Help! My corgi and cat don't like each other!
Hi everyone,
I'm Heidi, and my 9 month old Corgi is Foxie. I've had her for almost 2 months. She is very energetic and good-natured to everyone with the exception of my cat, Garfield. Initially Foxie was very scared of him, and wouldn't even look at him but just whimper. Garfield the cat wasn't welcoming and kind of creeped around her for a little while. He's not that interested in her anymore, except if she's blocking his was to the courtyard where he likes to sit. I got her a baby gate (in addition to her crate) so she could relax at bedtime. Her crate is also right outside my room and we are so close that she can see me.
Now Foxie gets in Garfield's face barking at him and continually advances until he jumps up high onto the furniture. This happens daily. So far they have not bitten each other, but Foxie corners him and barks at him and Garfield has let her know in no uncertain terms that he does not like it. He hisses and swings at her, although he is declawed. I do my best to keep them apart. The cat is 7 yrs old and male and just basically wants to sleep and eat now. Foxie physically blocks him from entering or exiting the house to get to the courtyard where he likes to sit.
Does anyone have any suggestions?? The trainer at the puppy training class said to treat each of them when the other entered the room so teach would associate the other with good things. It wasn't effective. My friend's trainer said to use a water spray bottle on them when they go at it. I haven't tried the water yet, but I will.
I would appreciate any input, especially if you have had a similar experience! Thank you!
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Anna Morelli on
-
If your cat was not declawed, you would never have had this problem. Most puppies just want to play and cats can teach them respect with one or two swats! Unfortunately your cat has been deprived of his natural defenses and the pup has no consequence from the cat himself to teach her he is to be respected OR ELSE. The squirt bottle may work if you can use it on the dog only, say when you see her starting to approach the cat (some dogs respond to it more than others). I would enforce, with a long leash, a " the cat is off limits and none of your business" policy and make it stick 100%. Correct the pup verbally any time you start to see that she is zeroing in on the cat with her attention. You want to ideally warn her before the actual behavior starts, so it does not happen at all. If it starts, interrupt as quickly as possible. The cat has to be number one and treated like a King!!! Once you do this consistently and adopt this frame of mind, combined with a little maturing on the side of the pup, and never leaving the two alone to sort it out, the behavior should lessen then stop. This may not carry over to a yard situation. You'll know you've fully succeeded when your cat starts to choose to approach the dog, then chances are they will become buddies.
-
Permalink Reply by Jennifer Markley on
-
Anna-- I have two cats, and none of my cats have ever been declawed. Unfortunately, this doesn't stop the behavior. They've all been swatted a time or two, but the urge to herd is more powerful than the claw I'm afraid. Plus, half the time when they do get swatted because the cat's had enough, the cat doesn't put its claws out when it swats. The dogs just sit there with their eyes closed while they get thumped on the snout over and over. It's really kind of amusing to watch. I prefer to teach them the "leave it" command, but even then, as herding dogs the movement of the cat will ignite their inner beast.
-
Permalink Reply by Beth on
-
Depends on the cat. My old cat Alice was afraid of dogs, and when baby puppy Jack went up to say a friendly hello, Alice swiped him across the nose. Jack squealed and never bothered the cat again. He has great respect for them and reads cat body language well. He will chase stray cats off our property.
Boo keeps her claws in and cuffs the dogs if she gets annoyed (usually at Maddie) and it is not a deterrent.
-
-
Yes Jennifer, some dogs have a higher instinct to chase, whether for herding or prey purposes, which is why I wrote "This may not carry over to a yard situation". It is hard to interpret behaviors I do not see myself but, from your description, it would seem that the cats are not overly concerned about the behavior of your dogs, or those claws would come out. Maybe they are annoyed, but realize the dogs mean them no real harm. You are also not really perceiving it as a real threat ( you find it sort of amusing) so I'd say you guys are all on the same page and in agreement. Indeed, nobody seems the worse for it, still I would try to curtail it. It's an altogether different picture when a cat has been declawed and cannot defend himself, as Heidi writes about.
-
Permalink Reply by Heidi on
-
Thank you Anna, I completely agree about the claws. Garfield has his back ones but the fronts would be very helpful. I wasn't sure what you meant about the long leash - do you mean to keep one on the dog when she is in the house in case I need to pull her back? I has a short one on her for that purpose and she ate right through it. Is there a type she can't chew through?
-
-
Heidi, I meant a leash attached to you, where you can correct her if she starts her shenanigans with the cat. I have a regular length leash which has a nylon handle and is a light metal chain that I have used for older pups when I needed to have my hands free, tying it to a table leg or sofa leg, while I was still in the same room ( in other words I'm not advocating leaving a dog tied anywhere by itself ). I find this method preferable to a pet gate because the dog has to still be in the same space as the cat, the cat is free to move around, but the dog cannot harass him, so it's learning that behavior and you can praise the dog with an occasional treat just for being calm. Of course pet gate and crate are also good options when you are too busy to oversee things, not as punishment, simply for convenience.
-
Permalink Reply by Stephanie Ward on
-
I have 2 cats and a new corgi puppy and what I've found is that the cats LOVE to tease Franklin (my corgi) from across the baby gate. The cats will meow and sit right by the gate and as soon as franklin runs over, the cats will leap over the gate so Franklin face-plants into the baby gate. I thought for the longest time that the cats hated my new dog because they wouldn't stop hissing at him and trying to claw him (only one has claws). If you can avoid using a baby gate, I would. I personally think that the animals should learn to deal with it themselves with as little human interference as possible. If you've had your pup for almost 2 months and no one has beat each other up, I would just let them be.. eventually they will be friends!
They can sense if you're worried or scared. Try laughing at them or telling them they're acting goofy. Maybe they will sense play time and will start to pick up on it.
-
Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on
-
Barking or chasing the cats at my house will result in being leashed and following me around for a few hours. That put an end to harassing the cats. I have three dogs and two cats and the cats know they have nothing to fear...the dogs know that the cats are off limits. It is actually very easy to correct using this method.
-
-
Then I will try that. They got into 2 fights today and it's scary when it happens. At this point the dog is the instigator for sure. She is in time out behind a baby gate in the hallway as we speak because the last one just happened 5 minutes ago. I don't leave her there for longer than 10 min or so because I figure she'll forget why she's there if I do. Thank you Bev.
-
-
I agree with Bev's method. Unfortunately it did not work with Maddie because pulling against the leash got her more wound up when she was in her cat-stalking phase, but it will work with many dogs.
I had to put Maddie on voice control. I taught her that if I said "Maddie Maddie Maddie" in a high voice, she was to look at me (I taught her by handing out treats for looking at my face). She was so focused on the cat that she ignored me anyway. I used a spray bottle and squirted her in the face. It only took two times. As soon as the spray made her look away, I did the "Maddie Maddie Maddie" thing and treated her. I also would walk into her space when I was positioned correctly, and make her back away from the cat. The second she'd turn her head and start walking away instead of backing up, I'd praise and run get a treat.
So basically I conditioned her to look towards me whenever she started stalking the cat and then gradually phased that out too, by which point the cat-chasing was extinguished.
It's very important you teach him cats are off-limits. I allow mine to play only if the cat initiates, and I have a high cat tower downstairs and a section of the house baby-gated upstairs so the cat can get away if things go bad. The herding drive is part of the prey drive sequence and a dog can switch from "herding" to "hunting" in the blink of any eye. A declawed cat is helpless in the face of a dog attack.
Foxie is young and he'll learn quickly, but in the meantime make sure Garfield is safe.
-
Permalink Reply by Kaley and Ravioli on
-
There was an episode of caesar millan i recorded yesterday and it was about this couple's dog who kept attacking their cat. I haven't watched the episode, but i'm going to tonight. i'll let you know if caesar has any tips! =)
Rescue Store
Stay Connected
FDA Recall
Canadian Food Inspection Agency Recall
Groups
We support...
Badge
© 2024 Created by Sam Tsang.
Powered by
