My cat is bullying my dog!

ktts

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I have a 12 year old bichon frise with low to moderate energy. He's neutered and the opposite of aggressive, to be honest he's probably more of a neurotic mess than anything. Lately though my 2 year old cat (also neutered) has been making the dog's life hell going out of his way to pick on the dog. He chases the dog out of rooms (or into them),pounces when he's asleep, and goes out of his way to slap at the dog whenever he passes by. At this point my dog cries whenever the cat is within 10 feet of him. I've read that a lot of cat bullying is precipitated by the dog not taking a hint but my dog has less than zero interest in the cat. If anything the cat has always shown more interest in wanting to groom or rub against the dog.

Medically both animals are perfectly healthy. Both animals have separate sleeping areas and separate feeding areas. They have free run all day of a large house. Both animals have a wide range of toys to interact with and receive about equal attention.

Whenever I notice bullying behavior I spray the cat with a water bottle while vocalizing a loud 'no'. This has had little effect. At this point I've taken to dropping my dog off at a neighbor's before I go to work to give him some stress relief but I am very concerned.

Does anyone have any advice for correcting this behavior? Generally my cat is a sweetheart and I love him a lot but I can't just let my dog get terrorized.
 

talkingpeanut

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Can you tell us a bit about how you play with your cat? He sounds like he might be bored.

I would also say that spraying him may have made things worse. Your cat can redirect his upset at the dog. He may also see it as you taking aggression out on him. Instead, I would distract your cat with a toy. Something more appropriate to hunt.
 

Columbine

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Hi, and welcome to TCS :wavey:

It sounds to me like your cat is bored, and has discovered that your dog makes the most wonderful plaything. The best way to tackle this is to give your cat a positive outlet for his excess energy. Interactive play is a wonderful way to do this. [article="29675"][/article][article="32656"][/article]

As you've already discovered, negative discipline methods arent very effective with cats. At best, the cat will become annoyed, and at worst he will become scared of you. In my experience, tackling the root of the problem (in this case, excess energy) is far more effective than treating the symptom. [article="33493"][/article][article="32493"][/article][article="29678"][/article][article="32827"][/article]

Enriching the environment can help too. [article="22426"][/article][article="22537"][/article]

Working with your dog to increase his confidence and reduce his stress levels should help too. Being anxious and stressed all the time won't be helping matters. I suspect he's acting like prey at the moment (as opposed to standing his ground), and that will only exacerbate the situation. In the cat world, if you act like prey you can expect to be treated like prey, so boosting your dog's confidence can only help the situation. DAP diffusers (canine version of Feliway) may help matters, and Composure (a food-based calmer) might be worth a go .too.

Like any behavioral issue, this won't be fixed overnight, but it CAN be fixed. Stay patient, stay consistent and you will get there :) [article="29827"][/article]
 
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