Cat Intros

[Flipsmom]

Hi everyone,

 

New mom here with my first greyhound! We brought her home last week and we have two cats. Day one we kept them completely separated. Day two we let her sniff each cat briefly and took day three off. She was very interested but not aggressive. Days four and five we did a separate intro in a small room to let her get a good sniff again. Tonight we let the basement door open and one of the cats came up. We had Flip on the couch with her muzzle and short leash. She immediately locked on and we had trouble getting her to turn her gaze, even with treats, a firm no, and trying to turn her head towards us. Again she doesnt seem aggressive, no whining, salivating, etc, but did try to jump off the couch a couple of times.

Anyone with experience know if we continue this training that eventually she will become conditioned to having the cats around?

Appreciate any thoughts or advice, thank you!

[greysmom]

Possibly.

 

Did your adoption gorup cat test her before they let her come to you? Even if they do, sometimes dogs lie, and their true feelings about small fluffies don't come out until after they have been in a home for a while. You need to contact them and let them know this dog *may* not be be appropriate for your household.

 

I would say you are pushing the intros too fast for an iffy cat workable dog. It can take weeks to safely introduce them. Do a search and read through the threads about cat intros.

[EllenEveBaz]

One thing I've done when introducing a new dog to cats in the house is set up a situation where 1) they can smell but not see each other (adjoining rooms with a closed door in between where they can sniff under the door); then step #2 is where they can see each other under supervision. Still a safe barrier between them (sturdy babygates or door opened just an inch with one of those rubber wedge thingies to keep it firmly closed. The supervision part is so you can constantly be on the alert to break the dog's concentration on the cat to divert him to anything else, such as treats. Only after dog can consistently ignore the cats for several days do you go on to the next step, which is the controlled actual "meeting."

[ArrowOwner]

Our grey was considered "cat workable" - meaning she did show a lot of interest in the cat though it was not considered aggressive or exhibiting prey drive behavior. We kept the muzzle and leash on during their first interactions, and if she approached the cat or stared too long, we'd just direct her towards her doggie bed. Now, three months in, she COMPLETELY ignores the cat - showing literally no interest at all. They sleep in the same room all day long sometimes (keeping their distance) and we don't feel the need to muzzle when we're away. We were pretty nervous about it at first, but it has turned out to not be an issue in the least. It helps to have a bold, non-skittish cat. Good luck!

[Flipsmom]

Thanks everyone, and yes, ArrowOwner, that is very similar to how Flip is reacting. We have been in contact with a trainer with over 25 years of experience with greyhounds and she feels it will be fine. The main thing is direct her attention away.