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Rua and the Cats

M

Mimi

Well-known member
Hi , really need some advice . Rua has settled in with the girls , Heidi and Nifa but the cats are a different story . In Rua world cats are for chasing and barking at . We have to keep him on a lead even going around the house from one room to the next to prevent him from tearing after the cats . 2 of the cats are indoor cats and are totally at home with the girls they even sleep together but Rua is terrorising them . They ( the cats ) are both 8 and the stress is getting to them . Any suggestions . He is fully mobile after neutering , have to crate him to make him rest .
Mimi
 
This really says everything and has numerous links with advice, all of which I thoroughly endorse:

http://board.cavaliertalk.com/showthread.php?t=8862

You must remember it can take a lot of time to train a dog to accept cats and he MUST understand chasing isn;t allowed. That means using a lead, using time outs, a firm 'no' (I use 'no cats!') to train dogs not to chase.

The cats MUST come first because they will be far more stressed than a dog will in this situation. They also must not ever be put into a situation where they would have to use their claws as defense -- as they can and will blind a dog in panic.

If all this means the dog has to be carefully controlled and confined from room to room initially then that is what it may take. I have never had even inveterate chasers take more than about 7 days to be about 90% OK around cats and then the rest is detail work but you can never be lax, especially in a multiple dog household. Dog behaviour can change totally if they get excited because one is chasing. I have seen this happen with fosters -- if the foster wants to chase the cats suddenly my others will join in even though they NEVER would chase 'their' cats normally. This gang (pack) mentality can also be dangerous and never should be underestimated -- that's why managing more than two dogs is a distinctly different challenge than one or two.

Be aware that some dogs simply have a high prey instinct and will never be trustworthy around cats. Before you can figure out if this will be the case (it most likely will not be! ) you need to give this some time and work patiently at it for a while but PM me if this issue is not going away.
 
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