Dog and Cat question

[nofishfisherman]

So how many of you also own cats?

I just brought my Vizsla pup home 2 weeks ago. He's 10 weeks old today and he likes to chase our 7 month old orange tabby.

Sometimes the cat doesn't seem to mind becuase she'll run away but then come right back for more. But the pup will also nip at her like he would do with his litter mates. The nipping I know she doesn't like, she's actually lost a little fur on her tail to this nipping.

I am wondering what tips you might have to get the puppy to play nicer with the cat. Some of his nipping I'm sure he'll out grow as its normal puppy behavior but I want to make sure he never see's the cat as prey. I saw him pointing at her last night so I think its time to do something more.

I've tried a few things but would be interested in hear from others.

[Farmboy1]

Get rid of the Cat :-0

[nofishfisherman]

Thats not an option. The wife is very fond of it.

Its actually a pretty cool cat. It will fetch, come when called, tries to catch tennis balls when you throw them. Pretty amusing stuff. Plus we took it in as a stray and have put about $450 into its vacinations, deworming, getting it fixed, some medication its food for the next year, litter, etc.

[fishinchicks]

Does the cat have all its claws? That is what cured our dog of chasing the cats too roughly. Now they like to curl up for naps in the sun together.

[fivebucks]

Our dog gets along great with one of our cats - they are best buddies. We had the dog when we got the cat as a kitten. The cat we had when the dog was a puppy is a different story. That cat swatted the pup a couple of times and our dog is below the cat on the chain of command. We just kept telling the pup - No Kittie.

[nofishfisherman]

She does have her claws. I thought that they would pretty much take care of the situation themselves but the cat is reluctant to use her claws. She'll swat at him and do the kitty jab punch but she hasn't used her claws and from my experience she likely won't.

She'll use her claws on her toys or on my socks when I tease her with me feet but if I do the same teasing thing with just bare feet she'll paw at them the same way but she won't use her claws. She's very playful but also very gentle.

Right now the cat must not be too upset with him becuase she doesn't show the normal aggression/fear signs that cats show but she will hiss if backed into a corner.

I told the wife to not trim the cats claws for a few weeks in hopes that she'll use them on the dog once or twice.

[MNHuntress]

I had to train my wirehair out of it with a good swat on the butt. Wirehairs are known cat killers because of the fur/feather thing(all of my dogs littermates were cat killers except mine), so I nipped that in the bud real quick with a no and a swat.

They generally don't grow out of it, my folks springer still chases the cat at age 10. It's more of a cat cooperation thing, either you intervening or the cat has to quit cooperating with the nipping and then they learn.

[grousehunter]

My chessie is a cat chaser too and he has been clawed across the face pretty good a couple times, but has not detered him yet. One of my friends cats just stands his ground and Drake has learned to leave that one be. Probably since it is not as fun with no chasing involved. I think the puppy will get used to the cat and eventually just ignore them. My friend has a chessie and a gsp and three cats and both dogs after living with the cats for a while rarely ever chase anymore and even lay next to eachother.

[nofishfisherman]

Thanks for the suggestions, here is what I've done with the puppy and cat so far.

1. I try to let them sort things out for themselves. Mainly becuase the cat has the ability to escape but very often she elects to come right back after being chased or nipped. The cat is young and before we got the dog she would run all over the house, chase you up the stairs, and generally play like crazy so I know she is higher energy right now.

2. If the dog bites her and the cat screaches I'll pull the dog away showing him that play time is over when he does that. This can be tough as they are both pretty fast and I might not catch them until they are in another room.

3. When I bring him inside from his walk or going to the bathroom I do not let him off the leash until he is calm and sitting for me. (very often the cat is waiting at the door and is within 5 feet of us when doing this)

4. I'll work on sit, down, stay commands when the cat is in the room.

5. I am working on name recognition so that I can call his name and get his attention. So far it only works within a few feet while he's not overly distracted.

Other then that I'll let him approach the cat, even chase her as long as I don't hear or see nipping/biting.

And I'm just waiting for the cat to get fed up give him a swat with some authority.

[Harmonica Bear]

If the cat still has its claws, I'd be more worried about the puppy then I would the cat.

[nofishfisherman]

Thats what I thought at first to but so far the dog doesn't have a scratch on him and the cat is short a little fur on her tail.

[DuckDog]

Sounds like they will get along just fine. Both know that it is just play time. When the cat makes a loud noise when they are playing does your pup stop? I actually would not worry about it too much.

When I was a kid - we just put them both in a small room. Wait 15 minutes and it was great

[nofishfisherman]

When the cat makes her loud screach she'll run away and the dog will chase her.

Maybe he has jsut been tired but he seems to be chasing her a little less. He still does but maybe a little less, or atleast its been more common for the cat to walk by and he'll just sit still. He does seem to be coming more when I call him to back off the cat as well.

I think they'll be fine in the long run I was just looking for some reassurance.

[DuckDog]

they will be fine!