Dog Community

Overreacting to cats

Posted : 3/4/2006 10:25:06 AM

Chase was not socialized with cats, although I wish he had been. He's always shown an inordinate amount of interest in cats on our walks and I'm certain that if I allowed him to, he would zoom off and chase them. I haven't a clue what he'd do if he actually caught up with a cat, and I obviously don't intend to find out!

Yesterday he reacted so strongly to a cat that I was really surprised. He's normally very well-behaved on leash, but yesterday he morphed into a crazy wild dog. He was pulling, jumping, lunging, whining, barking and yipping. All because there was a cat sitting in the park! It was really embarassing and I didn't blame the people who crossed the street to avoid walking by us. Ugh. I felt exactly like those people that I look down on because their dogs are so out of control.

I made him stop and do a string of commands (sit, down, watch me, walk, stop), but he was literally trembling the whole time, and although he worked it was OBVIOUS that he didn't want to.

So what should I do about this? He's 15 months old, so I know that he's in the doggie teenage years. Is it too late to socialize him with cats? My parents have 2 cats and I'd love to be able to bring Chase over to their house when we move back to that part of the country, but I certainly don't want to put their cats in danger. How can I tell if my dog will be a danger to cats?

sierra2002

Posted : 3/5/2006 8:46:40 PM

My feeling is that Chase is not a danger to cats - he perhaps just knows that they're fun to run after.

I could have written the exact same thing about Sierra. She was not socialized with cats, and when she sees them on walks, I can sometimes control her and sometimes not.

When I went on vacation a year ago, I left her with friends who have 2 golden retrievers and 2 cats. The cats had high places they could go, so the owners were not worried about keeping her for 3 days.
It turned out that one cat would always run when Sierra came near. In return, Sierra kept on chasing that one. The other cat, however, was completely uninterested in her and would sit there while Sierra tried to make it run (which apparently never worked). But Sierra left that cat alone the entire time.

Sierra isn't aggressive towards cats; they're just fun to chase. Once she catches up to one, she just wags her tail and tries to make it run again. It gets boring when it doesn't run.

Sorry I couldn't help more, I just thought I'd offer my own experience.

marlania

Posted : 3/5/2006 8:57:17 PM

Brown and Grey live with two cats. Neither, as far as I know, were exposed to cats before we adopted Charlie and Deuce. They're great with the cats, although Brown plays too rough with Charlie at times. (He hasn't gotten over the whole "carry the kitty in your mouth" thing he used to do when Charlie was a kitten). Anyway, I honestly thing I could have 100 cats and Brown and Grey would still go crazy when they see a cat outside. They're not really concerned if they see a cat in the yard or a neighbor's yard, but they do go nuts when they see a cat at, for example, the McDonald's drivethru. lol There's been times where I actually had to leave before ordering because Brown was screaming bloody murder at the cat. I really think he has a bleeding heart and has this unusual desire to love every animal he meets, which is pretty embarrassing because he's normally very quiet and laid back except when he sees an animal at the drivethru, walking on the side of the road, etc. So with all that said, it's possible that Chase is just overly-excited about cats in a non-harmful (yet embarrassing lol) way.

lucybass

Posted : 3/6/2006 10:42:33 AM

When my husband and I first met, 7 years ago, his Husky had never been close to a cat and when ballistic when I brought my cat into her house. We watched them closely. At first, it might have been agression, but then it changed to curiousity. My cat had been around dogs most of his life. He knew what to do...he simply stayed up and out of her reach. It took about a month for her to calm down and accept him, but she finally did. Now, she has a healthy respect for him.

Never underestimate the power of a cat to intimidate a dog

marynh

Posted : 3/6/2006 6:58:48 PM

most dogs are going to react differently to cats they see outside versus cats that might live with them.
Sadie grew up with cats and I never had a problem w/her with my own cats - but she would have chased a strange cat outside in a heartbeat.
The mal/shepherd I used to have once got between a strange dog and "her" cat Tami. But I'm sure she would have gone after a cat.
If it's not their cat it's not their pack

random

Posted : 3/7/2006 12:06:48 AM

Thanks for the replies, everyone!

I guess I'll just take it slow and easy when I first introduce Chase and the kittens (they're not quite a year old). I'll keep him leashed at first. Knowing these spunky cats, they're gonna walk right up to him, all puffed up and trying to look tough. [

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