Rescue Dog And House Cat

Question
HI, two days ago we rescued a staffy x whippet female dog she is 17 months old, we have two cats at home a 1yr and a 5yr who previously where living quite happily in the house with my old dog who was a jack Russell, our new dog sabre just wants to attack the cats, we thought if we put her on a lead and showed her the cats she would learn that they are her friends but she launched at them and got swiped at the face by the cat, all she wants to do is attack them, she will chase them out of the back yard then wait for them to come back again so she can chase them away again, she is very aggressive towards the cats and the cats are the same towards the dog, there is alot if growling from both parties and hiss and scratching from the cats and barking form the dog.
what can i do i don't want to have to loose any of them.

Answer

Hi Allyson,

Really, what's going to help your situation the most, is time. It may take a month or more before all your pets come to an "understanding", and the dust settles. They may never be the best of pals, but they will learn in time to tolerate one another.

You should continue to keep your new dog on her leash in the house. Either hold onto the end of the leash, or tie it to your belt loop. The minute your dog looks as though she's even thinking about going after a cat, give the leash a sharp tug, and tell her "NO!". Reward her when she's just sitting quietly close to you. Whenever you can't be supervising your new dog, she needs to either be crated, or contained in some way. An indoor dog pen or a couple of child gates works well for this.

When you leave the house, separate the animals in physically, securely separated areas. Give each access to water, a bed or other suitable resting place, and some toys. Be sure the cat has access to a litter box. Make sure everyone in your family and any caretakers understand the need to separate the animals.

Teach your new dog the "leave it" command, and use this command when you want her to leave the cats alone. Also teach the dog the "down" and "stay" commands so that you can place her in a down-stay in the presence of the cats. Read about how to train those commands here:

http://www.dog-obedience-training-review.com/leave-it.html

http://www.dog-obedience-training-review.com/down-command.html

http://www.dog-obedience-training-review.com/training-a-dog-to-stay.html

Praise your dog when she doesn't bark or chase the cats. Praise and reward the dog for ANY calm behavior around the cat. Do this consistently, not just once in awhile. Your new dog should also be contained or crated overnight, so the cats can peacefully have the run of the house.

Best of luck!
Patti