful at times, as long I don't put much store in anything except the physical description. All sources of information need to be questioned and filtered.

I am a big fan of rescues. I have pasted this into answers time after time: 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 dog dogs puppy puppies 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.

[froggy7]

froggy how old is your dog? and how long did rescue have her? and how long did she race. I must say you are so kind for adopting her, I am so sorry for the dogs that must race:( nd then are tossed by the wayside.

She's 6 and a half. One of the advantages of an ex-racer... you get a lot of details about the dog, including birthdate. She was a serious racer... 163 races in 3 years! She was then retired to a breeding farm, where she had one litter of 4 pups. I've had her for about a month now, and I'm not quite sure what she was doing for a year in there. From what I heard, her owner was debating about keeping her as a breeder, but then decided to get out of the business, so she may have just been hanging out on the farm for that year.

And I am of two minds about racing. I don't like treating dogs as property, only worthwhile as long as they are making money. On the other hand, Trinkett loves to run. Take her to a play group with other greys, and you get impromptu races. And the most excited I've seen her recently was when we were on a decomposed gravel path and there was another dog around. I think it reminded her of the track. And I can't blame her for wanting to do what she was bred to do, any more than I can blame sheepdogs for wanting to heard sheep.

[bushg]

Was she put through testing to see how she behaves around cats, children etc. Is your cat indoor or outdoor. Some dogs that my mom rescued behaved with the cats as long as they were at the barn but once out of that area then they thought they were fair game.

[froggy7]

Yep, dogs are strange that way. They test indoors, but I am using my walks and neighborhood cats to gauge how she reacts to cats outside. It's one of those take it slow and always be watchful things.

[bushg]

Yep, dogs are strange that way. They test indoors, but I am using my walks and neighborhood cats to gauge how she reacts to cats outside. It's one of those take it slow and always be watchful things.

Good thing about her is that she is used to behaving , so it will probably be easier for to accept off limits. I would say that you all will get along just fine. We have a retired Grey Hound in our neighboorhood, I see a cat at their house but I do notice when the lady walks her she is a very friendly dog, and has never given my cats notice. Once again you are an angel for giving her a home . :)

[froggy7]

by having the dog on the floor and the cat in the bed the dog may feel left out

Maybe. But she isn't making any attempt to get on the furniture, and I can live with that. I don't "make" her sleep on the floor, she just does.