oh dear we just adopted a basset hound!!

abbycats

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My husband loves dogs and somebody in my town had a 1 year old pure blood basset hound they were giving away. Mind you we live in a very small town and he definatley is not a cross breed dog. I will post pics asap. The women who had him ran a day care and he was too rambuncious for the little children. He was raised with cats.

I am not a dog person at all. My husband is. My cats are very very very upset! One cat already tuned him up. He is really still in a puppy stage even at 1 years old. I pray that my cats still love me after this.......We have a huge fenced yard that only a dog could love. I hope this is not a stressful experience!!

Dog owners please help me through this! I haven't had a dog since I was a kid! I am a cat lady....

Will my cats eventually get along with the dog? He is a nice dog but still hyper. I want my harmony back with my cats asap.....

awww he just curled up with my husband to sleep for the night!
 

pipersjo

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Awwww, Bassett's are cute! I'll have to look for those pics! I don't have any advice about the kitties, just time. I just brought home a puppy and he is a handful too-- the kitties are not particularly thrilled either!
 

snosrap5

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We have a basset hound and I don't think she has a hyper bone in her body!
She is food and bedtime motivated. Meaning she only moves if it's for food or I tell her I'm going to bed.


They cats may never like her but they will learn to tolerate the dog. Just make sure the cats have one room where they can go and the dog can't. Use a baby gate across a doorway. That way the cats know it's a dog free zone.

Good luck and I can't wait for pictures.
 

momofmany

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I also used baby gates for a while with our dogs when they were puppies. They had the run of the kitchen, back porch and bathroom (all tiled floors). I put a cat tree in the kitchen so that if the cats were in there, they had a place to look down at the puppies. Cats feel superior when they can look down on something.

Eventually the animosity will work itself out, but in the mean time, set boundaries for the dog and make sure the cats have plenty of places that are still their own.

And in general, I've found that hound dogs leave cats alone. Herding dogs on the other hand can annoy a cat for years.
 

lauracatlover

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I haven't had a dog before


But when my friend got her first dog (a staffie) her cats weren't at all happy. A few months later (not saying that yours is gonna take that long
) they are all a happy fur family


By the way, what's this new little fuzzies name?!
 

miagi's_mommy

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Congratulations!
Basset hounds are awesome! I wouldn't leave her alone with the cats until you know she's good with them. She probably won't hurt them, just chase them in her houndy way.
I hope you're gonna post pictures.
We had a basset hound/beagle mix named Buddy growing up he was the best dog ever. I love bassets.
 
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abbycats

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Thank you for your words of wisdom!! The baby gates are great idea!!! I am so dumb to dogs. I was raised with them but my whole adult life has been cats. The dogs name is Flash and he still acts like a puppy. He just turned one year old in Dec. I will get photos asap I still have to get pics of my shelter cat I adopted xmas eve. We have an old fashioned camera and I have to get a digital. I just got my five year gift card from work and I was going to buy a camera with that.

I don't think the previous owners worked with Flash to much and the woman ran a day care and Flash would get excited and jump on the kids. He means no harm he is just starving for attention. He was raised with cats. He wants to play with the cats in doggy way and they are totally freaked out. He wants to chase them down and sniff them. Last night my stray rescue cat tuned him up and he keeps his distance from him. Flash is full of love and kisses.

Right now he is in the back yard. We have a corner lot which is totally fenced in and he has lots of yard to play in.
When he went outside the cats returned to business as usual this morning.

Oops I think Flash is on the deck looking in the house cause the cats are hissing and running again! This is going to be an experience
 

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If you haven't had a dog in your adult life, then I highly suggest that you take him to an obedience trainer. Find one who's philosophy is to train the owner more so than the dog, and preferably one that teaches about nothing in life is free. A dog is motivated to please those that they respect as their superiors. By teaching yourself on how to control the dog, you gain the dogs respect, therefore controlling him around the cats. A lot of trainers simply teach the basic sit/stay/down/heal commands. You want something more than this.

After a bit of work, my dogs now ask my permission to join me on the sofa, and in particular, when there is a cat on the sofa with me. I don't want my dogs to ever push a cat around, and I also want them to understand that the cats come before them. A dog can be an absolute joy to live with, once you've gained their respect.

My vet came out to vaccinate all of my cats right before Christmas. She stayed for dinner so witnessed feeding time at the house. I put 10 cat food bowls around, many of them on the floor right in front of the dogs. The dogs lie quietly while the cats eat their fill, then continue to lie there until I release them thru my special command ("puppy time"). The vet watched the dogs in complete fascination, and was even more amazed when I asked her to give the release command. She did, and they jumped up, ran to the bowls and licked them clean. The dogs are then fed. As a long term vet, she said she had never seen such well behaved dogs in her life.

All this is very easy to do if you teach yourself the tricks.
 
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abbycats

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My husband was a dog person before he met me and trained his dogs. His dogs used to sit right at the kitchen door and not cross the line until dinner was over and then they were given the ok to come in the kitchen. I'm going to take his lead in training the dog. I think obedience school is a great idea. I don't think I will find a good school with in many miles from where I live. I am hundreds of miles away from a metro city.

Momofmany- I would love Flash to behave like your dog!
 

momofmany

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Originally Posted by abbycats

My husband was a dog person before he met me and trained his dogs. His dogs used to sit right at the kitchen door and not cross the line until dinner was over and then they were given the ok to come in the kitchen. I'm going to take his lead in training the dog. I think obedience school is a great idea. I don't think I will find a good school with in many miles from where I live. I am hundreds of miles away from a metro city.

Momofmany- I would love Flash to behave like your dog!
If your husband has the knowledge to train a dog like you are describing, then Flash will get there in no time. That's exactly how we started with our dogs (put them in the other room and wouldn't let them cross the line).

The nothing in life is free approach to dogs is to not allow them to do things unless they work for it first. It's simple things like making them sit before you take them for a walk. It's sitting on the other side of the door before you let them lick the crumbs from a cat food bowl. Keep that in your mind at all times and you'll be OK.

You might just turn into a dog person! I love my dogs as much as I love my cats. I know, sacrilege!
 
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abbycats

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We took Flash for a long walk today and my husband was teaching him walk right on a leash. Flash came in tonight to watch tv with us. We had him on a leash so he couldn't run and over power my cats. They felt more comfortable with that. I'm not going to let him chase the cats all over the house and make them scared. Flash is upstairs in his own bedroom sleeping on a king size bed! Each time he progresses forward he will get more privilages in the house. Flash was on a leash when he came in the house and a boundry was set. The cats didn't get as upset as they did last night. We had a very poor introduction yesterday. What is worrying me is Flash is not eating. The previous owners sent us home with old roy food and he won't eat it. We bought him chicken soup for the dog lovers soul and he still is not eating much. Flash is on the skinny side and needs weight put on him. Poor little guy has been through so much in 24 hours.
 
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abbycats

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Bless his heart he really wants to run crazy in the house. My husband is so happy to have a dog and I am so dumb when it comes to dogs. I love all animals but you just can't take the cat out of a cat lady!!!

This is day 2 of being a dog owner! I am letting my husband take charge of the dog so I don't undo anything he is trying to teach him. I am watching and learning.

Last night was a nice experience with the dog curled up on the couch sleeping next to DH.
 

momofmany

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Originally Posted by abbycats

Each time he progresses forward he will get more privilages in the house.
That is the absolute perfect philosophy to take with him! Nothing in life is free.

Dogs worm their way into your hearts in a different way than cats. I can't wait to see the first pics of you with both a dog and a cat in you lap at the same time. It will happen you know.....
 
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abbycats

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Originally Posted by Momofmany

That is the absolute perfect philosophy to take with him! Nothing in life is free.

Dogs worm their way into your hearts in a different way than cats. I can't wait to see the first pics of you with both a dog and a cat in you lap at the same time. It will happen you know.....
We took Flash for a ride in the truck out to the country and took him for a walk. He was so good! Since he has the hound in him he tracked down scents and found 2 deer carcasses. For me it was an amazing experience watching him. Flash is really bonding to his dad and I love watching it. This is such a new experience for me and I am totally loving it!

I told DH this is just leverage for my next cat! I'm am just teasing but ya never know!!!!!!
 

mrblanche

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Originally Posted by Persi & Alley

Most Bassett Hounds are called Fred. How about yours?
I thought they were all named Cleo.

Or am I showing my age there?
 

valanhb

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Congratulations! Dogs are so different than cats, but they grab a piece of your heart just the same.


I knew there was a famous Basset named Flash, and I was right! Roscoe P. Coltrane's Basset Hound in The Dukes of Hazzard was named Flash.
 

MoochNNoodles

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Originally Posted by snosrap5

We have a basset hound and I don't think she has a hyper bone in her body!
She is food and bedtime motivated. Meaning she only moves if it's for food or I tell her I'm going to bed.


They cats may never like her but they will learn to tolerate the dog. Just make sure the cats have one room where they can go and the dog can't. Use a baby gate across a doorway. That way the cats know it's a dog free zone.

Good luck and I can't wait for pictures.
We used gates to give the cats spaces of their own when we've introduced new dogs or cats to the house.

My best friend had a basset and he was just the sweetest dog! I remember her cracking up once because Toby had a sudden spurt of energy and ran around the house about twice then laid down again. He was great with kids too.
 
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