Introducing a hyper dog to a cat

[2dogmom]

Originally Posted by venusgirltrap

IMO she doesn't...but she's not my dog so I don't have control over that right now. She is mostly indoors and only goes on walks like 1x a week.

Originally Posted by Trillcat

This dog needs to be let out more! I understand her hyper now, poor pooch!
Her breed needs to exersize, no way around that, To keep this big of a dog inside, it is, well cruel.
one walk a week?
I am sorry for being harsh but that is harsh.
You need to have a sit down with your boyfreind and tell him that his dog needs to be a dog.

Wow I can see why the dog is hyper. This is like trying to make a healthy 2-yr old kid sit still for days on end. A walk once a week doesn't come close to a dog's need for exercise and the mental stimulation it gets by getting to sniff things, meet other dogs etc. A tired dog is happy dog and is alo much easier to train. Anything you can do to help this doggy burn off some energy will help.

Originally Posted by venusgirltrap

We do reprimand her, but she basically totally ignores us even when we try to do more of a positive enforcement "sit, stay" with treats. When we say NO and pull down on the leash she ignores it too. I think my SO really needs to work on her training and getting her a lot of play before my kitty comes full-time and hopefully we can make some progress at that time.

My SO also has the habit of saying "NO" and then two minutes later the dog sits or calms down and then he gets all lovey and says "good girl" and I personally think that's confusing, but I don't know anything about dog training. I feel like if the dog is doing a command that she first had to be reprimanded for that a "good doggy" is not in order.

May I recommend the NILIF method for dealing with this dog?
http://www.dogguide.net/nilif.php
Regardless of what your BF does, you can apply it and the dog WILL understand that in order to interact with you, there are certain rules. As far as being lovey dovey 2 min after a reprimand I think that is ok. With dogs (and cats for that matter), if you are going to issue a verbal punishment, you have to do it WHILE the action that caused it is taking place. If you scold a dog even 15 seconds after the fact, the dog won't connect the dots. So a scold followed by everything being back to normal is fine IMO. Some people even try to do "time-outs" with dogs as if they were kids, even though there is no basis for it. A kid sitting on the naughty step will think about what she did to get herself there. A dog shut up in a room alone will wonder what's going on outside the room or even get distracted by something it smells through the window.

Originally Posted by venusgirltrap

well, her being inside is her choice because she wants to be around us and we're inside. I would *love* it if she were outside more but she just whines at the door. I def need to get on my SO about walking her more and taking her to the dogpark more.

I think that is a good sign that she wants to be around you because it makes for a good starting point to train recall. If she tried to run away or was alool that would make it harder. Most dogs prefer to be with their people (and a good thing too!).

Originally Posted by marinewife05

Please don't leave all the dog training to your BF. If you are going to be living there then the dog is going to need to listen to you as well. For the time being keep swapping sleeping blankets/towels between the kitty and the dog and keep them separated except for under close supervision and then I would stick to keeping the dog crated and letting the cat run free. Remember the dog needs to get used to seeing how a cat operates. Have BF give the puppy treats if she remains calm while in her crate whenever kitty comes near. (give kitty treats too) The goal is for your dog to think "kitty=good things for me" Find something she likes and utilize it.....peanut butter, treats, ice cubes, belly rubs, ear scratches...whatever.

Good luck!!

I think there is no way around you getting involved with the dog training. You could end up very frustrated otherwise and you have time to lay some groundwork now. Good luck!

 

[venusgirltrap]

Thank you for all the great advice! I really appreciate it and so does my kitty.

I am going to help my BF train his Lola...I just meant that I'm not really able to be consistent now, before I move in. She is a very good doggie, just hyper and I'm crossing my fingers that one day that can live together happily but I would NEVER leave them together alone unless I was 10000% sure Lola wouldn't harm Hailey (even then, I don't know). I know how quick an attack can happen as my aunt's cat was attacked by her mom's dog.

Funny you mention a great dane because my mom has one and Hailey hates her!! But the great dane knows her place around the cats and tries to play but the cats hiss and spit and she goes and sits in her bed. Hopefully Lola will learn her place around Hailey...but I know it won't be easy and it will be a learning process for everyone involved.

Thanks again!