Cats and Dogs – Training Eternal Enemies to Coexist

Dogs and cats. Eternal enemies, right? Through proper canine obedience training at home, you can teach your animals to live together.

The first mistake most pet owners make when introducing their dogs and cats is allowing them to do their own introductions. This is a mistake! As I said before, these two species are eternal enemies. You cannot place one near the other and expect great results. (Ok, I know that can and does happen, but my job here is to teach you about home dog obedience training. My version of training calls for prevention with dogs and cats rather than creating a problem and then being forced fix it. As Mom used to say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure). There is a fair amount of prevention that should be used before allowing your dogs and cats to co-exist.

Whether you’re introducing a new cat to a home with a dog or vice versa, I want you to start out the same way. Start by using your trusty dog ​​crate. Put your dog in the crate and allow the cat to be in the same room. There are several possible outcomes for this action:

1. Your dog shows total indifference. This is ideal. If your dog behaves like this, you will have a quick transition.

2. Your dog shows fear. This is not ideal, but it will make the transition easier than other results.

3. Your dog shows nervousness and anxiety. He complains, walks in the box, kicks the door of the box, etc. This behavior tells you that he wants out. There is something about that cat that is exciting and wants to know what he is.

4. Your dog is aggressive. He barks, scratches the box door and knows exactly what you want to do with that cat. This is going to be the hardest dog to train, but it can be done.

For the first few days, keep your dogs and cats away. Keep the dog in the cage. This does not mean that you should keep him in the crate 24/7. When you want him out of the crate, just make sure your cat is locked in another room to prevent contact. What you hope to accomplish with this action is to train your dog to be indifferent to the cat. You want your dog to see the cat as “background noise”. The cat is inconsequential, the cat doesn’t matter, there is nothing interesting or exciting about the cat. In other words, your dog is safely hidden in the crate and casually watching the cat move around the house. For categories 1 and 2 this will be simple. It won’t take more than a day or two for your dog to think of your cat as just another “thing” in the house. Categories 3 and 4 will require more training and time.

For categories 3 and 4, you must attach a negative association to show cat aggression. To do this, get a spray bottle. Fill the bottle with plain water, water mixed with lemon juice or, for very stubborn dogs, water with vinegar. At this point, your dog is still safely hidden in the crate. The next part of the training will take place while you are sitting near the box, ready for action. Tea instant your dog shows aggression (barks at the cat, scratches the door, whimpers in frustration, etc.) towards the cat spray him in the face with your spray bottle. Every time he shows aggression, spray him with the bottle. When he’s not being aggressive, gently praise him, “Good boy.”

Make sure your dog never you have the opportunity to show aggression towards the cat without having a bad experience. This means you should always have the spray bottle ready or make sure the cat is not near the dog. If you are inattentive and your dog is given the opportunity to show aggression without adverse consequences, you are training him to show feline aggression.

If you are consistent with this exercise, you will soon notice that your dog will show less and less aggression while in the crate, it just isn’t worth squirting in his face. You are well on your way to getting your dogs and cats to coexist.

When you are comfortable that your dog is indifferent to the cat, continue to the next step. Like I said, for categories 1 and 2 this is probably a day or two after starting box training. For categories 3 and 4, make your dog nonchalant and maintain that attitude for several days, if not a week.

The next step is to get your dog out of the crate and get those dogs and cats together at last! However, you are going to move slowly. Put the training collar and leash on your dog and make sure he always wears it in the house. Keep your dog close to you and allow your cat to be in the room. If your dog makes any move to chase the cat, bark at the cat, or engage in any of the other stereotypical behaviors that cats and dogs exhibit, give him a strong leash correction. You want this strap fix to be memorable, so it needs to be very strong. You want to form a very negative association towards cat aggression.

Be consistent with this training. If you do this correctly, you will notice that your dog has less and less desire to chase or bark at the cat. As you notice your dog changing his behavior, give him more and more freedom by allowing him to be closer to the cat and further away from you. Over time, he will gradually eliminate the use of the dog training collar and leash.

Even if your dog does not display aggressive tendencies, never let him chase the cat in the house, even playing.

Even some of the most difficult to train dogs will respond to the above method. There are, however, certain dogs that have such a strong prey drive that only drastic measures will cure them of their desire to chase and kill cats. For these dogs I use an electric dog training collar.

Read the instruction manual on the proper fit of your electric dog training collar. With a stubborn dog that needs an electric collar, the method is simple. With the collar on the neck and turned on at a high level of stimulation you are going to correct your dog each time he even looks at the cat. When your dog even sneaks a peek at your cat, hit the button to send the correction. Don’t say ‘no’, don’t react in any way, just correct him for looking at the cat. Do this as many times as necessary. Let’s examine this from your dog’s point of view. He wants to get to the cat, he wants to chase it, he wants to kill. But the very act of looking at the cat causes him pain. You don’t say anything to him so that he doesn’t associate the correction with you. He will soon learn to believe that the cat is ‘evil’ and he had better not even look at it because the act of looking causes him pain.

As in all training, you must be very constant. Your dog should never have the opportunity to chase or want to chase the cat. Be consistent, though, and soon your dogs and cats will be able to co-exist.