Which dogs would be good with cats

New to this site so I hope you can offer some advice. We recently had to put our 14yr old dog Kaylee to sleep. Our one cat (male) named SnickerDoodles was her best friend. They slept together, played together and had to have their behinds touching each other when they lay on the floor. Snickers is just lost now without her. He will walk past Kaylee's crate and pick up the blanket looking for her. We're planning on getting a new dog in the Spring/Summer (  I have to go in for cataract surgery in April and can't bend down for 2 weeks per eye LOL) so the earliest would be May/June before we could get a new dog. What breed (s) can you suggest would go well with cats. We also have another cat who pretty much stays to herself, doesn't even interact with Snickers and didn't fare too well with Kaylee either, they just kept their distance from each other. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

That is sad to read about Kaylee.  I know you miss her.

As to the type of dog to get for your Snickers--I do not really know what to suggest.  Even if you get the same breed as Kaylee, the dog's personality can be totally different.

We have a Yorkshire Terrier/Pug mix that we are dog-sitting for our God-daughter.  He is small, perhaps weighing 8 lbs. at best as a 6 year old adult.  He really does not care for our cats, but he knows better than to say one word, or raise one lip in a threatening way.  When we first got the kittens I have referred to elsewhere, when we put them on our bed, Yorkie started growling at them, then he looked around at my husband and I, and he choked on his growls in mid-growl and swallowed them when he saw our faces.  We did not have to say a word.  One look was all it took.

Now, Shadow, the small, all black young teen, thinks Yorkie is his big brother, or another cat at the least, and want to rub on him, play with him and tease him.  Yorkie has been very patient so far.  But he enjoys getting away from them.  Brightspot, the larger litter-mate prefers to stay away from Yorkie.

Good luck with your search.

So sorry about Kaylee. 

As you probably know, any dog can be great with cats, no matter what breed. It partially matters how it was socialized (or if it was socialized) as a puppy. If you're getting a puppy, then it's your responsibility to socialize it slowly and very well (slow introductions) with the cats before doing eye-to-eye introductions (here's an article that discusses dog-cat intros: http://www.thecatsite.com/a/introducing-cats-to-dogs).

But don't be fooled- adult dogs from animal shelters that have not been socialized with cats in the past CAN still get along perfectly with them and even learn to love them. Patience is the key- lots of scent-swapping is required for a smooth introduction. We adopted our Golden Retriever Schwanli from a shelter when she was 2 years old. Her previous owner said that she "barked" and "growled" at all cats, but we decided to take her home anyways because of her sweet and soft personality.

2 weeks later, after copious scent-swapping sessions, we did our first introductions (I had Schwanli on a leash and the cats were free roaming) and Schwanli was perfectly calm (because she was used to the cats' scent). She didn't show any signs of aggressive behavior that her previous owner had described. I made sure to carefully socialize them for the first couple days and now she and Lenya, my female cat, are inseparable. Schwanli and Barli pretty much ignore each other.

People tend to stay away from the sighthound group (greyhounds, whippets, Salukis, etc.) but they can be socialized to get along with cats. There are some myths going around that small dogs (Chihuahuas, shih tzus, dachshunds, etc.) are better with cats, but it's not always true.

Karen

I'm so sorry for your loss. I'm sure Kaylee had a wonderful life with you and is waiting for you at the bridge. 

Any breed of dog will be great with cats. I would avoid sighthounds, like greyhounds or whippets, because they tend to have extremely high prey drives and view cats as something to chase, other than that, you should be fine.

I would encourage you to rescue an older dog that is socialized with cats from your area animal shelter, because it will make your life easier, but I have successfully socialized my youngest dog with Porter and Jet used to think that cats were something to chase. So far, he and Porter seem to have found a mutual respect. They can be in the same room and both act normally. Porter is still unsure of my yellow lab. Lexi is a big dog. She's the biggest Lab I've ever had. I think her size scares Porter a bit, so I think for the sake of your cat, you might want to get a dog that is similar to the size that Kaylee was. 

I would stay away from the hunting breeds too, unless you start with a very young puppy around the older cats, he'll learn respect then! Almost all dogs can be trained to get along with cats, make sure you keep an older one on a leash though (Even inside) until you know for sure. Good luck and keep us posted!

My dogs are Labradors. They are bred to be hunting dogs. Jet, the one I mentioned socializing with Porter, in particular, has a really high prey drive and would be excellent at retrieving water fowl. It's too bad he isn't an AKC registered dog, because I could do hunting trials with him and he would love it. He has near perfect recall (meaning he comes when I call him, every single time I call him), even if he's got his sights set on a bird that he wants to chase. So, naturally, Jet was incredibly interested in Porter. I let him sniff Porter until I could tell that Porter was done with it. Then I told Jet to "leave it." and Jet walked away so that Porter could go back to grooming himself in peace. I did not have to tell Jet twice. All hunting dogs are not created equal. There are a variety of different kinds of hunting dogs, and some dogs that people don't realize are hunting breeds at all. 

Obedience training can make all of the difference in the world with any breed as long as you're dedicated to doing it, especially if you don't want to start with a puppy and none of my 3 Labs were with me as puppies. Jet was 6 months old when I adopted him, Lexi was 6 years old and Jazz was 11. All three of them, leave Porter alone when I tell them to. You really can do anything with a dog that you want to do, as long as you are consistent and persistent. 

Puppies are great, but there are times when it's easier to correct poor behaviors, than it is to teach new ones. Puppies are not for everyone. They are a lot of work and will require their new owners to take 3 weeks off of work to set the foundation for potty training, which, if done properly, means you're waking up every two hours for at least the first week of your puppy coming home, until they sleep through the night. It's like having a newborn baby at home. Rescuing an unwanted adult dog that is socialized with cats can be a lot simpler. I find that when I rescue a dog, one obedience class is all that it takes for me to build a very strong bond with them and to correct any poor behaviors left behind by previous owners. It really depends on how much patience the OP has for a puppy and also for Snickerdoodles too. If Snickerdoodles is an older cat, a puppy might not be appropriate at all. Puppies are obnoxious and elderly cats might not be able to handle that kind of annoyance gracefully. 

One breed I. Can say with 100% confidence would be the Bouvier. They would never raise a threatening paw to a fly. I had a Bouvier puppy who was about five months old (probably the size of a small lab at that age) in one of my classes with a month-old pug puppy (who probably weighed less than a pound) and that Bouvier was so gentle with that rambunctious little pug, it was precious. That pug would climb all over him, growling and jumping and nipping while playing. The bouvier would open his mouth, put the entire pug in his mouth, and never close it even a little bit. They were both puppies so they associated play with having their mouths open like that. One bite, that pug would have been food, but the bouvier just laid back and took it, realizing that the pug was so much more fragile than he was.

The bouvier would also be more gentle with kids. If a kid came around and wanted to pet him, the bouvier would lick and lay down and keep his head down, even when this one little brat started pulling on his ears.

We had cat adoptions at the store and we'd get some cats who were not okay with dogs. This bouvier was curious and gentle with all of them. When they started hissing, he was more or less aloof about ot. Like, "Oh, you sound mad. I'll leave you alone."

Sorry to hear about your dog kaylee its always hard to lose a friend. My dog zak is a labrador and I really believe he thinks he is a cat, he's so gentle with any cat he meets grooming them, sleeping with them and even playing. Even though he will do all of this with cats he is respctful of their space and will always wait for the cat to make the first move. He has such a gentle nature that other dogs are to bouncy for him in general though he has some doggy friends he couldn't live with another dog (he's to much of a mummies boy to share his playtime with another dog). He didn't meet a cat until he's was almost two so it is possible that with the right introduction a adult dog can adapt to living with a cat.