Bailey and I had a lovely drive home (~100 miles). When we first got in
the car, he climbed into my lap. I had to call for help, because I
couldn't stop laughing OR get him off of me--I barely weigh more than he
does. He sat secured away in the back for the rest of the ride, with lots
of scritches along the way. We stopped at the Feeders Supply to get him a
few more things, where he proceeded to poop and pee all over the place. No
big deal, everyone does it. That's why they have clean up stations! He
was sweet and friendly to all the people and dogs he met, big and small.
Good so far.

When we got home, he checked out the yard, and then I brought Roxy out.
They both pooped and peed all over the place, with Bailey more curious
about the surroundings than he was about Roxy (who jumped all over him
trying to get him to play). I brought him into the house and let him
explore, again with Roxy jumping all over him and him not really appearing
to notice. Whenever I sit down, he sits right next to me and snuggles.
Good so far.

So now we are gated into my office and I decided to let the cats out while
Bailey is safely locked in sight, but unable to get to the cats.
Unfortuanately, it's as if he's never seen a cat. He's all growels and
snarls and barks and hackels and the cats are TERRIFIED. (One is a 9 week
old kitten.) Not so good.

He was supposed to be okay with cats... should I not panic (yet)? HELP!

--
Lynne

on Sat, 28 Oct 2006 18:43:11 GMT, Lynne
wrote:

Okay, it just got worse. The kitten put his nose to the gate from the
other side and Bailey attacked him. Fortunately I had my hand on Bailey's
collar and pulled him back and the kitten ran.

This is NOT good...

--
Lynne

Lynne,

I'm sure he'll be fine, it can sometimes just take a bit of time.
How old is Bailey? It may take longer (maybe up to several weeks) if he's an
adult and hasn't been socialised to cats. Also, what breed is he?

The most important thing is to reward Bailey (and the cats!) for appropriate
behaviour and reprimand him for bad behaviour. Rewarding should be in the
form of a food treat, and to reprimand a loud noise is good - I use a loud
"UP-UP".

Don't let the cats get so close to Baileys gate at first. He may be trying
to protect his space and you. Let a cat out for a short time but don't let
it get too close to Bailey. Don't pick the cat up though as he may see it as
something that belongs to you that can be stolen. If Bailey is aggressive,
reprimand him, don't give him any attention for a while and take the cat
away. Keep trying until he is silent when the cat comes in. As soon as you
see this non-aggressive behaviour reward him and tell him what a good boy he
is. Reward the cats too. Keep doing this for several days until Bailey shows
no concern about the cats being in the room.

Next, put Bailey on a leash and do the same thing. Reward when theres no
fighting from either the cats or dog. Reprimand strongly if there is any
aggression. Usually as soon as the dog gets his first scratch on the nose he
realises his place is below the cats anyway.

Finally, after showing no aggression for several days when he is on the
leash you can let him off and repeat the process with the treats. Depending
on how much you trust him you may never want to leave them together when you
go out. Also, don't let the cats get close to the dog when he's eating.

Good luck and don't make him too fat with all those treats (I recommend
small dry cat food). Let us know how it goes.

Iain

www.pawstoplay.com.au

Dog Walking and Pet Minding in Sydneys Inner West



"Lynne" wrote in message
...
on Sat, 28 Oct 2006 18:43:11 GMT, Lynne
wrote:

Okay, it just got worse. The kitten put his nose to the gate from the
other side and Bailey attacked him. Fortunately I had my hand on Bailey's
collar and pulled him back and the kitten ran.

This is NOT good...

--
Lynne

"Lynne" wrote in message:

Okay, it just got worse. The kitten put his nose to the gate from the
other side and Bailey attacked him. Fortunately I had my hand on Bailey's
collar and pulled him back and the kitten ran.

This is NOT good...

What a bummer!

I went back and re-read the post where you met him. Didn't say anywhere
that you saw his interactions with cats. Do you know that he has gotten
along with cats before?

Suja

on Sun, 29 Oct 2006 01:07:34 GMT, "Suja" wrote:

I went back and re-read the post where you met him. Didn't say
anywhere
that you saw his interactions with cats. Do you know that he has
gotten
along with cats before?


I was told he got along with cats, but I did not observe this myself.

Today I learned that the cats he has been around are barn cats and they
have never been indoors with him. I'm not convinced he had any
interaction with them at all, knowing barn cats. I guess I should have
been more specific? I was clear that my cats are indoor cats and that
one is a tiny kitten. I also stated that we sleep in the bed with my dog
and the cats. I'm honestly not sure what else I could have said.
Obviously I should have asked more in depth questions. Hindsite is a
bitch.

One of my primary requirements in a dog is one who has been around cats
and who is disinterested in them. I made this clear up front and we
discussed this in respect to Bailey. Bailey was extremely aggressive
towards them. It scared me. Bailey is now back at the rescue. I cried
the whole way back with him, because he is perfect in every other way
(really amazing, actually), but our cats are as important to us as are
our dogs.

When I talked to the director of the rescue, she said she would have
beaten him for that behavior. That's not my style at all, and I can't
imagine that would be a good foundation for trusting, secure relationship
for Bailey.

I feel like I failed him. My daughter hates me. It doesn't help that
her hamster died while she was on her trip and I had to tell her tonight.

Oh, and I ate the $300 adoption fee. Despite that, I donated some of the
things I bought for Bailey to the rescue. We're going to take a break
from looking for a dog. I'm thinking of going to the shelter and getting
a mutt puppy instead of an adult... at least any behavioral problems
would be of my own doing. Judging by how Roxy behaves, it's nothing I
couldn't live with.

*sigh*

--
Lynne

on Sun, 29 Oct 2006 00:20:51 GMT, "Iain Bishop"
wrote:

I'm sure he'll be fine, it can sometimes just take a bit of time.
How old is Bailey? It may take longer (maybe up to several weeks) if
he's an adult and hasn't been socialised to cats. Also, what breed is
he?


Hi Iain,

Thank you so much for the advice. Bailey is a ~4 year old Labrador
Retriever. He was bought at a Puppy Mill auction and has been in rescue
for a bit. Unfortunately, I was under the impression he had been
socialized to cats. This was one of my primary requirements...

I do appreciate you taking the time to write to me. I hope your advice
will help someone else in a similar situation.

--
Lynne

On Sat, 28 Oct 2006 21:24:23 -0500, Lynne
wrote:

on Sun, 29 Oct 2006 01:07:34 GMT, "Suja" wrote:

I went back and re-read the post where you met him. Didn't say
anywhere
that you saw his interactions with cats. Do you know that he has
gotten
along with cats before?


I was told he got along with cats, but I did not observe this myself.

Today I learned that the cats he has been around are barn cats and they
have never been indoors with him. I'm not convinced he had any
interaction with them at all, knowing barn cats. I guess I should have
been more specific? I was clear that my cats are indoor cats and that
one is a tiny kitten. I also stated that we sleep in the bed with my dog
and the cats. I'm honestly not sure what else I could have said.
Obviously I should have asked more in depth questions. Hindsite is a
bitch.

One of my primary requirements in a dog is one who has been around cats
and who is disinterested in them. I made this clear up front and we
discussed this in respect to Bailey. Bailey was extremely aggressive
towards them. It scared me. Bailey is now back at the rescue. I cried
the whole way back with him, because he is perfect in every other way
(really amazing, actually), but our cats are as important to us as are
our dogs.

When I talked to the director of the rescue, she said she would have
beaten him for that behavior. That's not my style at all, and I can't
imagine that would be a good foundation for trusting, secure relationship
for Bailey.

I feel like I failed him. My daughter hates me. It doesn't help that
her hamster died while she was on her trip and I had to tell her tonight.

Oh, and I ate the $300 adoption fee. Despite that, I donated some of the
things I bought for Bailey to the rescue. We're going to take a break
from looking for a dog. I'm thinking of going to the shelter and getting
a mutt puppy instead of an adult... at least any behavioral problems
would be of my own doing. Judging by how Roxy behaves, it's nothing I
couldn't live with.

*sigh*

Lynne, please forgive me, as I'm not thinking very clearly at the
moment, but IMO, you did not fail Bailey. There are not that many
linguistic nuances cat safety, and I think you expressed your
needs clearly enough. If Bailey was aggressive toward your cats, then
clearly he was not well enough socialized with them. Don't beat
yourself up about this; it appears that perhaps the first rescue group
was right in cautioning you. There *is* a dog out there that's right
for you, and it shouldn't be that difficult for you to find.

Mustang Sally

Lynne,

Fist thing I want to say is how truly sorry I am that this didn't work
out for you. This is so heartbreaking. Damn.

Lynne wrote in
:


I was told he got along with cats, but I did not observe this myself.

Today I learned that the cats he has been around are barn cats and
they have never been indoors with him. I'm not convinced he had any
interaction with them at all, knowing barn cats. I guess I should
have been more specific? I was clear that my cats are indoor cats and
that one is a tiny kitten. I also stated that we sleep in the bed
with my dog and the cats. I'm honestly not sure what else I could
have said. Obviously I should have asked more in depth questions.
Hindsite is a bitch.

Totally untrue. You asked perfectly FINE questions. And if the rescue
didn't know how he would have done with indoor cats, they simply should
have said "I don't know". From what I read, you communicated your needs
very well.


One of my primary requirements in a dog is one who has been around
cats and who is disinterested in them. I made this clear up front and
we discussed this in respect to Bailey. Bailey was extremely
aggressive towards them. It scared me. Bailey is now back at the
rescue. I cried the whole way back with him, because he is perfect in
every other way (really amazing, actually), but our cats are as
important to us as are our dogs.

I always think of it as a prior commitment. Each animal that I accept
into my home as a permanent resident gets to stay. Period. And its my
job to insure that no one who comes in after that will put them in
jeopardy or make their lives miserable in any basic way. To me, that's
just what's fair to the animals that share my home. I don't fault you
for making that same decision.

When I talked to the director of the rescue, she said she would have
beaten him for that behavior.

Wow.

That's not my style at all, and I can't
imagine that would be a good foundation for trusting, secure
relationship for Bailey.

Especially within hours of taking him into your home?!?!?

I'm also shocked that she's basically recommending beating a dog to an
adopter. I;m baffled by that.

I feel like I failed him.

You didn't. You really really didn't.

My daughter hates me.

Well, she's young, and she's really heartbroken. She's got to blame
whoever its safest to blame. She'll move on from that.

It doesn't help that
her hamster died while she was on her trip and I had to tell her
tonight.

Basically, you've had THE suckiest day.

Oh, and I ate the $300 adoption fee.

Why on earth did you do that? You had the dog less than 12 hours. How
could they possibly justify keeping your money?

That just strikes me as unfair.

Despite that, I donated some of
the things I bought for Bailey to the rescue. We're going to take a
break from looking for a dog. I'm thinking of going to the shelter
and getting a mutt puppy instead of an adult... at least any
behavioral problems would be of my own doing. Judging by how Roxy
behaves, it's nothing I couldn't live with.

*sigh*

I am sooooo sorry you're going through this. Take a deep breath. Forgive
yourself (though there's nothing to forgive), and remember why you're
doing this.

What a mess for you to deal with. Hot bubble baths and a good night's
sleep might not cure anything, but it'll make things a little easier to
take.

Tara

In article ,
Lynne wrote:
I guess I should have been more specific?

Nah. I can't imagine that anybody reasonable thinks that
the default cat situation is "barn cat."

Look, cats and dogs can go really well or they can end up
terribly. Some dogs simply cannot learn to live with cats
and that's just the way it is. You made a sad choice but, I
think, a very wise one.

When I talked to the director of the rescue, she said she would have
beaten him for that behavior.

!!! Frankly it sounds like you somehow hooked up with
psycho rescue. Jeeze.

That's not my style at all, and I can't
imagine that would be a good foundation for trusting, secure relationship
for Bailey.

Hell, no.

Dogs have a way of falling into our laps when we're not
looking. Keep making good decisions and you'll find the
perfect (to you!) dog. In the meantime, climb something
hard.
--
Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis -

What Republicans have done to the US's fiscal health:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061028/...a_the_bankrupt

On Sat, 28 Oct 2006 21:24:23 -0500, Lynne
, clicked their heels and said:


When I talked to the director of the rescue, she said she would have
beaten him for that behavior. That's not my style at all, and I can't
imagine that would be a good foundation for trusting, secure relationship
for Bailey.

And they're a "rescue"? UGH.

I feel like I failed him. My daughter hates me. It doesn't help that
her hamster died while she was on her trip and I had to tell her tonight.

You didn't fail him. MANY other people did.

I'm thinking of going to the shelter and getting
a mutt puppy instead of an adult... at least any behavioral problems
would be of my own doing. Judging by how Roxy behaves, it's nothing I
couldn't live with.

I chose an adult dog with a very proven history. OTOH, I also chose
one found on the street, and a puppy mill three strikes 5.5 month old
puppy. They all turned out to be perfect for my household.

--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com