My friend has had two cats for the past year, and has just decided to buy herself a dog (:rolleyes: I'm not exactly a dog lover).

The puppy, which she has had for about two months, is quite a meaty thing, and is very rough when it plays with one of the cats. Today I caught it grabbing hold of the cat's face and pulling it forwards - it received a puncture wound just under the eye because of it. I shouted and the dog and chased it away, but not being a dog owner (and my friend knows very little about disciplining and training dogs), I need to know how to stop the dog from mauling the poor cat. Anyone? Please?!

Hiya Ant,

we've had our cat for around 8 years so she was pretty settled into a routine when we got our puppy in October last year.

Dogs particularly need to know their 'position' in the heirarchy and will fight to be 'top dog'.

We got a puppy rather than an older dog specifically so he could grow up with the cat around. One thing I did right from the start was to:

Teach the puppy that he is at the bottom of the heirarchy. I did this by always feeding the cat first. Being fed first is a sign of being superior. I always try to eat something before feeding the cat then the dog - so that they learn I am the top dog!

Always make sure I enter a room first, then the cat, and then the dog. This is another sign of position - the top dog goes first.

There must be some rooms or at least one room in the house that the dog is not allowed in. In our case, the dog is not allowed in the bedroom and actively discouraged from going upstairs. The cat on the other hand is allowed in the bedroom.

It's all the little things like this that help the dog know it's position. A dog is happier once it knows it's place and can get stressed if it gets mixed messages so there must be consistency of approach.

She's going to have to be pretty tough but dogs learn quickly and will probably be more settled once it has clear rules.

Let me know how she gets on :thumbsup:

Thanks, Hels! Oodles of information there for me. I'll pass it all on to her tomorrow and will certainly let you know how it goes.

:thumbsup: Cheers :thumbsup:

Cats are normally pretty good at reminding young dogs that they are NOT going to be the top animal. Luckily dogs on the whole do learn rapidly and a few stern commands of 'NO' if he tries to approach the cats should soon do the trick.
The only trouble then is that cats can sometimes be total terrors and will in some cases go out of their way to wind the dog up, i.e. sauntering past,tail in air almost daring the dog to have a go, or hanging around whilst the dog is being fed and making moves towards his food. Then of course there is the lying on the kitchen chair and swiping out at the dog as he innocently strolls past. All of these things can cause a bit of a rumpus and it's only then as you look up from the computer and think to yourself 'oh no the dog is having a go at the cats again' The dog gets told off and he's the victim.

I wouldn't worry too much personally Ant.
My Staffie was pretty much fully grown when i got her. We already had a cat. My Staffie tried to eat the cat straight away but there's no way she was going to catch the cat :wink: After a couple of days of being 'hunted' the cat lost her rag and kicked the proverbial out of the dog! That was one of the funniest sights i've ever seen.
After a few weeks they were fine together. They even drank out of the same bowl, at the same time :?

[The post from Hels makes perfect sense though] :thumbsup:

My dog always want to 'play' with the cat, and she doesn't want anything to do with him. On the odd occasion he's got a bit too close for comfort she's wacked him one! He soon learned from that!

It's so funny to see them in the garden together though, she goes and scratches at a tree, then he goes up to the same tree, he loves to watch her and follow her around! I'll have to get my video camera out because it's so comical.

And cats really can tease, we've got a dog next door and the cat just sits this side of the fence watching him, as he barks and tries to get at her! lol

Thanks for the advice. :thumbsup:

One of the cats is fine - she hisses at him, the back goes up, and so on. The puppy soon gets the message and leaves her alone. The other though, is still very nervous of him, and seems to be picked on almost constantly. He wouldn't dare tease the puppy as he knows he'll be hammered. All I heard today at the house was the sounds of the cat wailing in irritation and pain.

And cats really can tease, we've got a dog next door and the cat just sits this side of the fence watching him, as he barks and tries to get at her! lol

Yeah, hers do that as well, to the three rottweilers next door.

I bought two dogs ( a wlesh terrier) and a scottie when my cans were 15 ( I had two cats)

they retired to the garden for a few days then slowly got used to them.
it is important to give the cats their own space

we put a couple of blankets on the table and work top and the cats sit up there out of the dogs way and out of trouble.

the puppy will get used to the cats need not to play but dont shout when he approaches them, it will scare the cats and make a game of it all for the puppy, and get him more excited.

we put the lead on finlay and when he bounced towards them we pulled him back calmly and without fuss.
he soon got the message