[fleisr]

Hello

I have a 4 yr old cat, he is a long haired tabby mix. He is the most amazing cat in the world. Never bites, hisses or get into trouble. He loves being around people, cuddles and has never had an accident since day 1.

We recently got a puppy about a month and a half ago. He is a lab mixed with a black and tan coonhound. He was 7 weeks when we brought him home. He is a very friendly puppy, even overy friendly. The day we brought him home they seemed to be fine together. The puppy didn't pay much attention to the cat as he was more interested in his new home and new people. The cat sat in the same room with us the puppy and was very interetsed. You could tell our cat didn't feel threatened at all.

Time went by and our puppy started getting more infatuated with our cat. He keep tacking our cat and just biting at his fur, (as it is very long) our cat just sits there, tolerating all the puppy anticks. Out cat is so nice he doesn't his or try and hurt the pup but he meows as if to say help me. We then go get the pup of him. The puppy will have finally settled and will be lying down and our cat comes and runs up to him then runs away, and of course the pup has to go run after him and they start all over again.

Something happened the other day though. They had their first bad fight. My cat ended up peeing on the kicthen counter. I think he must have tried going to the bathroom and the pup wouldn't let him so he didn't know where else to go. Our cat stayed away for a about a day and now is walking around again, until the pup sees him and wants to play.
(my b/f was home but wasn't watching them)

Is this something I should be worried about. The puppy will go up to our cat and put his paw on his pack and then tackle him, sometimes just standing over him and other times trying to chew and bite on him. My cat has little bit marks in his ears from the biting. But why won't my cat stand up for himself? He keeps going out for more but then gets tackled and is scared but won't stand up for himself. What can I do? Is this just normal puppy behaviour. Im worried that because my cat is not teaching him who is boss my puppy will take advanatge of him, and I'm worried because he is going to be a big dog, I don't want my cat to get hurt under any circumstances.

Any advice would be great!
Thanks!

[labman]

I think the solution is to limit the puppy's access to the cat when nobody is watching. It is a puppy's nature to initiate rough play with anything that it can. That would be best done with a crate. What the puppy
Wants more than anything else is to be others, you, anyone else in the
Household, and any other pets. In our modern society, even if we are home,
Other things distract us from the attention an uncrated puppy must have. The
Only real solution is to crate the dog when you aren't around. 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. 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.

Accidents and damaged possessions are the fault of whoever was watching the puppy. When you are watching it, immediately correct it as soon as it goes for anything except its own toys. In a quiet, but firm voice ''Bad dog, its name drop!''. Gently remove what ever and replace it with one of her toys, or if older, hold eye contact until the puppy drops it. You will need to treat the cat much the same as any other forbidden toy.

A dog that has not been crated since it was little, may take some work.
Start just putting its toys and treats in the crate. Praise it for going
in. Feed it in the crate. This is also an easy way to maintain order at
Feeding time for more than one dog.

The "shut the puppy in a safe room" is a fallacy. Very few houses even have a
Safe room. How many of us have a room with a hard surfaced floor and nothing
Else? Most rooms have electrical cords to chew if nothing else. In addition
To destroying anything a bored puppy finds to chew, it may choke or have
Intestinal blockage from the pieces. I had a friend that left her dog in a
"safe" room. It ate a hole in the floor covering. The safe rooms fail to
Give the dog the comfort of the enclosed space their instinct requires. Nor
Do they restrict activity extending the time the dog can go without relieving
Itself.

As for managing the cat, I will leave that to somebody with experience with cats.

[doggie_poopie]

Hello

I have a 4 yr old cat, he is a long haired tabby mix. He is the most amazing cat in the world. Never bites, hisses or get into trouble. He loves being around people, cuddles and has never had an accident since day 1.

We recently got a puppy about a month and a half ago. He is a lab mixed with a black and tan coonhound. He was 7 weeks when we brought him home. He is a very friendly puppy, even overy friendly. The day we brought him home they seemed to be fine together. The puppy didn't pay much attention to the cat as he was more interested in his new home and new people. The cat sat in the same room with us the puppy and was very interetsed. You could tell our cat didn't feel threatened at all.

Time went by and our puppy started getting more infatuated with our cat. He keep tacking our cat and just biting at his fur, (as it is very long) our cat just sits there, tolerating all the puppy anticks. Out cat is so nice he doesnt his or try and hurt the pup but he meows as if to say help me. We then go get the pup of him. The the puppy will have finally settled and will be lying down and our cat comes and runs up to him then runs away, and of course the pup has to go run after him and they start all over again.

Something happened the other day though. They had their first bad fight. My cat ended up peeing on the kicthen counter. I think he must have tried going to the bathroom and the pup wouldnt let him so he didn't know where else to go. Our cat stayed away for a bout a day and now is walking around again, until the pup sees him and wants to play.
(my b/f was home but wasn't watching them)

Is this something I should be worried about. The puppy will go up to our cat and put his paw on his pack and then tackle him, sometimes just standing over him and other times trying to chew and bite on him. My cat has little bit marks in his ears from the biting. But why wont my cat stand up for himself? He keeps going out for more but then gets tackled and is scared but wont stand up for him self. What can I do? Is this just normal puppy behaviour. Im worried that because my cat is not teaching him who is boss my puppy will take advanatge of him, and im worried because he is going to be a big dog, i dont want my cat to get hurt under any circumstances.

Any advice would be great!
Thanks!

All dogs (except puppy mill dogs maybe) should be crate trained!
Make sure the cat has ample hiding places and or escape routes. Cats love high places, so if the puppy is getting too rowdy the cat needs to be able to run away. If you cat is going up to the puppy and is initiating play then he wants to play. Unfortunately, your kitty is very tolerant of the puppies misbehavior. When both are in the room praise and give treats to the puppy when he ignores the cat. Start slow and don't push too fast. As stated before when puppy misbehaves a firm No and redirect. Do not use the crate as punishment. Timeouts are okay.
Also, try wiping each other of the animals down with a towel and then place it under their food bowls. They will both associate the smell of one another with good things. Build on that, so when puppy is calm and cat walks in praise him and soon he will learn kitty=food/praise=good dog!

[fleisr]

Thank you for your reply's. We do use a crate for our puppy. He is used to it and is quiet when he is in it. He sleeps thorugh most of the night now in his crate with one pee break during the night.

That's the thing, sometimes they actually sleep in close proximiety to each other, my pup won't bug the cat when he's dead tired or busy doing something else but when he does get to him he is to rough. I want for my pup to understand boundaried with our car, meaning let him walk around and not bugging him, let him go on his own buisnes. Being okay to aproach the cat but not attempting to tackle him.

How can I do that.. just keep reinforcing no every time he attempts to play rough. I just don't want to confuse him, as why is it sometimes okay to be around kity and others not.
Will he understand it is okay to be around the cat but be gentle, no rough play alow? Or is that something he won't be able to understand?

Again thanks for your help!

[labman]

I see no reason why not. You are teaching him it is fine to be next to you, but not bite or jump up on you? Even he has mastered it by now, it took a while to for him to get it. At 12 weeks, I am fairly happy with how my Holly is doing. So with him and the cat. A combination of corrections and praise should help him figure it out.

[suequantock]

The cat will probably hiss. Growl and swat at the puppy... asserting itself in the senior position, but if you just let them be, they can probably handle things. Dogs learn quick that a cat can take a chunk off the nose and not work up a sweat. They could even become family.. and cuddle together. Good luck. They will work out.

[pussycatman]

Hello

I have a 4 yr old cat, he is a long haired tabby mix. He is the most amazing cat in the world. Never bites, hisses or get into trouble. He loves being around people, cuddles and has never had an accident since day 1.

We recently got a puppy about a month and a half ago. He is a lab mixed with a black and tan coonhound. He was 7 weeks when we brought him home. He is a very friendly puppy, even overy friendly. The day we brought him home they seemed to be fine together. The puppy didn't pay much attention to the cat as he was more interested in his new home and new people. The cat sat in the same room with us the puppy and was very interetsed. You could tell our cat didn't feel threatened at all.

Time went by and our puppy started getting more infatuated with our cat. He keep tacking our cat and just biting at his fur, (as it is very long) our cat just sits there, tolerating all the puppy anticks. Out cat is so nice he doesnt his or try and hurt the pup but he meows as if to say help me. We then go get the pup of him. The the puppy will have finally settled and will be lying down and our cat comes and runs up to him then runs away, and of course the pup has to go run after him and they start all over again.

Something happened the other day though. They had their first bad fight. My cat ended up peeing on the kicthen counter. I think he must have tried going to the bathroom and the pup wouldnt let him so he didn't know where else to go. Our cat stayed away for a bout a day and now is walking around again, until the pup sees him and wants to play.
(my b/f was home but wasn't watching them)

Is this something I should be worried about. The puppy will go up to our cat and put his paw on his pack and then tackle him, sometimes just standing over him and other times trying to chew and bite on him. My cat has little bit marks in his ears from the biting. But why wont my cat stand up for himself? He keeps going out for more but then gets tackled and is scared but wont stand up for him self. What can I do? Is this just normal puppy behaviour. Im worried that because my cat is not teaching him who is boss my puppy will take advanatge of him, and im worried because he is going to be a big dog, i dont want my cat to get hurt under any circumstances.

Any advice would be great!
Thanks!

HI try putting something down for the cat like some juicy meat and while cat is eating it tease the cat with the pupys paw most cats spit, growl, or scratch and it should make puppy abit more careful next time near him,Another way is put the hoover on near the cat and push the puppy close to him usually cats think hoover is attacking and growls or hisses or strikes out, these are just a few ways of making puppy know that cats can be nasty, You could get a neighbours cat to teach him what cats can do seeing what happens when he tries to play rough with that cat. GOOD LUCK. CARL.

[fleisr]

Thank you everyone for all of your responses! Thank's for the last comment Carl, It's a good idea! The only thing is my cat goes both ways. Sometimes he'll just bonk the dog if he tries getting his food and other times he just let our pup take the food from him.

As of now our cat has his food on top of the fridge, so pup can't get to it...

Do you guys think our pup will grow of this phase though? Or will it last forever. He is a lab/coonhound. I'm very familiar with the lab breed, however not so much with the coonhound breed. The people we got him from has cats, but those cats put him in his place! Lol

Thanks again everyone!!

[beavis st john]

Hello

I have a 4 yr old cat, he is a long haired tabby mix. He is the most amazing cat in the world. Never bites, hisses or get into trouble. He loves being around people, cuddles and has never had an accident since day 1.

We recently got a puppy about a month and a half ago. He is a lab mixed with a black and tan coonhound. He was 7 weeks when we brought him home. He is a very friendly puppy, even overy friendly. The day we brought him home they seemed to be fine together. The puppy didn't pay much attention to the cat as he was more interested in his new home and new people. The cat sat in the same room with us the puppy and was very interetsed. You could tell our cat didn't feel threatened at all.

Time went by and our puppy started getting more infatuated with our cat. He keep tacking our cat and just biting at his fur, (as it is very long) our cat just sits there, tolerating all the puppy anticks. Out cat is so nice he doesnt his or try and hurt the pup but he meows as if to say help me. We then go get the pup of him. The the puppy will have finally settled and will be lying down and our cat comes and runs up to him then runs away, and of course the pup has to go run after him and they start all over again.

Something happened the other day though. They had their first bad fight. My cat ended up peeing on the kicthen counter. I think he must have tried going to the bathroom and the pup wouldnt let him so he didn't know where else to go. Our cat stayed away for a bout a day and now is walking around again, until the pup sees him and wants to play.
(my b/f was home but wasn't watching them)

Is this something I should be worried about. The puppy will go up to our cat and put his paw on his pack and then tackle him, sometimes just standing over him and other times trying to chew and bite on him. My cat has little bit marks in his ears from the biting. But why wont my cat stand up for himself? He keeps going out for more but then gets tackled and is scared but wont stand up for him self. What can I do? Is this just normal puppy behaviour. Im worried that because my cat is not teaching him who is boss my puppy will take advanatge of him, and im worried because he is going to be a big dog, i dont want my cat to get hurt under any circumstances.

Any advice would be great!
Thanks!

I think you're cat peeing on the counter was to tell you it is fed up with the dogs actions.I am a cat lover and mine act out in similar ways.cats seem to know what is close to you,you must love you're kitchen.with my cats they get my children's things and my wife's clothes.the puppy being lab mix is going to be difficult for labs are very hyper for first 2-3 yrs.try interacting with them togetherdisaplining dog when it acts up

[labman]

snip
the puppy being lab mix is going to be difficult for labs are very hyper for first 2-3 yrs.

Any such blanket statement about any breed is likely wrong. It is a common, but big mistake to expect all members of a breed to be alike. Having had 15 Labs of my own, plus constantly seeing many others, I know some of them can be quite calm even while still young.

Dogs do eventually give up harassing cats that react strongly. Over their maybe 20 year life span, my sister's Siamese cats had to teach many Labs and other dogs to leave them alone. One even went to the vet with a scratched eye.

[valinors_sorrow]

I have a lab (was one yr at the time) to whom I introduced two abyssinian cats (past kittens but less than adults). I took the advice of the cat adoption people and mixed them slowly over a period of a month, restricting each side as suggested. Then one day I lifted all the restrictions (put all the good breakables away LOL). One scratched nose, a little appropriate discipline and lots of treats for good behavior and the bondaries were set. Slowly over time I have watched the trust build and they all have bonded in their unique ways. Sometimes the lab attempts to plays too hard with the alpha cat but nobody gets hurt. You may need to employ a few time outs now and then to help this process along. Cats do urinate when overly stressed. Just a thought.