Best dog breed to have around cats?

its not always a training issue you cant train gentics i raised a male shepherd from a 8 week old pup in a house full of cats and he was never safe with them.  Some are just dangerous around cats. German shepherds are the worst for this id say. ALso I know a dobie female who was raised with a cat and still when she was older was not trust worthy around it.

Avoid high strung breeds and high prey drive reeds. It is a nightmare living with a dog that is not safe with cats. YOur hair will grow white. People try electric shock collars but even that wont work. I find a lot of toy breeds and small breeds great because even if they wanted to the cat would win if the cat is a fiesty confident cat.

also wanted to comment a lot of todays giant breeds to tend to not have much prey drive and seem to be fine with cats like english mastiffs, mountain dogs, newfoundlands etc..all seem to do great in a house full of cats most of the time.

I would say that it definitely depends upon the way the dog is trained and of course some breeds are more aggressive then others so it is good to do your research first! I had a english mastiff and she was great with our cat....

Its NONSENSE to say a German shepherd can never be trusted. I had 2 (at seperate times) both lived to old age and I always had cats And Guinea Pigs. It was the cats that were initially the aggressors. NEVER the dogs. The cats came to respect and love their doggy best friend as did the GP's who used to lay with him. The cat was boss though. When she wanted feeding she didnt ask me she asked the dog, who would throw the cats dish at me ready to fill. My dogs would let the babies of the family climb all over him. If it got too much he would whimper to me to let me know that it was enough. GS are the most gentle TRUSTWORTHY and loyal dogs you could wish for. Only time a GS gets vicious is when they are tied up outside constantly for long periods. All they want is to be with you as they love company. Downside is when they are young, up to approx 2yrs, they take a long while to mature. Then as they dont like being left alone. They will show displeasure by chewing everything in sight. According to neighbours they would howl when left. After approx 2 yrs this behaviour is improved, I think once they feel secure knowing you will be back.  HIGHLY recommend these wonderful trustworthy and trusting dogs.  Rotweillers I would NEVER trust. Both by experience and confirmed by a breeder of them. Also my GS saved me from a Dalmation who after he saw it off went on to savage 2 children. So thats not on my good list either. I was also bitten by a small terrier. I Forget the name, but they are usually white some with tan on, with close hair and a bit bigger than a Yorkie Yappie and nasty. .

Read my letter you are talking nonsense. They are The MOST trustworthy dogs ever. That was also in a survey of trustworthy dogs. Surprisingly to me the worst was the Labrador. As when they are good they are very good but apparently they can be bad tempered. You must have has an experience of a VERY unusual rogue GS.

This thread is 6 years old the original poster hasnt posted since the question was asked and I do not think there is any need for a tirade at a member for giving their personal experience.

no one said a gsd are never trust worthy but compared to many other breeds they have a lot of prey drive there are much better options. And if a gsd hurts a cat its not because it is "vicious" its because of all that prey drive and aggression that is bred into them for real life work like police, herding, shutzhund. Its part of what the breed is. It can go right many times. And many gsds live with cats. But there are many better suited breeds with lower prey drive that that wont obsess over a cat. It has nothing to do with being vicious it is part of what the breed is. Yes any breed can be a bad match also labs, poodles etc.. But its just best to pick a breed that has a high rate of success from a good breeder. LIke i mentioned a lot of the calmer giant beeds today are very mellow it seems and do well with small animals. This is not ALWAYS true but recently it seems to be. Small dogs like many toy dogs are great in houses with cats also because they are the same size and a cat with claws that is confidant can easily set it straight and teach it manners if it wants to. A large dog with prey drive that is serious can cause hell on sheep alpacas cattle etc.. Even the most fiesty cat is not going to be able to work it out with a dog like this. I spend my life around gsds they are my fave breed by far but i am not going to pretend they are something they are not. When it comes to serious damage to another animal they are one of  the worst culprits.

i would think a calm dog it is really the personality of both the cat and the dog but it should be a small dog like a shiba inu.

yes i agree i have had saint bernards and border collies and boxers and german sheperds but the cats always stayed calm and soon became friends with the dogs.

Someone will have had a bad experience with pretty much any dog breed you can mention.  Some breeds are definitely prey driven, and some that are not, will have dogs that won't work with cats because of their breeding or their environment, the way they were brought up.  I had French Bulldogs in the past......absolutely loved them, but they did NOT get along with cats.  It may have been the bloodlines, but none of mine were tolerant of cats, and would go after the neighborhood cats any chance they got.  I had one border collie who was great with cats and small dogs, and another who wasn't. I had a wire haired terrier who was show quality, from great bloodlines, and did not do well with any smaller animal.   My housemate used to breed toy poodles, and had a GSD who was wonderful with them and cats.  I'm sure most of know someone who has a pit bull who is absolutely wonderful, despite their reputation (again, probably a result of bloodline and environment).  

Currently I have three cats and three dogs who get along great.  The dogs are mini dachshunds, and a toy poodle.  The dogs are extremely tolerant of the cats, and love to play with them.  I frequently see the dachies in pursuit of a cat, running through the house, then the cat in pursuit of the dachies on the way back.....it is a fun game.  None of the cats are the least bit intimidated by the dogs.  The Siamese boy loves the dogs, and has preferred their company to the other cats since he was little.  The Persian and the Himmie are tolerant of the dogs, totally unafraid of the dogs, and occasionally play with them, but obviously consider them an inferior species.  

I just adopted a 6 month old kitten name evita at the spca it was love at first sight my life partner and I are looking to adopt again but a puppy but were not sure what breed would be best suited for our evita and would get along with a kitten were looking for a small dog since we do live in a pet friendly apartment I'm the active one while my life partner is more laid back and it would great company for our evita while we're at work most important she or he would be a awesome addition to our familia any suggestion ? Please

For some strange reason Lhasa Apso's seem to love cats, mine included. While Lhasa's generally are not so keen on small children they seem to be quite the cat fanciers.
 

mamab3ar said:

I just adopted a 6 month old kitten name evita at the spca it was love at first sight my life partner and I are looking to adopt again but a puppy but were not sure what breed would be best suited for our evita and would get along with a kitten were looking for a small dog since we do live in a pet friendly apartment I'm the active one while my life partner is more laid back and it would great company for our evita while we're at work most important she or he would be a awesome addition to our familia any suggestion ? Please

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I have a 16 year old Maltese poodle and she has been great around cats since we got her at 18 months. I think personality is the most important thing to look for when getting a dog rather than just thinking about breed.

I have 2 miniature dachshunds who love the cats.

nevermind, didn't realize how old this thread was.

Petlover26 thanks so much for your post I have two cats that are 6 & 7 & had thought about getting a dog through our local Stray Rescue program but after reading the posts on this site I think it best to get a puppy that can grow up with the cats being around.  I also prefer a larger dog.

Honestly, of all dogs, shepherds and mutts go best with cats. We have 7 kitties that we love so much and our oldest German Shepherd mix passed away at 18 and he was a big old dog that grew up with our kitties in kittenhood and just grew attached to them. Then, a few years ago we got a sheep herding dog called a hungarian pulie because I'm hungarian haha. She is okay with cats but sometimes gets a bit impatient with them but then we got a kitten that she grew very attached to. If you want an older dog, go with a shelter dog to save a life or aspca and ask them about some of their dogs that go good with cats and they should tell you or recommend an age or breed. Good luck!

Fellow animal lover and cat mom