I haven't a clue what to do about my dog and one of the cats. Susie (the cat) will not stop attacking the dog, she isn't playing either, it's all claws. Problem is the dog attacks her back :( Well wierdly Susie has never had a mark on her, no cuts, marks anything, the dog just seems to grab her or pin her down but she's growling etc. and these incidents are perhaps once every two months. There is never an incident with the other cats, even though One other knocks the dogs nose every so often but there's no claws so the dog walks off. Now Susie is a very shy cat. She spits and growls at other people, and runs away. She hates being picked up so there is no way she would go to anyone else. The dog we've had since a pup and shes over 10 years old now. I don't really want to part with either but hate going out and leaving them alone just in case as we do have to intervene and grab the dog when they fight. I've took to locking Susie in the bedroom when we go out. I'm not sure I understand exactly what the dog istrying to do to Susie like i said, Susie is always mark free, unlike the dog :rolleyes:

What would you do?

hmm... sounds like the dog isn't aiming to hurt Suzie, just tell her to back off.

Growling is not attacking, it's a warning. It's a form of communication that many dogs use with eachother without even thinking about biting.

I would still want to keep them separate though as I'd be devastated if I had left one of my cats with a dog that didn't like them...

Perhaps next time it happens don't immediately grab the dog, call her and then grab her if it doesn't stop - make her realise that leaving the cat is rewarding, but I would still want to separate them while I was out... I know it's a tough one as she's so old, but could you give crate training a go - even dogs that aren't used to crates fare well in them, and it will be her safe space from the cat as well as preventing her from eating Suzie ;)

I have thought about getting a crate. She seems to be in a destructive mood today after emptying the bin and worrying the cat :rolleyes: I didn't really want to crate her whilst i was out as she guards the home (an additional bonus) She doesn't stop if shouted, i tried it. Grabbing her is the only way and then she growls at you, then the tail goes between her legs and she stares at the floor. I don't think she meant to growl at me, it was the shock of being grabbed by the collar. Looks like i'm going to have to keep locking poor Susie up whilst I'm out. :(

A dog can still guard from a crate ;) Ask Strix, Brude's crate overlooks the window and he can still bark and howl with the best of them.

Thing is, you really don't want the dog to be loose if someone breaks in - she'd be far safer in her crate. Think about it, you're a burglar and you come face to face with a dog guarding her territory. How do you stop her, with violence, or, you break into a house and there's a dog barking at you, but she's locked up. No need to attack her as she can't get to you, so you leave her be, maybe shove a blanket over the crate to quieten her down.

Most burglars only attack dogs, if they are free and they think they could hurt them, not because they hate dogs.

You also lose the risk of her being let out to wander the streets during a burglary.

However, you won't lose the noise she makes to deter people in the first place as she will still do that in a crate.

Up to you of course.

Now I feel really stupid as i never even thought of that

awww lol, don't feel stupid - it's something you don't often think about when you think about your pet guarding your house from a safe spot.

I keep Brude in a crate to stop him from inviting burglars in when we're out ;)
He'd be opening the front door and showing them the way to the fridge given half the chance :roll:

This thread seems to have addressed the dog's behaviour so far, which seems unfair given that she's only trying to fend off an attack by the cat, and without doing as much harm as she's suffering herself :(

Does anybody have any ideas as to how to train the cat to calm down?

I assume as she's so shy you aren't willing to try the water spay method sometimes recommended on here?

Can I change your title and see if we can attract a few more cat owners to reply? ;)

Have you tried a product such as Rescue Remedy to try to combat her shyness?