Any success stories with puppies v cats?

[georgesock]

I have two 3 year old cats, who we’ve had since 8 weeks old and we got our springer spaniel puppy at 8 weeks also (she’s coming up to 6 months now)

We have a baby gate divinding the house in two, puppy has downstairs and cats have upstairs. Cats tend to stay out her way but every so often will venture down as is their home and they like to chill with us and cuddle in.

Puppy will go crazy (no barking just super hyper like wanting to play) and will run at/around them. She hasn’t shown any aggresion but obviously it scares the cats and they tend to run back over the baby gate and upstairs again

I’m hoping she will grow out of this and we are trying different calm techniques with her around the cats but dont seem to be making any progress.

Does anyone have any similar success stories or tips for us?

Thanks!

 

[chyrell]

@georgesock I think it depends a lot on the breed and the dog's age.

My friend has 2 dogs: the 2 yo gsd has just started to act calm around her 6 cats (never hurts anyone tho), while her 1 yo (next Sunday) maremma dog has always been super chill around them. The difference here is that one is a shepherd, bred to move cattle, while the other is a guardian, bred to live with cattle without arming anyone but intruders.
My Belgian has acted the same as the gsd, and has started to go easy on them since last July: now she will ignore my female cat and will catch the male just for licking and cleaning him (and I think he kinda likes it, because he meows but doesn't flee lol).

Springers are hunters if I remember correctly, and because of this it may take some time just like with shepherds. Keep rewarding calm behaviour around the cats, and they both will figure it out. Do not allow for her to chase them tho, as that is a self rewarding behaviour!

 

[nananananaspiderboy]

@georgesock Have you tried removing your puppy from the cats when she behavesv like this? Sounds like she needs a slower progressive exposure to learn to settle. Right now whatever exposure there is puts her over her threshold, unable to manage her emotions. If you can make it more gradual, give more space, and work on relaxation with more distance, that will help.

 

[zj1993]

@georgesock We've got a 2 year old springer with two cats. It took about a year for her to learn not to run at the cats, just constant reminders and praise when she controls herself around then. She is still, and probably and always will be, a bit too lively for them, i cant imagine them ever cuddling up together. One of them tends to stay out of her way, the other doesn't care and has even been known to pounce on the dog. They all share the same space now quite happily.

 

[christopheralan88]

@georgesock I have a 4 year old ginger female cat. She was a rescue. When she was just over 2 and a half, I got a whippet cross puppy. It's taken time, but she's really warmed up to him. When he was around 4 months, he spent the night at my friends house, and when he returned, she kept running up to him, licking his face/ nose and ears. Sometimes he gets way too over excited and chases her, which I always put a stop to immediately because she's a very small cat and he's a very large dog, and he could easily hurt her without even trying. Maybe I've just been really lucky, but they seem to get on fine, and she's shown many signs of warming up to him. When I first brought him home, she would just stare at him and stay away, but now she's always running over to him, giving him kisses, playing with him, and she's not afraid to smack him if he gets to interested in her. I introduced them gradually, never left them together unsupervised, and made sure kitty had lots of space and places to run/ jump too to get away if she needed to. Puppy turned 1 year old a week ago, and so far no incidents or problems!

 

[christopheralan88]

Definitely reward your pup if you can get him to be calm around the cats so it learns that being calm/ gentle/ uninterested in kittys means treats & good things.

 

[hopefulandfree]

@georgesock My cat is 16 yo.. it was complicated the first 48h with my puppy Chihuahua then it's been perfect ever since between them.

Note; my cat was used to my previous Chihuahua too which made the transition easier!

So yes it does happen

 

[imagebeastmarkbeast]

@georgesock We have two cats prior to getting our puppy. The cats are more curious of her than scared, so they hang around and observe. We have moments of peace, where they all are relaxing in the vicinity of each other, but our pup wants to chase and play with them. It’s a lot of house management and she’s leashed anytime she’s awake.

Anytime they walk by and she acts disinterested, we mark it with praise and treats. The interactions are better when she’s tired, so mid morning and late evening. We also give her non rawhide chews to help keep her occupied while the cats are walking around. We’re anticipating it to be a slow process, but we’re hopeful.

 

[alexandrium]

@georgesock I’ve done it a few times. Always works out that they become besties

 

[susana]

@georgesock We have an old "grumpy" cat and there's a 0% chance our pup will have any relationship with her. She just won't allow it. That being said, that's ok. Cats can take care of themselves when it comes to dogs and it's really in my opinion, up to the cat if they want a relationship. Eventually your puppy will grow up and realize he's getting nowhere with his cat hunts and they will ignore each other. I grew up with a springer as our family dog and we always had cats. I know it depends on the individual personalities, but I can almost assure you this is a phase.