New rescue dog - not going well. What to do?

[Night Elf]

We already have a 4.5 year old beagle/jack russell mix that we rescued 3 years ago. Her name is Bandit (yes a boy name, but it fits her so well!)

 

We got Oscar (4 yr. old beagle mix) on Wednesday, so he has only been with us 4 days. He and Bandit took a couple of days to get acquainted. Oscar was happy to see Bandit on day 1 and wanted to play with her. Bandit growled and snapped. We understand that is usual dog behavior but we have never seen her do that before. They seem okay now. Bandit will play with Oscar for a while, though the growling and snapping is a little scary. Oscar is trying to be dominant and our vet gave us ideas on how to keep Bandit feeling she's the top dog. That seems to be the biggest issue between them.

 

But the biggest problem is that Oscar doesn't seem to like cats!! At the vet, they put him in a room with a cat to see how he would do but he was very subdued. He walked over to the cat, who was not bothered by the dog, sniffed him, touched noses with him, and walked away indifferently. However, that hasn't been our experience. We have 2 cats and Oscar growls and leaps at them. They are so terrified of him that they have stayed in the back of the house much of the time. Last night, I had to take food and water to them. Any time they venture out to the main part of the house, Oscar goes nuts. Now, it may just be that he's trying to play with him but we don't think that is going to work out. I'm also wondering if he was calm with the cat at the vet's office because the atmosphere and environment can make an animal cower.

 

Bandit has never had an issue with our cats. They hissed at her when we first got her but they only took a few days to learn not to bother with each other.

 

Our cats are extremely important to us. We lost 1 of 4 (my cat) last August, and 2 of 4 (DH's cat) last April. DH can't even consider getting another cat just yet because he's still hurting from losing his best pet friend. But we all agreed that another dog, especially an affectionate one, would be a nice addition to our family of humans and animals.

 

Do I give Oscar longer? Is his crazy behavior towards our cats going to lessen, and soon? My heart hurts to see our beloved cats in fear. Or do I send him back to his foster mom who did offer to take him back should anything not work out.

 

What a mess! I've got tears in my eyes.

[snickelfritz]

I don't know exactly how to do it.:confused:

 

At our dog training place, it usually involves lots of treats.

 

Without having some expert advice, what I would try...

 

1. Take the dog for a long walk to get it really tired.

2. Come in and sit with the dog and have a large supply of treats. Make them good ones that dog will really want.

3. Have someone walk through carrying the cat, but not getting too close. Praise dog for staying calm (if it didn't stay calm, make it a briefer glimpse) and give a treat.

4. Have cat person walk through a little closer and praise and give a treat.

keep repeating to see if you can get the cat closer and closer without the dog going ballistic. Praising and giving treats liberally.

 

 

It may take several days to work up to it, but eventually I would be trying to let the cat walk around while the dog sits by you and you praise and treat profusely.

 

 

We did this with my kids, while also being VERY clear with the dog about our no bite rule and we're working on no jumping. Any biting, had me putting my hand up under the dogs chin and bringing the mouth upward and saying very severely "no bite." You might be able to institute in the dog that it is, under no circumstances, allowed to play rough with the cats.

 

Beyond that, if the dog just won't work for your family.....it just won't work.

[TheTwinsMom1]

I really suggest the dog whisperer books with Cesar. His methods have worked well with our dog.

 

Basically make sure you are tiring the dog out with exercise. He suggests 2 30 minute walks a day.

 

Then feed the dog, so he is calm and happy. Then try introducing the cat and the dog. If he growls or does anything he should not you instantly correct the behavior by a short, not hard tug on the leash and a sound. He uses Shushing sounds. Of course have the dog on a short training leash while doing this.

 

Basically you need to show the dog the entire family is his pack, cats included, and that the cats are a higher ranking member of the pack than he is.

 

But I suggest, A member of the family, and Be the pack leader, by Cesar Millan.

[Veronica in VA]

I think it is probably too early to decide whether it will work or not. My oldest dog, Sasha, lost his best doggy companion and we got a new one through a rescue. We probably didn't introduce them quite right. You should take them both to a neutral area and let them meet there before coming home. However, it was winter so we didn't do that. There was a lot of snapping, growling, and fussing at first, but with a lot of treats, and separation of the two when I couldn't be right there it finally worked. For the first week or so I was not really sure it would and I even called the rescue about it. The two dogs tolerate each other and never fight or growl at each other anymore but they are not "friends." Two years ago we brought another rescue dog in. We had them all meet in neutral territory and for the most part if has worked out really well and they all get along great now. But even though I wanted the older dog to be top, that is not the way things worked out and the newest dog is top dog. I let them work that out, and they did. I found that when I interfered, I only delayed the process of letting them figure out where each one stands.

 

Both of the rescue dogs, actually all of my dogs, were never really exposed to cats before they entered our house. The two older ones were fine. The newest member and the kitty really took awhile to get used to each other - which is a kind way to put it. In spite of claws stuck in her nose, the newest dog still though chasing kitty and sniffing her was "cool." However, it was clear that the dog had no intentions of hurting the cat, and she stayed out of the loft, which is way kitty reigns. It has become a game though, and the cat sometimes walks by the dog and hits her in the muzzle with her tail. The chase is on... You will have to put firm limits on the dog and let it know that chasing kitty is bad. However, if it becomes clear that it is not a game, the cat becomes very stressed and can't get away from the dog, or you feel that the cat is really in danger, you may have to re-home the dog. Also, and I'm sorry this got so long, obedience training should really help a lot of these issues.

 

Veronica

[Rita]

How do the rest of your family feel about the new addition? If no one is really in love with this dog yet, I'd vote for sending him back to the foster mom. I have taken foster dogs back before when it didn't work out. I know people are saying that you can train the dog to get along with your cats, but it is A LOT of work, and your cats may not get over it in the end.

Blessings,

Rita

[KidsHappen]

We are six months farther along in this journey than you are. We have four cats and one new dog. The dog does not like the cats. The dog already had some issues that we had to work through when we got him: jumping up on people, barking for attention, chewing and/or eating anything he could get ahold of and gnawing on people's hands and arms. We have been workin with a training from the beginning and have worked through most of the issues but we have ahd no luck with the cats. We currently have the entire upstairs physically barricaded from the downstairs so the cats and dogs can occupy seperate spaces and then the dog sleep tethered at night but still we have issues. We just bought an electric training collar and will begin work with it this week. I will give that about two more months but if that does not work, I am not exactly sure what I am going to do. No one in the family is attached to the dog but for some strange reason one child doesn't want to find him a new home. I would like to think that it will work out but both the trainer and the vet say that sometimes it never does.

[mooooom]

I have been adopting dogs out for 9 years now. They all lived in my house first - I have cats and two pretty submissive dogs - it is pretty easy for me to figure out what the dog is like and what kind of home it should go to - it is much MORE difficult to do this in a kennel environment. I know virtual rescues do not exist everywhere, but it is definitely a much "safer" way to get a pet.

 

In my opinion, this dog should go back, and be adopted by someone who does not have cats. You have the potential of ending up with cats who only creep out at night after the dog is asleep, or a dead or seriously injured cat. If your cats are important to you, this is not a risk you want to take.

 

Whenever we foster a dog that isn't "cat compatible" I miss my cats terribly as they hole up in the basement and don't come out till nightfall. In fact I won't foster dogs anymore who are aggressive towards cats. Their are a lot of rescuable dogs out there, It should not be difficult to find one that fits into your family better. You should be encourged to bring your current dog to the initial meet. I have never had a dog returned because dogs that got along initially changed their minds, but I have seen plenty of dogs who meet and hate each other on sight, and I have never let them go home together.