We need your help with a cat aggressive dog!

catsknowme · May 31, 2008

Do you have any access to the Dog Whisperer training DVDs? The "hug" is definitely out, as that allows him to advance one "rung" up on the hierarchy ladder among the 'pack'. My RB dog, Tasha, was given to me because she killed a cat (my friend's landlord's cat, in front of their children) and I was able to break of that habit- she went on to help raise 2 litters of orphaned kittens. But I had to first make Tasha realize that in the pack level, she was subservient to the rest of us. I had to discontinue giving her scraps at first (the K9 cops told me that bit of advice - it's kibble or bread only for the K9 dogs, to keep them mentally in their place) and make her follow me, and have good trail manners. It sounds harsh, but they have dog-brains and don't think like we do - in fact, recent studies show that the animals whose emotional centers are closest to ours are CATS!! No surprise to those of us here, but, it does make it easier to understand why dogs do best in a healthy and balanced "pack" mentality.

lmunsie · Jun 1, 2008

I know every dog is different, but my old riding coach always had great danes, many from puppies and many rescued, and although they were somewhat chase driven (they all went to obedience and they were very easy to stop) they would NEVER harm a cat. After they got swatted once or twice in the face out of curiousity they never showed any interest in hurting the cats, and the barn cats would even rub themselves around their legs etc.

My dog at home is also VERY prey driven, we had cats when we adopted her so she learned that they ruled the house, then we lost them, and she was without cats for two years. When my parents got another kitty we followed the introduction steps for two weeks (dog on leash in a down...... let the cat loose etc.) and she got used to the cat and respected her very quickly. We don't worry about them at all.

If you can get the dog trained, and take it VERY slowly, my guess is you will have no trouble getting them to respect eachother.

Goodluck!

EnzoLeya · Jun 1, 2008

Originally Posted by catsknowme

Do you have any access to the Dog Whisperer training DVDs? The "hug" is definitely out, as that allows him to advance one "rung" up on the hierarchy ladder among the 'pack'. My RB dog, Tasha, was given to me because she killed a cat (my friend's landlord's cat, in front of their children) and I was able to break of that habit- she went on to help raise 2 litters of orphaned kittens. But I had to first make Tasha realize that in the pack level, she was subservient to the rest of us. I had to discontinue giving her scraps at first (the K9 cops told me that bit of advice - it's kibble or bread only for the K9 dogs, to keep them mentally in their place) and make her follow me, and have good trail manners. It sounds harsh, but they have dog-brains and don't think like we do - in fact, recent studies show that the animals whose emotional centers are closest to ours are CATS!! No surprise to those of us here, but, it does make it easier to understand why dogs do best in a healthy and balanced "pack" mentality.

Thanks for all the info! I'll have to keep that in mind and tell mom about it! We've never had a large breed dog, so things are very different! As in, behavior problems are much more serious!

I don't ever give Thor table scraps because I HATE dogs that beg whenever you try to eat! I'm so happy to hear that I'm right and that feeding table scraps is actually bad for their mentality.

Originally Posted by lmunsie

I know every dog is different, but my old riding coach always had great danes, many from puppies and many rescued, and although they were somewhat chase driven (they all went to obedience and they were very easy to stop) they would NEVER harm a cat. After they got swatted once or twice in the face out of curiousity they never showed any interest in hurting the cats, and the barn cats would even rub themselves around their legs etc.

My dog at home is also VERY prey driven, we had cats when we adopted her so she learned that they ruled the house, then we lost them, and she was without cats for two years. When my parents got another kitty we followed the introduction steps for two weeks (dog on leash in a down...... let the cat loose etc.) and she got used to the cat and respected her very quickly. We don't worry about them at all.

If you can get the dog trained, and take it VERY slowly, my guess is you will have no trouble getting them to respect eachother.

Goodluck!

It's good to know there's a chance we can fix him!!!

EnzoLeya · Jun 1, 2008

Mom called today to tell me about Onyx meeting a CAT!!!!

She took him out to the farm and one of the farm cats walked right up to him. She said Onyx got excited and sniffed her for awhile. Then when she was walking away he nipped at her tail playfully? She wasn't sure.

white cat lover · Jun 1, 2008

With his size, that might be the issue. Play could be all it is, & he ends up crushing them.

EnzoLeya · Jun 1, 2008

Originally Posted by white cat lover

With his size, that might be the issue. Play could be all it is, & he ends up crushing them.

That's what I wondered.

I told her she needs to work on him learning that cats aren't for playing with. I think it is very do-able because he is so willing to do anything for you. It can't be much harder than teaching a cat that the rats aren't for playing with!

sweet72947 · Jun 2, 2008

Great Danes are a guardian breed, and in the distant past they were also used for hunting. Here is a link:http://www.5stardog.com/dog-breeds-great-dane.asp

I would not try to train prey drive out of a dog. I don't think its fair to the dog to punish them for something that is instinct. I have a small dog who is quite prey driven, and I am not going to try to teach him that the cats are Friends not Food because he is a terrier, hunting is what they do. I just keep him seperated from them. You can't train out prey drive anyway; you can manage it so that your dog doesn't drag you after squirrels on walks, but you can't make it go away completely.

I always wonder why people ask how to train a dog not to hunt. Nobody asks how to train a cat not to kill a mouse.

lele · Jun 2, 2008

I have two in door great danes (male female, neutered and spayed). They are very friendly but very large and heavy. I have never seen agression with my three cats at all. Even with that said I would never leave them unattended in the house together without supervision. My danes are crate trained for their safety and for the safety of the cats. A bored dane can be a destructive dane even if they have never chewed in the past. The main concern with other animals is that their play can be hurtful or even deadly even without it being aggressive. You should see when these guys get the zoomies. They will take down everything in their pathes which could include injuring or killing a cat if this happened when you were not home. Supervision is key. Good Luck they are a excellent fun breed an a great conversation piece when you take walks. haha

EnzoLeya · Jun 2, 2008

Originally Posted by Sweet72947

Great Danes are a guardian breed, and in the distant past they were also used for hunting. Here is a link:http://www.5stardog.com/dog-breeds-great-dane.asp

I would not try to train prey drive out of a dog. I don't think its fair to the dog to punish them for something that is instinct. I have a small dog who is quite prey driven, and I am not going to try to teach him that the cats are Friends not Food because he is a terrier, hunting is what they do. I just keep him seperated from them. You can't train out prey drive anyway; you can manage it so that your dog doesn't drag you after squirrels on walks, but you can't make it go away completely.

I always wonder why people ask how to train a dog not to hunt. Nobody asks how to train a cat not to kill a mouse.

Hey I've got two rats that I let loose and the cats know not to kill them!

My mom also has a fox terrier who has done a great job controlling his prey drive. Mom hatches all sorts of baby chicks, turkeys, etc. They can run loose along with the baby bunnies and he won't hurt any of them.

Originally Posted by lele

I have two in door great danes (male female, neutered and spayed). They are very friendly but very large and heavy. I have never seen agression with my three cats at all. Even with that said I would never leave them unattended in the house together without supervision. My danes are crate trained for their safety and for the safety of the cats. A bored dane can be a destructive dane even if they have never chewed in the past. The main concern with other animals is that their play can be hurtful or even deadly even without it being aggressive. You should see when these guys get the zoomies. They will take down everything in their pathes which could include injuring or killing a cat if this happened when you were not home. Supervision is key. Good Luck they are a excellent fun breed an a great conversation piece when you take walks. haha

Hey thanks for all the info! We LOVE him! They don't leave him out when they leave. He gets penned up. I took him, my little sister, and Thor to the dog park and we had a blast! He doesn't get to run off leash because we don't know if he'll come back. He ran and ran at he dog park! It was a lot of fun. He stuck with us, but I don't trust letting him loose outside of a fence. We haven't done it yet, but plan to let him run in the horse pasture some time. The horses have babies right now and might try to kill him right now! So we'll have wait a bit!

faith's_mom · Jun 3, 2008

These dogs were bred originally as hunting and war dogs, so there will definitely always be 'some' prey drive in them.

I hope that this dog has simply been 'misunderstood' by his former owners, because if you have never dealt with an aggressive dog, starting with one of his size is not the way to start...just my humble opinion here.

From another personal perspective as well, I would not be allowing this dog to simply 'take over' the house (ie letting him be loose most of the time, and cats locked up) this should be the other way around; kennel him when you are gone, or can't watch him fully, and let those cats remain the animal 'leaders' in the house. Set boundaries for this dog and do not allow him to cross them; and stop letting him hug you!!! That is an extremely dangerous 'trick' for such a large animal, and does nothing to help him understand where he stands in your relationship.

faith's_mom · Jun 3, 2008

Originally Posted by Sweet72947

Great Danes are a guardian breed, and in the distant past they were also used for hunting. Here is a link:http://www.5stardog.com/dog-breeds-great-dane.asp

I would not try to train prey drive out of a dog. I don't think its fair to the dog to punish them for something that is instinct. I have a small dog who is quite prey driven, and I am not going to try to teach him that the cats are Friends not Food because he is a terrier, hunting is what they do. I just keep him seperated from them. You can't train out prey drive anyway; you can manage it so that your dog doesn't drag you after squirrels on walks, but you can't make it go away completely.

I always wonder why people ask how to train a dog not to hunt. Nobody asks how to train a cat not to kill a mouse.

Keeping dogs and cats separated just because you don't feel like teaching a dog the simple command "leave it" just isn't fair to either the dog or the cats...why should the cats be locked up in a separate area all the time, and the dog have all the run of the home, and vice versa? If that's the case, no offense here, but with that logic no one should have cats and dogs in the same house, because dogs, no matter what breed are predators, and cats, if they run, will always be viewed as prey.

No you can't 'train prey drive' out of a dog, but you can teach him to follow your cues and commands inspite of what may have his attention; not only is that essential with an animal that wants to chase other pets, but it can also save his life should he see another 'prey animal' if he happens to be off lead, and want to chase it across a street...yes some dogs are more loving to cats, but others, even with training should never be left alone with them; however when we are with them we should be able to have voice control over them...either that, don't have both species, because what happens if a cat gets out of his 'area' and dog sees it first?

EnzoLeya · Jun 4, 2008

Originally Posted by faith's_mom

These dogs were bred originally as hunting and war dogs, so there will definitely always be 'some' prey drive in them.

I hope that this dog has simply been 'misunderstood' by his former owners, because if you have never dealt with an aggressive dog, starting with one of his size is not the way to start...just my humble opinion here.

From another personal perspective as well, I would not be allowing this dog to simply 'take over' the house (ie letting him be loose most of the time, and cats locked up) this should be the other way around; kennel him when you are gone, or can't watch him fully, and let those cats remain the animal 'leaders' in the house. Set boundaries for this dog and do not allow him to cross them; and stop letting him hug you!!! That is an extremely dangerous 'trick' for such a large animal, and does nothing to help him understand where he stands in your relationship.

The dog is locked up during the day and the cats are loose. They live in a bi-level house so if the cats are locked up they still get an entire floor to themselves. They aren't friendly cats, both were feral, and they like to hide all day. I hardly saw them before the dog was there!

They have also been working with him on a leash while the cats are loose. He's doing well. I think he just needs someone who will give him rules. It seemed like he didn't even know what no meant and he was always aloud to pull you on walks. Now he is healing and sitting when asked. And no more hugs!

2dogmom · Jun 4, 2008

Originally Posted by EnzoLeya

Like I said when I took him for a walk he was ok other than getting excited. He didn't run after the cats when they ran and I just kept telling him to heal and walk forward. He didn't turn around or anything and calmed down within seconds.

Originally Posted by EnzoLeya

She took him out to the farm and one of the farm cats walked right up to him. She said Onyx got excited and sniffed her for awhile. Then when she was walking away he nipped at her tail playfully? She wasn't sure.

There is nothing to suggest that this dog has a high prey drive. It may be that the parent breeds of the Great Dane hunted wild boar in the middle ages but that has nothing to do with how they have been bred for the past century. And this specific dog so far has shown interest in cats but has made no attempt to chase. I don't think its fair to the dog to assume that it has a high prey drive based on the parent breeds from more than a century ago.

EnzoLeya · Jun 4, 2008

Originally Posted by 2dogmom

There is nothing to suggest that this dog has a high prey drive. It may be that the parent breeds of the Great Dane hunted wild boar in the middle ages but that has nothing to do with how they have been bred for the past century. And this specific dog so far has shown interest in cats but has made no attempt to chase. I don't think its fair to the dog to assume that it has a high prey drive based on the parent breeds from more than a century ago.

Thank you. I feel like he would be safe with cats as long as he was supervised. Of course, right now he's still pretty new and we don't trust him entirely.

white cat lover · Jun 4, 2008

Originally Posted by 2dogmom

There is nothing to suggest that this dog has a high prey drive. It may be that the parent breeds of the Great Dane hunted wild boar in the middle ages but that has nothing to do with how they have been bred for the past century. And this specific dog so far has shown interest in cats but has made no attempt to chase. I don't think its fair to the dog to assume that it has a high prey drive based on the parent breeds from more than a century ago.

But caution is always a good idea. Because it only takes one false move to kill a cat. ( I found out the hard way once, some dogs don't chase cats on leash, but once off leash they're prey)

Just monitor him & keep working with him....you might find out once he is off-leash more & settled more you have issues with him/cats....or you might never have issues beyond the fact that he's a giant horse & the cats are so tiny!

2dogmom · Jun 4, 2008

Originally Posted by white cat lover

But caution is always a good idea. Because it only takes one false move to kill a cat.

Very true!

sweet72947 · Jun 4, 2008

Originally Posted by faith's_mom

Keeping dogs and cats separated just because you don't feel like teaching a dog the simple command "leave it" just isn't fair to either the dog or the cats...why should the cats be locked up in a separate area all the time, and the dog have all the run of the home, and vice versa? If that's the case, no offense here, but with that logic no one should have cats and dogs in the same house, because dogs, no matter what breed are predators, and cats, if they run, will always be viewed as prey.

No you can't 'train prey drive' out of a dog, but you can teach him to follow your cues and commands inspite of what may have his attention; not only is that essential with an animal that wants to chase other pets, but it can also save his life should he see another 'prey animal' if he happens to be off lead, and want to chase it across a street...yes some dogs are more loving to cats, but others, even with training should never be left alone with them; however when we are with them we should be able to have voice control over them...either that, don't have both species, because what happens if a cat gets out of his 'area' and dog sees it first?

Well, we had Siam and Ashten(RIP) before Benji, and once Benji was in the picture we didn't want to get rid of any of them. Siam doesn't really want to be around dogs anyway. Yes its true I can teach a dog to call off of prey, but it would be very unwise to have a prey-driven dog and a cat living in the same space together, regardless of how well the dog is trained. My cats aren't locked up in a room somewhere, they get the outdoors to play in, their room is the garage with a cat door.

What if the cat gets in the dog's space accidently? Well, that's happened before despite our precautions and what happened is Benji cornered Petey and Petey hissed and swatted him with his claws, and I grabbed Benji and shut him in the bathroom and then put Petey back outside. (When I move out though Petey is coming with me and Benji is staying with my parents, and Petey will be an indoor cat). Luckily Benji is only 5lbs heavier than Petey is. If Benji was a large dog, this would be much more difficult.

We need your help with a cat aggressive dog!

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