[natasha]

Recently saved a female street dog who was found dehydrated, starving and a broken leg. She just came home from the vet after her leg was corrected(car accident-broke into 2 separate pieces!) and is happy to be home. I have 2 cats and they are very wary of her but curious. Dog is good natured and sweet(vet guessed 8 months old) but gets overly excited (tail wagging, ears up) when she sees the cats thus making the cats wary of coming closer. When the cats are playing, she whines and I think she wants to join in the game. Any suggestions in making this transition smooth? My husband won't let me keep the dog if the cats and her can't get along!

[Yogi]

Originally Posted by natasha

Recently saved a female street dog who was found dehydrated, starving and a broken leg. She just came home from the vet after her leg was corrected(car accident-broke into 2 separate pieces!) and is happy to be home. I have 2 cats and they are very wary of her but curious. Dog is good natured and sweet(vet guessed 8 months old) but gets overly excited (tail wagging, ears up) when she sees the cats thus making the cats wary of coming closer. When the cats are playing, she whines and I think she wants to join in the game. Any suggestions in making this transition smooth? My husband won't let me keep the dog if the cats and her can't get along!

As with all things, patience and time is required. This is not an automatic thing that happens. The cats will lay down some ground rules which may be a little painful to the pup as far as lessons are concerned but for the best in the long run. Just be patient. Cats degree of curiosity eventually as in most cases will win out. Once they conclude the dog is of no real threat they will eventually feel comfortable with it and interaction will commence. Granted, slowly but generally will happen again with time and patience.

[natasha]

Dear Yogi,
Thanks for your advice. I know that lots of patience is needed. I suppose I just have to watch them and wait. :-) My 2 cats were also strays and it's only the older cat that has an 'issue' with the dog. The younger one is calmer. Thanks again!

[unstresst]

Your cats are ....'wanting' to. that's 79 percent of the making friends thing.

Less human involvement: ....takes a little longer

put a gate between the cats and dog.
the cats soon learn that dog cant get close enough to scare/harm and they'll spend time at gate watching.....over time, they'll quit running off when dog comes to the gate.

More human involvement---(things progress a bit faster)
------(if a cat does anything unpolite, you have the power and the right to scold ......never with anger, but firm and keep it short--[2 to 4 seconds]

When cats are near, or checkin out the dog, Feel free to modify the dogs posture, attitude, excitement level, noises.
Get him as close to a being a 'dog rug' as you can get.
That will ease the cats waryness a whole bunch.....and closer they'll come
DO keep a handle on the dogs noise and movements as the cats come closer
-----(don't face the dog 'away' from the cats, they need to know dog sees / is looking at them)

real quiet and settled is perfect territory for friendly curious cats to want to know about.

after time, the dog will be able to resume his natural exuberance without it bothering the cats.

[natasha]

Hi Unstresst,
Thanks for all your tips. I am so happy to know I am doing almost half of them already. I can't fix a gate in this house but Kimmy the dog is sitting in the living room with us, leashed at short intervals(she gets the run of the garden when she is unleashed)The cats do come and sit with us on the sofa which is right next to Kimmy.Still trying to figure out how to calm Kimmy's excitement because that is what annoys the cats.Have trained her to Sit and hopefully soon Stay on command.She also doesn't seem to sense danger when she is on walks and other more unfriendly dogs are growling at her.She still goes towards them and wants to be friends!:-)

[collin2]

Hi! Anyone here from the Cap Coast, Queensland ??
My dog went missing around Christmas -