Newly Adopted 4 Yrs Greyhound Doensn't Get Along With Cat - Help&#

[Guest Maya]

Thank you Greyt_dog_lover. I found your training method in an older post and it seems great. (here is the link in case anyone else might need it - http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php/topic/306875-more-trouble-with-cats/?hl=training&do=findComment&comment=5691613)

My dog doens't focus on the cat if I have treats, I can get him to pass right next to the cat and he doens't look at it.

 

I will get him the kind of muzzle needed for greyhounds, so that I can give him treats through the muzzle.

 

Thank you all very much for your advices and replies.

 

I will let you know what the dog trainer said later on today.

[tra708]

Your situation sounds hopeful. Just for a moment of humor, here's a video of abby my greyhound (mix?), and my cat. This was a dog that when we first got her, chased the cats all over the house, shook, whined, and displayed everything that would have deemed her NOT cat friendly had she been tested. We just didn't know any better, and would yell "NO!" whenever she chased the cat until she learned what we expected. It turned out that she was just very, very interested in the cats, but did not want to hurt them. Your experience may be different, but I just thought I'd say that there might be some hope in your situation. Good luck with the trainer!!

PS: this video was after 10 years!

[Guest Maya]

What a beautiful video! It gives me hope.

 

The dog trainer didn't come today, but I was albe to practice some more with Lordie (the greyhound) and Lilly (the cat). I tied the dog with the leash near his extra big bed I set up for him and muzzled him. The cat was too scared to come into the room so I had someone stand on the floor, on the other end of the room with the cat and pet her. The dog looked at the cat but he was not near the "cat focused mood". If I called him he wagged his tail and would come to me for petting (I really suspect he is in fact a big cat).

 

After lots of praising and treats, a couple of hours later I repeated the episode, only this time the dog almost fell asleep and the cat is next to me right now on the couch. Lilly is still scared of the dog, but she is more relaxed and doens't want to run away.

[Guest Maya]

Right after I wrote this Lordie noticed the cat and started to cry again and try to reach her (not agressively but he wasn't chill anymore). I removed the cat from the room.

And just now Lordie was with me on the couch and I wanted to put his feet on the couch as well and he growled at me. This was the frst time ever. Should I be worried?

[Guest greyhound_in_LA]

Right after I wrote this Lordie noticed the cat and started to cry again and try to reach her (not agressively but he wasn't chill anymore). I removed the cat from the room.

And just now Lordie was with me on the couch and I wanted to put his feet on the couch as well and he growled at me. This was the frst time ever. Should I be worried?

 

Growling means, "I don't like what you're doing."

 

You need to know about space and sleep startle issues. Also about certain ways to handle a new Greyhound. If a Greyhound is lying down, and it's a new dog in your house, then do not encroach on its personal space. It isn't used to it. If you have to "handle" it for nailclipping, etc., it's better to do it with the dog standing up and not when it's lying down resting or asleep -- not at first.

[JohnF]

 

Growling means, "I don't like what you're doing." You need to know about space and sleep startle issues.

You need to take all of this very, very slowly. it's a huge learning curve for hound, cat and human.

I highly recommend you read this little article:

[Guest Maya]

Hi

 

Just to give you an update on what's been going on with Lordie and Lilly. So, I've had Lordie for 10 days now and he is making little progress with the cat. I tried several techniques but I realized that some of them don't work on my 2 pets for 2 reasons

 

- I can't work with Lordie with a muzzle, as I believe he has never worn one and his behaviour when I put it on is atypical. He just tries to get it off and doens't focus on anything else

- My cat is really shy and runs away when she hears/sees him, (except when he is too close and then she hisses or growls or just stares at him back), so if I try and force the cat to be in the same room with he dog it's pretty hard on the cat.

 

Instead, I have him on a leash attached to me while I'm at home and the cat is free to wonder the house. Most of the time the two of them sleep. When the cat enters the room by its own initiative (not very often) is pays attention to the cat, but doen't want to chase it as much as he did 10 days ago, even if the cat runs. He also doens't whines when he sees the cat.. But he just pays really close attention to the cat, he is tense and fixates on Lilly (th cat). Somehow, I find it easier to get him to snap out of that state that before.

 

 

This is the good side, the bad side is that yesterday he barked at the cat again (the cat was somehow cornered) and he is still stiff and tense and fixates on the cat. Also, Lordie is jealous if he hears me playing with the cat in the other room or talking to it He would sniff the places the cat's been. Another thing I find curious is that when the cat is the room, Lordie lifts his head, then gets up, everything in slow motion, just like a cat before attacking, as to not to scare the prey away.

 

At this point I am no longer sure it can work out between Lordie and Lilly.

 

What should I do? Should I keep trying or just give him up? In every other way he is the perfect dog (except that he sometimes stares at me and this scares me, but if I keep him I would have him fixed)

 

Thank you all for your replies so far and all the good advices I received.

Edited September 9, 2014 by Maya

[Guest greyhound_in_LA]

It's been only 10 days.

 

Someone in the FB group said it took four months.

 

Progress is slow, but progress is progress.

 

Where did you even get Lordie?

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

Maya,

Was your greyhound a racer? If he was then I can guarantee you with 100% certainty that he is used to wearing a muzzle. Every single racing greyhound on this planet has to wear a muzzle when racing professionally, period. They will act like the muzzle is poison and it is burning their skin to wear the thing, but believe me, they are used to it. Its the game they like to play. Second question, you say at the end of your last post, he stares at you and you will have him fixed. What exactly does this mean? Is he unaltered? If he is unaltered, did you get him directly from a race owner?

[Guest Maya]

I know nothing about his past, I know that he used to live in a restaurant's backyard, and that he used to be the restaurant's mascot. I did not get him from the race track. I got him from someone who rescued him from that place, buy he is a greyhound, by every standard.

 

He isn't neuteured, this is what I meant. If I were to keep him, I would go to the vet to neuter him.

Edited September 9, 2014 by Maya

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

Ok, does he have any tatoos in his ears? Check both ears, if he was a racing greyhound, he would have tattoos in each ear with numbers and letters. It is odd that he is not fixed. That would lead me to believe he may be a lurcher (greyhound mix) or possibly a AKC greyhound. Not that it really matters, but it just helps with understanding some of his behaviors if he was a racer or not.

[Guest greyhound_in_LA]

You have to decide whether or not you want to put in the effort longer-term than 10 days. I know that many people here and in the FB group worked with their Greyhounds for months to go from cat-workable to cat-tolerant. You just need to sit down and think about it.

 

If you don't want to put in the time to train, please do not attempt to rehome this Greyhound by yourself. You should contact a reputable adoption group and have them handle it.

[Brandiandwe]

It's been ten days. This is a long term project. And there is no shame in rehoming him through a reputable group.

 

I don't understand why you find him staring at you frightening, but if you do, a greyhound might not be the breed for you. All if mine stare at me. They enjoy the contact and communication.

[turbotaina]

Just wanted to add that my greyhound was much like yours when I got him - he would bark and whine and pull towards my cats. He would hunt them when they were out of sight. He even got my female cat once when my husband picked her up to get her out of the way and turned the wrong direciton, basically putting her in the dog's mouth (everyone turned out OK, except me and the hubby who were each rewarded by deep scratches from the cat). We had our house rigged up with babygates all over the place. Anyway, my dog loves food. Loves. It. So he was trainable. Anytime he glanced at the cats, we'd say "no kitty", he'd glance at us and he'd get a treat. Before too long, he'd look at us as soon as the cat entered the room. So we rewarded him for looking away and ignoring the cats. He was crated a lot then, but we started letting him out on a leash, then off leash with a muzzle, and finally free rein. It took 4 months, but it worked. He lived peacefully with the kitties for another 3 years, but both of the cats passed away earlier this year (from geriatric health issues). So there's hope, but you have to really commit to it and do a lot of work.

Edited September 11, 2014 by turbotaina

[spottydog]

We used a baby gate and treats to distract. If that didn't break his fixation, out came the squirt gun.

[dostacos]

My greyhounds came cat tested, still I would suggest a cat tower to give the cat a safe haven