Hi.



We are a family of two adults, two children (aged 8 and 13), three cats
(aged 3, 3 and 4) and a new 3 month old pedigree fox terrier. We have had
our new foxie, Sophie, for just 5 days. We had hoped that after a bit of
dominance behavior and a few spats a pecking order would be worked out
between the animals and they would be able to coexist. Maybe this will still
work out but at the moment things don't seem to be getting any better, with
Sophie chasing and terrorising the one cat that stays around home every time
she sees her. There are two sets of stairs in the house that the cats run
up, which Sophie can't manage, (and we have obstructed for Sophie). This
gives the cats temporary refuge but presumably Sophie will be able and safe
to use the stairs in a while, so isn't a long term solution. Other times she
corners this cat under our dining table and lots of hissing and attempted
scratching (cat) barking and threatened nipping (Sophie) ensues. To date
though there has been very little actual contact. On Sophies' second day the
cat did swipe her once when cornered and Sophie appeared to kneel down in
submission. The cat then ran away. Sophie's apparent submission hasn't
lasted though and somehow I can't see the cats submitting. Sophie gets even
more excited, (if that is possible) when she sees the other two cats that
spend more time out.



We have been doing very little to intervene, thinking that they needed to
work it out between themselves before my wife starts back at University next
week. My wife is home during the day providing company for Sophie most of
the time but will be going to University for about 6 hours during the day.
Is there anything that we should be doing to increase the chances that
Sophie will be able to at least tolerate the cats?



Any help would be most appreciated.



Regards,



Brett

On Sat, 29 Apr 2006 09:32:41 +1200, "Brett"
, clicked their heels and said:
We have had
our new foxie, Sophie, for just 5 days. We had hoped that after a bit of
dominance behavior and a few spats a pecking order would be worked out
between the animals and they would be able to coexist. Maybe this will still
work out but at the moment things don't seem to be getting any better, with
Sophie chasing and terrorising the one cat that stays around home every time
she sees her.

You do realize that you got a TERRIER? Meant to hunt down and kill
small things? What made you choose this breed (I know they're cute
and all that, but.....)?

There are two sets of stairs in the house that the cats run
up, which Sophie can't manage, (and we have obstructed for Sophie). This
gives the cats temporary refuge but presumably Sophie will be able and safe
to use the stairs in a while, so isn't a long term solution. Other times she
corners this cat under our dining table and lots of hissing and attempted
scratching (cat) barking and threatened nipping (Sophie) ensues.

That's really dangerous. To both the cats and the dog. I hope you've
clipped the cats' nails at least. You need to prevent Sophie from
doing that.

Sophie gets even
more excited, (if that is possible) when she sees the other two cats that
spend more time out.

Yup. They're FUN to chase. What else does she have to do? Have you
been TRAINING her? Exercising her to very, very tired (a very, very
good thing for a puppy who wants to chase cats)? Using a leash in the
house?

We have been doing very little to intervene, thinking that they needed to
work it out between themselves before my wife starts back at University next
week.

Yes and no. The cats need your protection. Sophie needs to learn
that chasing isn't allowed. Several tools can help with that. Please
do not consider EVER leaving them unsupervised together.

My wife is home during the day providing company for Sophie most of
the time but will be going to University for about 6 hours during the day.
Is there anything that we should be doing to increase the chances that
Sophie will be able to at least tolerate the cats?

I think it's the other way around! She is a puppy, who wants to play,
but she also has instinct to do some real damage. Confinement when
you can't supervise is imperative. A safe place for the cats is
imperative. A leash, physical or invisible, is a very good tool to
stop her chasing behavior. She needs an outlet for her instincts and
energy. She needs training. You need help. In person help. Please
don't hesitate - this can get fatal faster than you can imagine.

--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

Hi.

Thanks for these comments.

The breeder had told us that they would work it out between them as long as
we got Sophie while she was a pup. That is why we were OK with a foxie.

Yes, we are exercising her lots. The breeder has suggested that we are
exercising her too much and that we shouldn't really be taking her out until
she has finished her vaccinations.

When I said that my wife will be going to University next week for 6 hours
during the day from next week I wasn't very clear. She will be going for 2
hours each of three days each week, a total of 6 hours. For those two hour
stints we plan to leave Sophie in her room with the door closed, to keep her
and the cats safe. Other than that there will always be supervision.

When you say that we need to prevent Sophie from doing that, how should we
do that? Offer her a more interesting distraction, (ball, chew bone etc)?

Brett

..
"Janet B" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 29 Apr 2006 09:32:41 +1200, "Brett"
, clicked their heels and said:
We have had
our new foxie, Sophie, for just 5 days. We had hoped that after a bit of
dominance behavior and a few spats a pecking order would be worked out
between the animals and they would be able to coexist. Maybe this will
still
work out but at the moment things don't seem to be getting any better,
with
Sophie chasing and terrorising the one cat that stays around home every
time
she sees her.

You do realize that you got a TERRIER? Meant to hunt down and kill
small things? What made you choose this breed (I know they're cute
and all that, but.....)?

There are two sets of stairs in the house that the cats run
up, which Sophie can't manage, (and we have obstructed for Sophie). This
gives the cats temporary refuge but presumably Sophie will be able and
safe
to use the stairs in a while, so isn't a long term solution. Other times
she
corners this cat under our dining table and lots of hissing and attempted
scratching (cat) barking and threatened nipping (Sophie) ensues.

That's really dangerous. To both the cats and the dog. I hope you've
clipped the cats' nails at least. You need to prevent Sophie from
doing that.

Sophie gets even
more excited, (if that is possible) when she sees the other two cats that
spend more time out.

Yup. They're FUN to chase. What else does she have to do? Have you
been TRAINING her? Exercising her to very, very tired (a very, very
good thing for a puppy who wants to chase cats)? Using a leash in the
house?

We have been doing very little to intervene, thinking that they needed to
work it out between themselves before my wife starts back at University
next
week.

Yes and no. The cats need your protection. Sophie needs to learn
that chasing isn't allowed. Several tools can help with that. Please
do not consider EVER leaving them unsupervised together.

My wife is home during the day providing company for Sophie most of
the time but will be going to University for about 6 hours during the day.
Is there anything that we should be doing to increase the chances that
Sophie will be able to at least tolerate the cats?

I think it's the other way around! She is a puppy, who wants to play,
but she also has instinct to do some real damage. Confinement when
you can't supervise is imperative. A safe place for the cats is
imperative. A leash, physical or invisible, is a very good tool to
stop her chasing behavior. She needs an outlet for her instincts and
energy. She needs training. You need help. In person help. Please
don't hesitate - this can get fatal faster than you can imagine.

--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

On Sat, 29 Apr 2006 10:36:04 +1200, "Brett"
, clicked their heels and said:


Yes, we are exercising her lots. The breeder has suggested that we are
exercising her too much and that we shouldn't really be taking her out until
she has finished her vaccinations.

Ah yes, there is safe exercise and risky exercise. Safe exercise is
on your own property, at known safe places (a puppy class requiring
vaccinations), and not encouraging jumping over things or such at a
young age. Still, ball in a yard or long hallway can go a long way!
For those two hour
stints we plan to leave Sophie in her room with the door closed, to keep her
and the cats safe. Other than that there will always be supervision.

Excellent. I don't remember how common crating is in NZ, but it's a
popular thing here in the states and has a lot of benefits.

When you say that we need to prevent Sophie from doing that, how should we
do that? Offer her a more interesting distraction, (ball, chew bone etc)?

I would be keeping a long leash on her when she's free in the house,
and giving the cats a barrier somewhere - a baby gate or such. I
would be working on her coming when called (praise and perhaps food
reward), when she's too pushy with the cats. Distractions are good.
Teaching her CALM around the cats requires some physical intervention.
even the friendliest of dogs can hurt a cat or get hurt by a cat if
they are too bouncy.

If you have access to puppy classes, go now - she will truly benefit
from learning to interact with other puppies. It will wear her out a
bit, help teach her some bite inhibition, and give her one more outlet
for her energy.

It's not easy for cats to accept their first dog as a bouncy puppy.
Keep on top of things and help guide her to use her energy elsehwere,
and the cats will come around, feeling less threatened.


--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

On Sat, 29 Apr 2006 09:32:41 +1200 Brett whittled these words:

Um - don't think I could say it any better than Janet. My cats and dogs
page may help - but I've only ever had dogs with backgrounds more likely
to be OK with cats. I've always avoided the terriers because I like to
have cats. Fox terrier is at least little a better bet than a Jack
Russell. I would expect that with time and training you can get the
control, but never ever assume the dog will be safe when alone with the
cats. Too many terrier owners have come home to find that instinct kicked
in.

http://www.dogplay.com/Behavior/cats.html

For people considering a dog when they already have cats I strongly
recommend getting an adult dog that has a known history of getting along
with cats. If I introduce a puppy I want cats that are already
comfortable with dogs.

--
Diane Blackman
There is no moral victory in proclaiming to abhor violence
while preaching with violent words.
http://dog-play.com/ http://dogplayshops.com/

Thanks very much for this reply. The web pages look great. I had searched a
fair bit but not come across these, so thanks again.

Brett