Dog wont leave new cat alone....

terestrife

terestrife

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Ive introduced my new cat Elsa, who is a street cat, and is very afraid in the new environment. She is getting along with my cat Kitty, and even tries to engage her in play. lol No hissing, or growling at each other at all.

However, my brother has an American bulldog. The dog is big, and my cat Kitty had to basically scratch him a week after i adopted her, to teach him to leave her alone. This is the one and only time my cat Kitty has ever scratched anyone.

They are now best friends. But he is now showing the same behavior to Elsa. He follows her, hyperventilating, and slobbering all over himself. Its all i can do to keep myself from kicking him.
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terestrife

terestrife

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tulosai said:
 
How did you initially introduce them?

In any case, my strong recommendation would be that you start introductions over, following the steps outlined in this article:  http://www.thecatsite.com/a/introducing-cats-to-dogs

Be sure to take your time at each step and wait until BOTH are ready before you move onto the next step.

Good luck and congrats on your new addition!
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What I did was that we kept her in a room and they could smell each other through the door. We did this for a couple of weeks. Then I started opening the door and not allowing the dog inside, but just letting them see each other.

Now we let the cat come out, and i had hoped he would be used to her. But he is still obsessed with her.

I will try the scent swamp that i read about in that article, thanks! Not sure it will work since he is so obsessed with her, i doubt he will let it go until she lets him sniff her.
 
kntrygrl256

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I have that problem except it's my cats that aggravate the dog.

My boyfriend just moved in with his dog (Blue Heeler) and since my cats have had the run of the house they don't like him being there, the dog not the bf.  He is a typical dog and will jump at them but he is also very well mannered and will listen when called down. The problem is that I have an "Alpha" female and "Alpha" male cat that keeps antagonizing him.

This has been going on for 3 weeks, but is getting some-what better. Good luck! 
 
sparrowhawk

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It's not ideal, and you definitely need to make sure Elsa doesn't "blow up" when she finally has had enough, but the dog may always bother her until Elsa scratches his nose herself. Dogs and Cats communicate differently. A cat slapping another cat with a hiss, even with no claws, the receiving cat knows, "he's annoyed, i should back off." But dogs growl at each other (and owners) even in friendly play as part of the "game." The dog might be seeing the hiss with a slap that doesn't actually inflict any real pain as play. Dogs give true warnings through "nips" - and a single scratch on the nose will be Elsa's equivalent.

I at one point also had an American Bulldog and cat. The irony was at first the dog bothered the cat, but later on it became reversed. The cat loved pouncing on the dog or batting her nose when she was asleep and then running and jumping somewhere the dog couldn't reach and taunting her (actually, about the time the situations flipped, I had obviously been scolding the dog for bothering the cat. Well, the second time I ever saw the cat initiate it, Terra (my dog) was asleep on the couch and the cat (without claws) bopped her nose and made a bee-line behind me and just looked at the dog like "what you gonna do now? nah nah nah =P....I blew my cat's mind that day. Terra would never hurt a fly, even angry, so as Terra approached I just side stepped and let her catch my cat, which really caught her off guard. Once Terra had her, I quickly intervened before one of them got hurt, but I wanted my cat to know I wasn't going to punish the dog for reacting to being antagonized and taunted). It worked pretty well, and after a few more weeks they even began sleeping together - but that was after they went through a few spats and learned each others' "Don't go there!" boundaries. But if Elsa never makes it CRYSTAL clear what is unacceptable...dog's aren't exactly known for "taking a hint"...
 
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terestrife

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Sparrowhawk said:
 
It's not ideal, and you definitely need to make sure Elsa doesn't "blow up" when she finally has had enough, but the dog may always bother her until Elsa scratches his nose herself. Dogs and Cats communicate differently. A cat slapping another cat with a hiss, even with no claws, the receiving cat knows, "he's annoyed, i should back off." But dogs growl at each other (and owners) even in friendly play as part of the "game." The dog might be seeing the hiss with a slap that doesn't actually inflict any real pain as play. Dogs give true warnings through "nips" - and a single scratch on the nose will be Elsa's equivalent.

I at one point also had an American Bulldog and cat. The irony was at first the dog bothered the cat, but later on it became reversed. The cat loved pouncing on the dog or batting her nose when she was asleep and then running and jumping somewhere the dog couldn't reach and taunting her (actually, about the time the situations flipped, I had obviously been scolding the dog for bothering the cat. Well, the second time I ever saw the cat initiate it, Terra (my dog) was asleep on the couch and the cat (without claws) bopped her nose and made a bee-line behind me and just looked at the dog like "what you gonna do now? nah nah nah =P....I blew my cat's mind that day. Terra would never hurt a fly, even angry, so as Terra approached I just side stepped and let her catch my cat, which really caught her off guard. Once Terra had her, I quickly intervened before one of them got hurt, but I wanted my cat to know I wasn't going to punish the dog for reacting to being antagonized and taunted). It worked pretty well, and after a few more weeks they even began sleeping together - but that was after they went through a few spats and learned each others' "Don't go there!" boundaries. But if Elsa never makes it CRYSTAL clear what is unacceptable...dog's aren't exactly known for "taking a hint"...
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I think this is very true. Elsa is becoming braver and coming around the house, but she still hates the dogs. She hisses at a smaller dog we have and he immediately walks away. She is starting to accept him more, and can even handle him sitting near her.

But the american bulldog is still obsessed with her, he stares at her obsessively. We tell him to leave Elsa alone, but i think the only way to get him to back off, is for Elsa to make him back off. Im cutting her nails every two weeks, because ive heard of cats blinding dogs, and i dont actually want him seriously hurt. Just a scratch for him to learn to back off, like Kitty gave him.

Kitty plays with him now too, she sees his tail and she will try to grab it. She has even jumped on his back and played with him. Im hoping Elsa ends up loving him too.
 
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