Not certain if dog is ok with cat

Seeking help
1

We adopted an 8-year-old Beagle (20kg, 42lb) 10 days ago. He’s supposedly okay with cats, and although he’s very reactive to them on the street (barking and pulling towards them), he mostly ignores, avoids, or gently sniffs our two cats at home. Most of the time…

Two incidents:

  1. One cat was going nuts on the back of the couch. My wife and I were sitting on either side of the dog, who was relaxing. After 2-3 minutes of the cat acting up, the dog jumped up, nose to nose with the cat, ears forward, as if to say, “stop bothering us.” We put our hands between them and shooed the cat away.
  2. The real incident was with our other cat, who is a bit aggressive with the dog and has chased him before (he ran behind my back whimpering). This morning, while we were playing/cuddling with him on the rug, he walked too close to her cat tree where she was sitting, and she smacked him several times (we trim her claws, so no danger there).

Usually, he runs away, but this time he flipped out, became super aggressive, and started barking and semi-lunging towards her. I tried to get in his way and protect the cat, but he just became more aggressive. I was naked (first thing in the morning) and felt too vulnerable to confidently pull him away by the scruff of his neck. The more I blocked and pushed him away, the more aggressive he became.

After 1-2 minutes of horrendous stress, my wife was able to coax him away by standing further away and calling him, since it was morning and walk/breakfast time. Had she not been there, I don’t know what would have happened because I couldn’t move from where I was.

A couple of minutes later, they were all walking by each other on the ground, waiting for breakfast. The cats are noticeably tense, but the dog seems fine.

Questions:

  1. Is this potentially a dangerous cohabitation, and should we keep the possibility open that it might not work with this dog?
  2. How could we have better dealt with this situation, especially when alone? Should we use an in-house collar or collar/leash?
  3. We play tug-of-war with him and his rope for 3-5 minutes a day and get him excited in the morning, encouraging the 3 minutes of crazies (something we did with our previous dogs). A previous dog trainer advised against these activities, but we weren’t sure what to believe because she seemed to discourage everything people typically do with their dogs. Should we not be playing with him the way we do?

Other thoughts?

2

When you are unable to keep an eye on your pets directly, think about separating them with barriers or baby gates. Some dogs require more time to get used to new situations and other animals.

3

For any dog, three to five minutes a day is NOT enough. He or that cat are going to die as a result of this stored-up, pent-up energy.

Two baby gates, a collar, and lead for indoor use. Keep the leash available and the collar on inside in case something happens.

It sounds like the little dog is trying to fulfill his role as the family dog, but he doesn’t really view the cats as housemates, rather, he views them more as intruders who are upsetting you and him, for that matter. It’s common knowledge that begs become a little wiggly around anything smaller than themselves.

4

My six-month-old dog is constantly being tethered as he continues to learn that cats are the dominant animals in the house. My kitties have a way out. Make sure the kitties understand that they come first! Your dog will want the best for you.

5

Since he’s still new to your home, it might be a good idea to keep him leashed to you inside the house for now. This way, you can better manage any potentially tricky situations.

If your dog is motivated by food and doesn’t guard it, you can reward him with a treat when he ignores the cat. However, if there’s any chance he might guard the treat from the cat, avoid giving treats when the cat is nearby.

Using a clicker could also be helpful. Most dogs focus on the treat they’re about to receive once they hear the click, which can help break their focus on the cat.

6

I would recommend teaching your dog a solid “leave it” command. This can be practiced with various temptations that aren’t the cat :slightly_smiling_face: