the queen of all dogs and cat?

[destiny4u]

I have a 3 year old german shepherd who is a czech dog. Her father is a very good police dog. Shes a very dominant dog. She gets along with some dogs that are submissive to her. But if a dog trys to get rough with her she will hammer into them hard and usually just beat the living crap out of them. Not pups. These are other  big dogs like dobies, rotties that have gone after her she has just attached onto them and tore into them. Of course its not ideal but we dont live in a perfect world and she is who she is. She also took down a coyote once and tried to rip its head off. Shes well trained on all commands.

Since i got her she has lived with my fat calico rescue for a long time. She showed interest from the start but not once barked or tried to hurt her. All she wants to do is lick the cat. i ma extremly strict with her and will make her back off a lot of times. But the cat has no fear of her at all?? its been years with them living together. At first the cat was terrified/horrified of her as she is with all dogs but over time she turned fearless.

But what scares me a bit is how brave the cat is around her the cat will just wack the crap out of her with her claws and puff her tail up. My dog responds by doing nothing just wagging her tail and usualy gets happy. I have seen a few blisters in my dogs face cause of this. IF a dog did this or even a wild animal she would have tore them to shreds? SHE does know that the cat means more to me than life so if she hurt the cat id hang her.

She loves to lick the cat the cat likes it sometimes but when shes had enough she will just wack her.

SHould i just let them sort it out after all these years of living together even if the cats tail sometimes buffs up as long as my dog doesnt show aggression? EVEN tho i know she has extreme monster potential?

ONe time i was cooking and a piece of food dropped on the floor my dog went for it and the cat then went for it and drove the dog off. It was a piece salad so neither animal wanted it but i was just so shocked.

I notice they only act like fools around me when im not around or spying on them they sit there calm and do nothing even side by side

 

[Willowy]

I think they've worked it out . Dogs have different kinds of relationships with all beings they come into contact with. Their relationship with another dog is different than their relationship with a human, which is different than their relationship with a cat, etc. And most dogs have different attitudes about "cats inside" vs "cats outside". But it sounds like she's accepted this kitty as her cat, and probably will never hurt her.

BUT. . .personally, I don't leave my dogs loose in the house with the cats when I'm gone, even though they all get along pretty well. You just never know what'll happen without supervision.

 

[destiny4u]

ok good i use to have another shepherd he was good and safe with dogs as in he would never draw blood on them and nail them  even in fights but he was not safe with cats and cats including the older calico i had now hated his guts he just could not control his prey drive and had no respect for cats so we always had to keep them seperate. HE was also VERY HUman friendly and would let anyone in the house and yard but wow he was a MONSTER with cats.

This new shepherd would probably bite a stranger if they tried to get in the house (without me introducing them) and doesnt like strangers petting her that much and only like her famiy but is abnormally nice to the cat its just so strange. Kinda just worrys me to see the cat wack a dog that thinks so high of herself. She was tested in shutzund and protection and the trainers said her ability was one of the best they ever seen.
 

Any idea why the cat might puff her tail up somtimes at the dog? and then try to nail her? she does this if the dog is too hyper and running like a goof OR if the dog licks her to much or to hard.

My dog does not even have any paitence for small dogs shes never hurt one but i can tell she just wont stand wont being snappy with her like a lot of dogs will she just won't. Only dogs she will put up with being naughty are puppys, she seems to love them. My dog is just always been so moody she defines the word bitch lol  I usually just keep her exercised a lot and work her a lot. I was not planning on having other dogs as i am a cat person at heart anyway.

My calico has always been pretty scared of dogs until we got this beast lol

Its just so strange like a great dane, or other huge dogs will be afraid of my dog yet my cat will look her straight in the eye and wack her lol She does not even come in contact with a lot of dogs and they are scared of her.

Samething with my old german shepherd he did not even really go near my cats as i did not let hiim but for years they had an extreme fear of him and he was raised with cats but no matter how much time went by they always hated/feared him.

 

[destiny4u]

ok here is another thing i wanted to bring up that scares me i forgot to say, if a small dog or any small animal and even some larger dogs run my dog will go into hunt mode. She acts like a cat she goes low to the ground and runs at top speed and will grab the other animal or try to.

She did this to a jack russel and split his anus and sliced him. I was horrified and worked with the owner and paid the bills. This was when she was younger and i didnt realize what kind of dog she was turning into.

My cat runs in front of her all the time she just ignores her though or she will playfully NEVER in hunt mode

i correct the crap out of her the owner said it was pure prey drive but mine is never allowed to chase my cat she gets an extreme correction for it but she has trotted beside my cat never gets that look in her eyes where she thinks shes ome kind of a lion

the extreme prey/hunt drive was bred into them for their line of work but she will do it on dogs and wild animals, the jack russel she did it to was not her friend but he was not an enemy she just didnt care if she hurt him or not she saw him again she has no aggression to him but if he ran full sprint again and acted like prey she would really wanna go after him. IF my cat acts like prey she doesnt really have any interest.

Its just so shocking how other dogs can trigger her prey drive which scares me, i talked to my sport trainer about it he said it is a bred into her bloodlines which is why he does not let his Malanois? sp? go and run with small dogs. I was told to just be very picky who she interacts with because she was carefully line bred to be a serious working dog.

shes taken rats from my cat or mice that got loose from my cats grip and swallow them whole like a python lol

 

[agentspooky]

Ok, it sounds like your dog views your cat as family and will hopefully not attack the cat. That said, I would really try to get the dog some sood training and be very, very careful not to lose control of her on her leash. I would hate for the dog to hurt any other animals! A dog who will instantly go after a smaller dog or animal outside is dangerous. You need to be extremely careful, or some poor dog is going to die and their owner is going to feel horrible and also you could be sued. A large dog attacked and killed my small dog years ago and I promise you it's a horrible experience. Please work with a good dog trainer, keep your dog on a good leash at all times and make sure you have control.

Also I hope you were kidding about the "hang her" business. It sounds like you may be too "extreme" with the dog, maybe she needs a gentler hand to learn how to be a gentler animal. I really like Victoria Stillwell's dog training methods, she's coming out with a new book in March about how to train your dog positively. But with a dog with issues such as yours has I would try to get some good smart training immediately.
 

 

[dawn volk]

To me it sounds as if your dog has accepted that the cat is higher in the pack structure then she is. Your dog does worry me however. She sounds to be VERY dog aggressive and you need to get a trainer who has experience working with dominant DA dogs ASAP. Right now she is a liability and you do need to take special precautions to keep other dogs safe since you know that she has attacked other dogs without provocation.

 

[destiny4u]

Hey thanks i actually see a trainer a sport trainer who also deals with human and dog aggressive dogs and trains with positive methods

He doesnt consider my dog dog aggressive just very dominant and very high prey drive, if a small dog comes up and sits beside her she wont do anything just sniff it but if it starts trotting and acting like prey she will get very excited and then pretend shes a cat and go into hunt mode. That is when she hurt the jack russel.

Also the dogs shes gottin in fights with are not friendly or happy dogs usually dogs that try to hump her or go after her. Its usually a mutual fight. She just takes the fight to extreme levels bites for real rather than put on a show. Kinda like 2 feral tom cats. But she can meet anyones friendly good mannered dog and its always ok she wont attack. But when another dominant dog trys to push her she will fight asap. Thats why she only has a select group of dog friends she plays with in certain areas. They have matching mentalities and are usually huge 100 plus pound goofy males and they never fight.

WIth the cat shes never showed any kind of prey drive even when the cat runs around the house acting like a rabbit or something my dog will act curious and think of ways to play with the cat but she never gets that scary prey drive. I am told to keep her away from small dogs as play partners but on leash meetings and normal walks is fine she wont react to dogs in normal leash situations unless they attack her. She will trot after the cat sometimes but never in hunt mode.   I think as time goes by the more and more close they will get? Just such a strange combination lol
 

 

[ladylioness]

Like some of the other people here, I see your dog (though dominant) viewing the cat like she would a puppy, or a member of the family. My old dog was a strong breed, and though she was dominant/dog aggressive with certain dogs, with my guinea pig she was sooo gentle.

My current dog is also a strong breed, likes to be top dog if a dog will let her, yet with the small animals of the house, she is very friendly (other than harassing the black cat on occasion ). Outside of the house she has a good prey drive around rabbits, squirrels and cats. And when I used to own rats, she was scared of them!!

As long as your dog doesn't show aggression to the cat, you are fine. In fact, the fact that the cat shows the dog who is boss IMO is a GOOD sign. It will keep the dog in its place to prevent naughty tendencies with the cat. 

Only thing is, if you aren't 100% comfortable with them being together when you aren't there, I'd separate them JUST in case. You know your animals better than anyone, and sometimes animals DO strike up some interesting relationships with other species .