Cat Trainable?

[Guest psdirector]

We got our huge boys, Mr. Tibbs and Hutch, this past Friday. Tibbs seems to be truly cat safe. He didn't even look up when one of the cats walked into the room. Hutch (Tibbs' litte rmate) was labeled as "cat questionable" since he was interested in the cat when he was tested, but he could be distracted. When he arrived at our house last Friday, he whined when he saw the cat. I was able to distract him with a "No, kitty!" Later the cat was peering at him from around a corner and he whined, but again could be distracted and even ignored the cat for a while. Of course I realize that both of the dogs were totally confused about where they were and what was happening to them.

 

The past three days, we decided to leave the cats in their safe room (with lots of visits for food, treats and love) while the dogs got adjusted. I admit that I'm probably putting off the inevitable meetings because I am so afraid that Hutch will not be cat safe. I don't want to separate these brothers and I certainly don't want to have to give Hutch back. We are listed as "fostering with intention to adopt" in case he truly isn't cat safe. He's a great dog in every other way.

 

We have since found out that Hutch whines whenever he sees something alive - kids, dogs, a squirrel, new people. So far all of his meetings with kids, dogs and people have been wonderful and he has loved them. Realize that the squirrel is a different story. Even Mr. Tibbs' ears stood at attention and he momentarily froze with that squirrel in their yard.

 

Today we went to the vet just to get everything checked out. I stupidly forgot to put bring their muzzles. It must have been small dog day at the vet, because there were several. Again, Hutch was interested but distractable. He easily made friends with a huge yellow lab that was there. A woman came to get her dog from the vet - it was a very active, light-colored cocker spaniel that was jumping around like crazy - and Hutch tried to lunge at the dog. Granted, the amount of activity on the part of this cocker spaniel was way over the top. I caught him and told him "Leave it!" and walked away and I was finally able to break his attention on the dog.

 

I would appreciate any and all suggestions on how to train Hutch to leave our cat, Samantha, alone. Has anyone ever had a greyhound who was "questionable" that they were able to train to leave their cat alone?

 

As I said, I know that I'm staving off the inevitable. On the other hand, the cats are in the largest bedroom in the house and they certainly have everything they need, including a bench set up so that they can peer out the window.

[Guest Wasserbuffel]

It sounds like he's curious, but being able to distract him is a very good sign.

 

The first night my dog came home she whined and pulled toward the cats, and was extremely excited by them. For the safety of my cats she was leashed and muzzled during this meeting. She was young and excited by everything being so new. I later found out that she had been up on her hind legs pulling toward the cats when her foster dad took her to the Humane Society for a visit.

 

The next morning I had her leashed, but not muzzled as I fed her breakfast. One of the cats watched from nearby and Jayne, more calmly than the night before, pulled toward him to see what he was. I kept the leash taut so she couldn't lunge, but let her approach the cat. Ron gave her a good whack across her nose for her trouble and she refused to make eye contact with either of the cats for months.

 

If I remember correctly your boys are just about 2 years old right? I think he's just interested. Keep the dog leashed and controlled when he meets the cat. Let it be on the cat's terms so the cat is less likely to get scared and run which might incite the dog to give chase.

 

Based on what you've posted I think your chances are extremely good, just take it slow. I've trained my greyhound to be loose in the yard with my chickens, and let me tell you she REALLY wanted to eat them at first!

[Guest IrskasMom]

I brought Home a Greyhound without even knowing if he was Catsafe or not. Morty came in and right away he wanted to play with my Kitty . Well the Kitty didn't wanted no part of it and always when he sah her he would want to play and it ended up in a Chase. This did not last long and he began to ignor him and Kitty did the same. Now it's nothing at all. But if you go outside and there is a Cat ....beware it's full Game . My Neighbors have 8 Cats and four of'm are outside sometimes. My Morty chases the Fence up and down and is beside himself. Maybe it just needs a liitle more time to calm down and the Interrest subsides and Hutch knows , the Cat belongs to the Family. A stern " NO Kitty " might work for a while.

Edited March 11, 2013 by IrskasMom

[greysmom]

Don't rush things. For everyone's safety. There are levels of workable, but most of them have a happy ending.

 

First, you need to decide how much contact between your dogs and cats is acceptable to you, and what kind. Some people will only be satisfied if the dog does not react at all to the presence of a cat. Some allow a bit of sniffing or mild interest, but otherwise the dog must not interact with the cat. Some people allow dogs and cats to freely interact (depending, of course, on how the dog does).

 

Our cat(s) were all raised from tiny kittens around big dogs and they have NO/ZERO/NADA/ZILCH fear of dogs whatsoever. Our biggest problem is keeping the cat away from Whiskey, not the other way around. In our house (currently we have one small cat, but we have had as many as three with this particular dog mixture), we have to now manage cat/dog interactions because Whiskey sounds very much like your Hutch. He will stare and drool and is very interested, though he is correctable off the cat at any single time. We have not reached the point where he will notice and ignore the cat on his own. The cat(s) were isolated in a safe spot for nearly a year to reach this point. We have baby gates installed in every doorway, about 5 inches off the floor, so the cat(s) always has an escape route from every room.

 

Then, Whiskey was allowed to see and smell the cat from a distance. Once he was able to ignore the cat that way, we gradually began allowing the cat to be closer to him, though still from behind the safety of a gate. After he was good with that milestone, we began letting them be in the same room together - with Whiskey muzzled, the cat free-roaming, and squirt bottles ready. We're at the point now where the cat is able to pretty much roam the house and Whiskey is OK, out and unmuzzled. We are still VERY vigilant in watching him, because if the cat starts to play or takes off running, he will most likely chase her with serious intent.

 

Whiskey actually did "catch" her the other night, though he didn't bite her or otherwise hurt her. (Five minutes later, the cat was again trying to jump on his chair. She has NO fear! Even after that.) He was corrected and there hasn't been an incident since. Like I said, this has taken us over a year.

 

We are still a looooooong ways from being able to leave them loose together unsupervised, and we may never be able to do so. Whiskey and the cat will be separated in separate parts of the house when we leave.

 

Because of Hutch's other issues in settling in, I would wait at least a full week, and probably more like two before I would even start any introductions. Don't set him up to fail by trying to force a relationship too soon. And you definitely need tme to teach that "leave it" command!

 

 

 

ETA: No matter what the greyhounds cat status, outdoor, free-roaming cats and animals will ALWAYS be an issue, and likely will have no bearing on how they do with their indoor packmates. My Angel Copper would let out cats sleep ON him, but outdoors he was a complete cat zapper.

Edited March 11, 2013 by greysmom

[a_daerr]

There are levels of workable, but most of them have a happy ending.

 

...and some of them don't. We fostered Henry's littermate, who unfortunately killed one of my cats. It was devastating and very unpredictable, as Payne would let the cats walk near him, play with toys in his vicinity, even swat at his tail without showing much interest. Then, as soon as I decided, "He must be cat safe" and stopped muzzling, that's when he attacked. You can never be too careful. Take it slow and be vigilant about muzzling.

[Guest grey_dreams]

Let the cats decide when they feel comfortable enough to enter the dogs areas. Don't force the cats to come into the same room as the dogs. If you don't have time to be there continuously to monitor, then you don't have time for them to be introduced, and you should keep them separated. Tibbs should be leashed and tethered to you. Hutch should be muzzled and leashed and tethered to you. Neither dog should ever have any opportunity to chase the cats. You have to keep them tethered/muzzled until you are sure that they are ok.

 

When my new boy came home in January, I kept him muzzled and tethered to me for three days. My cat was ok to be in the same room as him, but she is rather shy of new dogs, and would run if threatened in any way (so she is a skittish-type cat). It was clear within the first hour that Zhivaya had not spent a lot of time around cats, he was curious, but never tried to lunge when she walked by. I kept the muzzle on for two days anyway. The only time he attempted to "go for her" was in the darkness of night, when he saw something moving but didn't know what it was. After those corrections the first night (yes, he was tethered to me at night too, so I woke immediately when he moved), and he realized that it was the cat, he never tried to go for her again. The tether came off after three days, but I monitored like a hawk and the tether would have gone right back on with the slightest doubt. I separated them behind closed doors when I left the house, and continued that for three weeks. I work from home, so am not gone much and never for long. Then there was another week of allowing them all access to the whole house while I was gone, but Zhivaya was muzzled. Now I feel fine to leave them together (w/o muzzle) when I'm gone. I usually find them still asleep in the same spots where they were sleeping when I left

 

Too much caution is much better than not enough caution. Take things slow and easy, and you can always guage how it's going by your cat's reactions. Good luck!

Edited March 11, 2013 by grey_dreams

[JJNg]

I agree with Alicia that "you can never be too careful." And I hate to bring back bad memories, but didn't the kitten get killed (presumably by Payne) when you weren't home? Even though I consider my dogs pretty much 100% cat safe, and they're even ok with my cat running across the yard outside, I still never leave them alone together. When I'm not home, my dogs are crated, and the cats are closed in a separate part of the house.

[a_daerr]

And I hate to bring back bad memories, but didn't the kitten get killed (presumably by Payne) when you weren't home?

.

Yes. The kitten got killed, and the adoption coordinator talked me down and attributed it to pack mentality and the presence of a kitten vs. an adult cat. So I decided to give it another shot, and as time went on, I watched Payne develop more and more aggressive tendencies toward the cats. Although I wasn't home when it happened, all logic and reasoning suggests that he killed the kitten. With a heavy heart, we had to find another foster home for him. Since then, the dogs and cats have been fine. One of my dogs, Henry, is a bonified cat-safe greyhound. My other, Truman, is cat "curious" because he wants to chase and play with them. So it is possible to train "cat workable" greys to be safe with cats, it just takes time and work. To the OP, being able to distract is a good sign... lunging, on the other hand, is not. So whether or not Hutch will be safe around cats/small dogs remains to be seen... just do everything possible to set the dog up for success and keep your cats safe.

 

It's still very hard for me to talk about my experience because I failed everyone involved. It's one of those things where I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive myself. I would hate for someone else to go through something similar. I am, however, happy to report that Payne was adopted (in a home without cats), and he's doing very well.

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

Simple solution, lots of training.

 

 

Your hound is cat-workable. If your hound was not able to live with cats, he would be hunting the cat at every chance he had, even camping outside the room where the cats are. When he sees cats, if he suddenly get ridgid, focused on the cat without being able to break the stare, puffing cheeks, panting, drooling, then guess what, your hound wants to eat the cat. If you see any of these behaviors, return the hound immediately. From your short explanation it would say that your hound is cat-workable. Its unfortunate that your adoption group didn’t explain how to properly introduce and desensitize your greyhound to your cats. Here is what I do with all my fosters and cats:

 

 

Since you have 2 hounds, during the first few weeks of the training, keep one crated while you work with the other hound. Yes you need to work with the hound that appears "safe" already, he may just proceed much faster through the training. You do NOT want to try to have both hounds loose at the same time while you do the training as one may get the other worked up.

 

 

Week 1:

 

1) Hound is muzzled ANY time the cats are not locked up, no exceptions.

 

2) Hound is also tethered when the cats are able to walk around.

 

3) baby gates are put up around the house in hallways 6" above the ground to allow for quick escape if I slip up.

 

4) Cats are locked up, only let out 1 at a time and under human control.

 

5) One person sits with hound on side of room, hound is on leash and muzzled. Treats are available (high value-chicken, cheese, etc.), but not given yet

 

6) Other person gets cat and blocks view of cat and hound with body.

 

7) Person with cat sits on other side of room and holds cat in lap, keeping cat calm, and quiet.

 

8) Hound is allowed to look at cat, when he does, call his name to distract, once he breaks the look, GIVE A TREAT

 

9) REPEAT many times

 

10)Take cat back into other room, let hound free and train later during the day.

 

This training should be done 2-3 times a day if possible

 

 

 

Week 2 (or sooner if the hound learns to ignore the cat on person's lap):

 

1) follow steps 1-7 above except bring the cat near the hound, but outside the reach of the leash

 

2) repeat step 8 above.

 

3) once the hound is reliable at the much closer distance, then bring the cat in and put in the middle of the room and allow the cat to move around, but do not encourage the cat to run, make sure the cat is comfortable and will walk around.

 

4) repeat step 8 above

 

 

Week 3:

 

1) assuming you can bring the cat in the room, put it on the floor, let it walk around and your hound will not pester the cat, now allow the hound to be off-leash, but MUZZLED. Keep the baby gates in place, pull the furniture out from the walls so the cats can sneak behind.

 

2) if the hound starts to follow the cat around, and will not come to you when called, put the leash back on and go back to bringing the cat in the room and letting the cat walk around.

 

 

Week 4:

 

1) baby gates are still up

 

2) cats are allowed free access of the house without being restricted

 

3) Muzzles are worn any time the hounds are not crated, no exceptions

 

 

Week 5 and beyond.

 

1) Muzzles are left off when hounds and cats are around

 

2) If hounds are not crated when gone, muzzles are on, no exceptions

 

 

During weeks 1-3 I keep the hounds in my room and the door closed so the cats cannot get into the room. After week 4, I open the door to the room, but there is a baby gate at the door (6" up) so that the cats can come and go. The hounds are muzzled at night when they sleep in case a cat creeps too close when they are sleeping. I usually wait about 2-3 months before I don’t muzzle at night when the cats roam. If during the training your hound doesn’t look at you after you call his name a few times, try sweeping the treat in front of his nose to get his attention. This way he realizes why you are calling his name. Do not tug on the leash, or say "NO" or otherwise react to his reaction to the cat. You are trying to reinforce a positive association with the cat and that is what the treat is for. You do not give the treat while the hound is looking at the cat, you give the treat when he is looking at you after you call his name. If he gets up to move towards the cat, you simply hold the leash tight and not allow him to move forward. Call his name a few times, if the doesn’t turn, have the person remove the cat and get his attention back. Repetition is the key to success.

 

 

I will typically have my fosters for 3-8 months each while they rehab from a broken leg or other special needs. All are trained to go up and down stairs within a few days, and I start cat desensitization the first day I have them in my house. I feel that the hound needs to get into my schedule as soon as possible, not me modifying my schedule for them, since in the long run, it will be my way. I have had many many fosters through my house and have had a few that tested Cat-Workable, but the day the training started we realized they weren’t.

 

 

Don’t worry, its something that you will find works very quickly and you will be happy for the positive reinforcement, it lasts much longer than correction method. Also, in order for the correction method to work effectively, you have to be there for the behavior to work.

 

 

Chad

Edited March 12, 2013 by Greyt_dog_lover

[turbotaina]

Heyokha tested cat safe at the kennel, but was not fostered with cats. Having had a lot of contact with the kennel when I was an active volunteer, I knew the cat testing to be about 75% reliable, so we went ahead with the adoption. Unfortunately, Heyokha had lied on his cat test and was extremely interested in killing my cats. He would whine, bark, stare, and lunge at and them from his crate, and hunt them when they were not in the same room.

 

We worked with him for about 4 months before we could trust him with the cat (and through a freak accident he did send Fat Juana to the evet once, though she was determined to be merely bruised). I didn't think we would ever get there, but one day, it was like a switch flipped in his little head and suddenly cats weren't to be eaten. We did a lot of what Chad describes above. Heyokha was crated A LOT, on leash A LOT and muzzled A LOT. And any time the cats would come by and he would look at them, we'd say "no kitty", and when he looked at us instead of the cat, he got a treat. It was a lot of work, but he's now perfectly fine with my cats. Which is a miracle, really, because I seriously thought I'd have to return him - I didn't think he was going to be workable at all, but my husband was in love with him and worked with him diligently.

 

So, yeah, you can work with a dog who is questionable. The fact that he's distractable is very good. Just give lots of yummy treats when he ignores the cat and you'll probably get there. But, as others have mentioned, supervision and management is key. Good luck!

Edited March 12, 2013 by turbotaina