PLease oh Please I need your help!!!!!

We just adopted our springer spaniel 3 weeks ago, through a rescue group and they accept donations ONLY, they made it real clear there were no fees, ever. He is also a rescue dog forever, if we can't keep him, he goes back to them. There are good rescue groups out there.
We also have three cats and Fergus has been chasing them. He's a dog. He is much larger than them, so he could hurt them in his excitement. We have fenced off the litter box/food area. He is crate trained and is in there when we go away, until he proves himself trustworthy. He is gated in next to our bed at night, he gets excited when he hears the cats running at night. After three weeks, he is not so excited by the cats, unless they run. Sam is running just to make him give chase, so it's now a game. Clio, sweet thing, keeps trying to lick and groom him and he is still a bit rough for her, but she lets him know it. Pru our stray/feral has not let him see her yet. That's another issue, it's just going to take time.

I agree with the others who think you may want to give it more time. Do a slow re-introduction. Be watchful, careful and be firm with the dog that chasing and hurting cats is unacceptable. Good luck, you sound worn out with worry. I hope it gets better.
~Rhonda

Originally Posted by Leto86

Using a crate for punishment isn't really a good thing.

If ever one ever needed to transport the dog in a crate, the poor thing would be wondering why it's being punished.

Now, I'm not saying it shouldn't be crate trained. Every dog should be traiend that his crate is a wonderful place to go. My dogs love their crates, sleep in them all the time on their own will. The door is NEVER shut on either of them.
it's their own excape, where they can go to get away from us whenever they want. their room.

When my dog started chasing the cats, I was recommended to put him on a leash at all times. And either keep the dog with you, or just near you, so when the dog would go after the cat, you could grab the leash and reprimand him. A firm NO should do it.
Treats around the cats when he'e behaving will teach him that he'll get yummies when he doesn't chase them.


I would never recommend anyone to ever use a crate as a punishment.

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I don't like that idea either, my "grandpuppy" also has a crate that he can go in whenever he wants, they bring it to my house sometimes when I am puppy sitting but I never use it.

Originally Posted by freebird

I've had this happen before with adopted pets. believe it or not-find the yorkie's favorite treat. give him his own toy box and toys. he also needs a wire cage his size-hence-doggy jail. every time he chases kitty he goes to jail. even cover the cage if necessary so he knows it is punishment. when released give him a treat and call him a good boy. no chase kitty. it does work-just takes time but it will be worth all the love they give you and hoepfully each other.

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Eeeek! Sorry to say this, but this isn't the soundest of advice in training a dog. Crates are to remain a POSITIVE aspect of a dog's training, at all times! Dogs are den animals, and their crate needs to be treated like a sanctuary...like the dog's own safe little corner of the universe.

This puppy needs to be physically separated from the kitties for quite a while, with short, planned, and supervised meetings with the cats, after a couple of weeks. In the meantime, the puppy needs to learn some basic obedience training through the use of positive reinforcement.

training a dog not to chase cats is very easy to do, and if you've only had him 4 days, you have not given him nearly enough time to get situated and adjusted. Keep him leash to you when he is not crated, and keep him crated when you are away or sleeping. If he makes a lunge for the cats, give a quick verbal correction and redirect his attention elsewhere. When he is calmly in the same room as a cat and makes to attempt to chase, give him a treat, and make sure he knows what he's doing is good. I have several cats who could beat the snot out of a yorkie, and have tried to beat the snot out of my golden retriever. Cats are pretty smart. Make sure they have a safe place to go, preferably high up, like a tall kitty condo. Give the cats a lot of free time without the dog, and I'm sure they will learn to live with each other.

That's alot of money, and I've put alot of research and time into finding the right dog..

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If you had put in a lot of time and research, you would not be stuck with a dog who doesn't like cats.

Originally Posted by freebird

I've had this happen before with adopted pets. believe it or not-find the yorkie's favorite treat. give him his own toy box and toys. he also needs a wire cage his size-hence-doggy jail. every time he chases kitty he goes to jail. even cover the cage if necessary so he knows it is punishment. when released give him a treat and call him a good boy. no chase kitty. it does work-just takes time but it will be worth all the love they give you and hoepfully each other.

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Not the soundest advice, but not horrible either. A crate should never be used as punishment, but there is nothing wrong with crating a dog that you cannot keep an eye on 24/7. But the treating idea is a good one, if the dog is food motivated. When dog is good, such as can touch noses with kitty and not bark or chase, he gets a treat. A wire cage is a good idea though, because the dog can be in it, and hopefully the cats will feel safe anough to come out and investigate, but the dog is safely behind bars.

A Yorkie may be small, but it is still a TERRIER and they go after cats, period. You have gotten some good advice (except for crating the dog, which was NOT good advice for the reasons already stated).

I really wonder about this crappy rescue. Normally they do home visits AND temperament test the dog. If they were decent they would have told you whether this particular dog was ok with cats. And for that amount of money you would think they were legit but to me they sounds fishy.

Good luck training him not to regard the cats as vermin, but you might try adopting him out on your own.

I am truly sorry if I have offended a few of you, but i had a maltese, a yorkie as well as a long haired chichi. they had their crate for going bye bye, their crates for sleep overs at friends or relatives and their crate for "jail". believe me-they knew the difference in them. they knew which crate for was what. they were always loose on the floor in our home. treats, time outs and intereactive play taught all my pets, including a guinea pig at that time to play together successfully just as i have recently taught our ferret to play with each of our 3 kitties and turtle. love and patience goes a long way. when my daughter moved in last october, she has a kitty that has only known her as a human other than the meanie man who mistreated her. this kitty is also half wild bobcat, and had to learn to interact with my 2 kitties and turtle. my kitties and turtle had to learn to interact with her kitty and ferret. all is successful and happy. just lots of patience, lots of love, lots of interactive play and a few time outs with the word no works.

Wow - that is really tough - IMO if they didn't know how he was with cats (most rescue places DO find that out before they let the animal go to a new home), they should have NEVER let you adopt him.

I would go back to the place and tell them about their lack of knowledge of liking cats and that you informed the rescue you had cats. Since it was their fault for NOT pre-testing the animal, perhaps they might consider 1/2 of the price as a refund to you. Don't ask for all of it, but suggest you get 1/2 your money back and they should be sure to test all animals for compatability to other pets or children.

If they were not sure if the dog got along with kids and you took the dog home and it bit your child, would they take the dog back and refund money?

I feel you both were at fault - them for not testing before, and you for adopting not knowing if the dog liked cats. If I adopted a dog, I would be darn sure the dog was cat safe - no question.

Freebird it is not about offending anyone, it is about giving advice to the OP that has some solid basis in dog training. There is no legitimate reason for "time outs" for dogs because canines do not reflect on their actions the way that humans do.
Ditto that crates are supposed to be a "safe place" and not a place for "punishment". It may be that you have been lucky in that you have had dogs that do well despite these "training methods" but it is only fair to the OP to point out that most people who have any experience with dogs woudl strongly advise against it.

I read the situation to my husband - he says legally you are out the money as you did sign the contract.

But if you really do not want the dog, then you can rehome the yorkie yourself and try to get most of the money back. Many people are looking to adopt a smaller dog but at least you know the dog doesn't like cats and can inform the new owner.


Maybe the rescue group you got the dog from would consider taking the dog back and you picking out one that gets along better with cats?

Originally Posted by 2dogmom

Freebird it is not about offending anyone, it is about giving advice to the OP that has some solid basis in dog training. There is no legitimate reason for "time outs" for dogs because canines do not reflect on their actions the way that humans do.
Ditto that crates are supposed to be a "safe place" and not a place for "punishment". It may be that you have been lucky in that you have had dogs that do well despite these "training methods" but it is only fair to the OP to point out that most people who have any experience with dogs woudl strongly advise against it.

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Crate for punishment? Never, ever, ever.

I think what you're saying, freebird, is that you had a separate crate for this? I'm sure that's why your dogs could make a distinction, but it's still a stretch. Crates are safe havens, a place to feel secure, never a tool used for discipline.

Sadly, many people do view them this way, and don't realise the damage they are doing. You are fortunate that your dogs were obviously well cared for enough that it didn't damage their behaviour further. And also fortunate that you at least had the foresight to use a separate crate for punishment, which allowed them to make some kind of distinction, even if this isn't a good method.