Thinking of getting a dog

There is a lot to be said on the subject of dog & cat interaction, as I am sure you will find out. I recommend a Chihuahua. But that's only because I had one and she loved to play with the cats it was so funny. But I had to give her away because she wouldn't housetrain.

Dogs are classified into different groups - working, hunting, sporting, etc. Any dog if gotten young enough can be trained to be fine with cats. If you are looking for a full grown dog from a shelter (and I commend you on that), suggest that you avoid those that fall into the hunting group. They have been bred to go after small furry animals and could cause problems. Some working dogs (shelties, shepards, collies) like to herd, and can be really fun around cats that can tolerate them. I've had both hunters (greyhounds) and working (collie mix) that came to me as adults and was able to train them to protect the cats.

There is so much information available online on breeds and what there general behaviors are. Suggest that you find a good online dog breed site and get some ideas on what will mix well with your situation. You may not find the purebred from a shelter, but they sometimes can guess their background for you. And I have to warn you - smaller dogs get adopted first from a shelter so you will have less to chose from than if you were to adopt a larger dog. Most people want the small dog.

I have a Boston Terrier , he was a rescue and already about 1 1/2 years old . He is so good with the cats and love to be around them , he even give the cats a cleaning here and there lol. I also know a couple of people who have Boston's and all swear of the wonderful personality of those dogs . One couple I know who has them , the womans parents breed them and she said it is pretty commom for boston terrier to love cats .

Maybe you also want to look in to rescue groups , mostly of them are foster dogs . The foster parent can also tell you a lot about that dog you are interested in and if they like cats or not .

Good luck finding the right dog for you

I have a large dog, does well with cats, but if you are looking for a smaller dog, and from a rescue or shelter, they should be able to tell you if the one you find will be good for your entire family. Any dog can do well with cats if properly brought up around them. I would seriously talk to the people at the shelter, sometimes you can even take your animals to meet the new dog before you bring it home.

Originally Posted by Emma's Friend

I am in the very, very early stages of thinking about adding a dog to our family - me , husband, 11 year old son, a 4 year old cat & a cat who's just turned 1 year old. I'm leaning towards a smaller dog and will most likely adopt him/her from our local humane society and will be looking for a dog, not a puppy.

Question - Are there certain breeds of dog that are more cat-loving than others?

Thanks for your help!

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There is a site called select a pet and it can take you through all sorts of computations as to your situation as to the best type of breed for you.

Personally with your sitution of resident cats I would not go for any of the terrier breed at all.
Cavalier King Charles Spaniels are easy going and friendly and so are Labradors and Retreivers. The latter two are both soft mouthed.
I think you would be better to narrow down the choices with the select a pet on the net then narrow down again by what appeals and what is best suited.
personally I have always had dogs and cats together and they can and do get on becoming trusted friends.
It was usually Labs and Retreivers I had with my cats but now it is Pekingnese.

My cat Sam hated dogs, would turn into a hissing spitting growling ball of fur if he saw one. My co-worker started bringing his beagle to work, and now Sam will walk right by the dog, and ignore him. And it only took a couple of months. I think he got used to the scent.

The dog also ignores the cat, he lives with two cats at home, and really doesn't pay any attention to them at all.

I had no idea that the cat would learn to live with the dog.

Hi

You might want to check out these links:
helpful links for dogs & cats together

and this forum:
Dogs & Cats together sub-forum

I got my dog as a young adult (about 11-12 months old) from a shelter. You can find some wonderful dogs in shelters! Be patient and selective, not in a rush to bring home the first cute dog, and you'll find just the right one. Also, keep in mind that some small dogs were bred to hunt (dachshunds, for example, were bred to hunt badgers!), and may not be good with cats. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule, depending on how the dog was raised. Most of the dogs you'll find in shelters will be a mix of different breeds, some might even be hard to tell what kind of dog they are.

Talk to the shelter staff & make it very clear to them that you're looking for a dog who will be safe with your cats. Some shelters (after pre-screening the dogs for safety's sake) will allow you to take the dog (supervised) into the cat area & introduce it to a dog-friendly cat to see how it reacts. Avoid any dog that tries to chase, bark at, or lunge at the cat, no matter what the staff might say about "playing". Look for a dog that approaches the cat gently to sniff noses &/or tries to sniff its bottom, so you can tell it sees the cat as an equal rather than prey. A "play bow" (lowering the front legs to the ground) is OK, after introductions, as long as any play that follows is gentle enough for the cat, and the dog will stop if the cat gets angry. It's important that the dog will give the cat space & leave it alone if it hisses & swats at the dog, rather than barking & lunging in response to aggression from the cat.

When I adopted my dog (a big dog - lab/shepherd mix) from the shelter, it took a few months of searching the local shelters before I found her. I looked for a dog with a gentle temperament, and walked the dogs I was interested in by the cat house's outdoor enclosure to observe their reactions to the cats. Any dog that showed any interest in chasing the cats or lunging or barking at them was disqualified. I chose my girl when she tried to walk up to a cat close to the fence & sniff noses with it & lick it (to me, her trying to sniff noses with it showed that she saw it as a possible friend rather than prey).

Even so, when I took her home I used a crate to introduce her to the cats and also crated her or put her outside when I couldn't supervise her with them. I observed all her interactions with the cats closely for any signs of desire to chase or see them as prey for a long time before I trusted her unsupervised with them.

Also, be careful to feed your dog in a different room than the cats and keep the cats' food out of reach to prevent any disputes over food. My dog will let the cats eat out of her bowl, but that's very rare - most (including our other dog) will get protective over their food and won't appreciate the cats coming around while they're eating, even if they're fine with people taking their food away.

Another thought: if after a lot of searching you're unable to find an adult dog that you feel is safe with your cat, you might want to consider a puppy- most puppies (unless they're of a breed that has a really strong hunting or herding instinct) will readily accept cats if raised with them.

Hope this helps - sorry if it's too long

I appreciate everyone's suggestions. I had not thought about "cat-testing" the dog at the humane society. Thanks for the tip!

Just a note of humor to add - have you checked out the 'caption this' forums lately?

Take a peek at the 'vote on this #498" for a view of cats & puppy training.

I agree with Claws about the terriers. They tend to be strong-willed and are bred to chase anything that moves. And think about YOUR requirements for the dog. Are you an active family? How much time do you have for training? How about grooming? And shedding? Don't get a dog with little short legs if you want to take it for a 5 mile run with you every day! And I also wouldn't recommend an Alaskan Malamute if you're a tiny person (like me!) with no muscle strength! (like me!)

And another great big vote for looking in a shelter first. Our current dog came from a shelter. She's a beagle/collie mix. When we first got her, she couldn't be trusted off leash, was a compulsive counter surfer and was very good at raiding the garbage cans when our backs were turned. But with lots of training and finding the dog's "switch" (cookies!!!), she leaned what was allowed and what wasn't. Then we got Kermitte, and they would play together, Dixie (dog) would let the kitten litterally hang from her lip with her teeth And when Elmo joined the family, he'd cuddle with Dixie, chew on her tail and could walk right up to her while she was eating without fear of being beheaded (she put him in his place early on by air-snapping at him and sometimes knocking him down... gently, and he learned his limits.)

Now we have a very happy household. But it didn't happen overnight. Like the saying goes "it takes a village to raise a child"... the same goes with a dog!

Good luck!

We brought in a puppy and our cat used to beat that poor puppy.
Even when that puppy grew up she was afraid of that cat and when cat had kittens it got really protective and would jump out of her room (she had her own cat room) and beat the dog up. That dog really like kittens though and loved to play with them, but the cat must have tought that the dog would eat them up and would go bam, bam, bam with her paw. But that dog will still run after the outside cats, but was very afraid of the one at home.

Originally Posted by allissa

We brought in a puppy and our cat used to beat that poor puppy.
Even when that puppy grew up she was afraid of that cat and when cat had kittens it got really protective and would jump out of her room (she had her own cat room) and beat the dog up. That dog really like kittens though and loved to play with them, but the cat must have tought that the dog would eat them up and would go bam, bam, bam with her paw. But that dog will still run after the outside cats, but was very afraid of the one at home.

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That's one of the biggest draw-backs for me at the moment, wondering how the cats will react. I think the 1 year old will be fine, it is the older cat that concerns me. I think that if the dog is "low key" enough everyone will be fine.

You're right - if the dog has a laid-back personality, it helps.

Here's our shelter girl & her best buddy:
(Oreo loves dogs - the other cats tolerate the dog but don't buddy up with her like he does. We had a foster kitten last summer, though, that played with her all day.)

Well, dogs are fun.
Even if they don't get alone, dogs are tons of fun.
Our dog sure was a wonderful dog, even if cat didn't like her.
It's always easier if you get a puppy and a kitten at the same time, because our kittens liked the dog and the dog loved the kittens, it's the mama cat that didn't like the dog.