Trainer Tips: Introducing your new dog to the cat

I have recently had several clients with new puppies ask advice about how to get the cat and dog to get along.  Here are my thoughts on the subject.

Cats are a Prey animal:

Dogs are a predatory animal, whereas cats and other common pets (rabbits, guinea pigs, mice, gerbils, and farm animals such as horses, goats, sheep, etc.) are prey animals.  For a prey animal to truly become comfortable around a predator, they must feel safe.  In order for the animal to feel safe, you must be in control of the predator, or your dog.  

It's all about Energy:
Animals read other animals by their energy.  Your energy can send signals of intent.  For example, a cat can feel the energy behind a dog's want to chase him.  But if the dog has calm energy of his own and has no intent to chase or harm the cat, the cat can sense he is safe. 
In training your energy is very important.  Ever tried to train your dog when you were angry or frustrated?  Yeah didn't really get anywhere did you?  All animals, including our dogs read us by our energy.  That is why it is so important to remain CALM. 
I often use my calm energy as a barrier to a dog.  This is how you can "claim" something...anything from the cat, to a friend, or the front door.  Your energy, used correctly, can do wonders for you and your pets.

How to be in control of your dog:

Your dog needs training.  I obviously suggest seeking the help of a qualified dog trainer, but many people do train their dogs just fine on their own.  I do recommend at least a Basic Manners class to really get important basic commands down with your dog, and to help socialize them.  Most dog trainers know more than you think.  And a good trainer can offer several solutions to help curb any bad behavior problems.  Remember to seek out a trainer who uses positive reinforcement training methods.  Ask for references and to observe during a class or lesson to see what kind of vibe you get from that person, and how they interact with dogs and their owners.   

To be able to control your dog, you must have a good relationship.  That means giving your dog plenty of physical (walking) and mental (training) exercise.  Once you have established a good bond, here are a few methods to try to get your pets together.

Introducing the Cat to the Dog:

Create a Barrier:

Training the cat to be comfortable with the dog is really just showing the cat that you control the dog, and that you will not allow the dog to harm the cat in any way.

The best time to introduce your new dog to the cat is after the dog or puppy has had plenty of exercise and is in a calm state.  Generally, when a dog first sees a cat (or other household pet), they will be very curious and want to investigate.  This is a good thing.  But we must control HOW they do so.  I recommend creating an invisible barrier around yourself.  I like to use a wall of my own nice calm energy.  The dog is not allowed past this barrier.  The dog must learn to give you space when you ask for it.  If you are uncomfortable or nervous creating your own barrier, use a baby gate.
-----I also recommend practicing setting up barriers with your dog around the house.  Such as the dog is not allowed in the kitchen when preparing or eating food.  Practice your circle barrier (used here) with a toy in your lap before practicing with the cat (or other small prey animal).-----

Place the cat in your lap and hold the cat with one hand.  Make sure you are calm.  Try and stroke the cat calmly in your lap and get the cat to settle.  The other hand will be used to block the dog.  Since you have already started basic training with your dog, your dog should know an "uh-uh" command, meaning "I do not like this current behavior."  This is what you will say when the dog gets to close/ crosses your boundary line.  The more in control of your dog you are and the more calm you are, the easier this will be.  Remember to not stress your cat out too much.  If the cat has reached his point, let him go where he can easily escape away from the dog.  Remember it is YOUR job to protect the cat and make the cat feel that you will keep him SAFE!  Do this only a few minutes (2-10) the first couple times.  Allow your cat to come out and explore is he wants to, and encourage him to do so.  Treats are always nice.

If you are consistent in basic training with your dog, and remain calm during this exercise, eventually your dog will start showing signals of calming down.  Mark these things with your, "Good!"  These signals will include:  backing away, looking to the human more, siting or laying down outside the boundary.  Any time your dog shows these signals, mark that good behavior and reward (toss them a treat).

Impulse Control Approach:
Place your dog on a leash and have several small treats ready.  Have another human hold the cat (or lead of the farm animal) in a calm and comfortable way on the floor or couch.  Basically what we are training here is the dog's impulse to want to go after the cat.  Approach the cat with the dog on the leash.  You want to take a step or two, then stop.  If the dog does not react, praise.  If the dog looks at the cat then looks back to human, praise and treat.  Remain calm.  Calmly move 1-2 steps closer.  If the dog offers good behavior again, praise and treat.  If the dog lunges, barks, or tries to go after the cat, mark the bad behavior with your "eh-eh" or "uh-oh" and immediately move away from the cat a few steps until the dog calms down.  Once the dog and cat are calm, start over.  
The person holding the cat in this exercise should remember to also remain calm and make the cat feel that he is safe and protected.  The person holding the cat should ignore the dog.  If you are doing this exercise with a larger farm-type animal, I recommend the person holding the lead stand in between the animal and the dog, but still ignore the dog.

In the End:
Depending on the age of your pets when they are first introduced, they may never become the best of friends.  But they can certainly learn to tolerate each other and co-exist peacefully.  (The best way to guarantee they will become friends is to adopt them both at a young age and near the same time.)
I have heard several times that this cat and that dog will just never get along.  
It is possible.  Read about one of my stories here.

BML1--Class #6

Dogs from L to R:  Hope, Koa, Boone, Maybe, Devo, & Ogi.

Basic Manners Level One:

Positive Reinforcement Training

Energy Balance

Marker Word

No Reward Marker

Food Lure

Look/ Watch Me, Basic & the T position

Come when Called, 3 Steps & 3 Rules

Loose Leash Walking

Sit & Auto-Sit

Down

Up/ Stand

(Hand Signals)

Stay with Release Cue

Impulse Control

Leave It

Drop It

Class #6 of Basic Manners Level One is a review of all things learned.  We go over each cue and play different games to improve on each command.  At the end of class #6, each participant is given a certificate of completion.  Below are some pictures of the dogs working on "Stay."

Maybe.

Devo.

Boone.

Ogi.

REMEMBER to Keep Training Going:

Proper Exercise:  Every dog should be walked every day!

Good Relationship with the owner:  When you get frustrated, remember why you got your dog, he’s your buddy, he’s your pal.  Don’t take set-back’s personal.

Socialization:  It is very important to have a dog that is comfortable in as many different situations as possible.  Take your dog everywhere you can, but proceed at your dog’s pace.

Consistency:  Everyone in the household should have all the same rules, all the same cue words and commands, ALL THE TIME!

Generalizing:  Dogs do not generalize well.  It is important to practice everything you learn, everywhere you go.

Training Sessions:  Keep them short and sweet.  3-5 minutes a few times a day.

VIDEO: Impulse Control

Impulse Control:

Teaching a dog how to control his natural impulses can be very helpful in our everyday lives.  Controlling your dog’s impulses can help keep him safe.  For example, you do not want your dog to run out into the road after a rabbit or squirrel and get hit by a car.  This is pre-training for teaching the Leave-It command.

In this exercise, we ultimately want the dog to look back to us for guidance when he is unable to get to the treat.  We are looking for the dog to control his impulse to snatch something off the ground.

To begin, hold the dog’s leash short and toss a treat just out of the dog’s reach.  Make sure the dog sees you do this.  The dog will tug and pull and possible claw trying to get to the treat.  When the dog looks away from the treat, mark the behavior with your Marker Word, "Good!," and reward the dog with a different treat (from your hand).  Pick up the treat you tossed, and start again.  The goal is first to get the dog to look away from the treat, and then to look back at you.  When the dog does this, give your “Good” and reward with a different treat.  Once the dog actually turns away from the thrown treat and LOOKS at you, give a very happy “Good!” with extra treats and praise.

BML1--Class #3

Basic Manners -- Level One, Class #3

Maybe & Lillinoe playing before class.

Such Good Dogs Basic Manners Class #3

Review of what is Rewarding to Dogs:

1.  Voice

2.  Eye Contact

3.  Touch

Anti-Jumping/ Auto-Sit:

We want a dog to learn that anytime someone comes over, the dog should put their butt on the ground.  To practice, you basically walk up to your dog like an excited, random stranger, if the dog remains with All 4 Paws on the Floor, give your “Good” and reward.  If the dog jumps up, say nothing and walk away.

4 on the Floor:  When a dog can be greeted and keep all 4 paws on the floor and/or sit, reward the dog with a “Good” and soft, calm pet.  This is a good exercise to practice giving “Real Life Rewards.”  Always make your dog EARN what they get.

Practice Look / Watch Me:

We want a dog who looks to us for direction and permission.  Having a dog that is well focused on the owner will give you control over many situations.  This is the exercise you will practice when your dog becomes distracted during training.  This is meant to help focus (or re-focus) the dog back to the owner.

To do this, we place the treat directly in the dog’s nose then raise it straight up next to our eye, while standing back up.  As you raise your hand give your command word, “Look.”  Eventually we want the dog to look directly in our eyes, but to begin with, it they look anywhere in the general area of your head, say your “Good” and give the treat.

If your dog remains in position but is not looking at you, do NOT repeat your arm movements or verbal command.  Instead, hold the treat in position next to your eye while looking at the dog and WAIT.  You will wait 30 seconds to a minute.  If the dog still has not looked, give your No Reward Marker or “Uh-oh,” move positions, take a breath, and then try again.

Sit, Down, & Up:

We use the Food Lure technique to first teach these commands.  Some of these things may have already been learned, that’s great.  You can use the dog’s current knowledge of each cue and progress further to adding hand signals.  Each command should have its own word and hand signal.  (Demonstrated in training.)

Come when Called:

We now add all 3 Steps to Come when Called.

1.  Say the dog’s name, and Come.  ONE TIME ONLY.

2.  Have a party.

3.  Lure the dog back to you.

The reason we have 3 steps is, we start with step one, if that doesn’t work, we try step 2, if that doesn’t work, we go to step 3.  Properly practicing the steps and following the rules to Come when Called will help you build a reliable recall.  This is one of the most important things you can teach your dog.  As your dog improves, you must practice by slowly increasing distance, then adding distractions.  

(Command & Hand Signal demonstrated in training).

Impulse Control:

Teaching a dog how to control his natural impulses can be very helpful in our everyday lives.  Controlling your dog’s impulses can help keep him safe.  For example, you do not want your dog to run out into the road after a rabbit or squirrel and get hit by a car.  This is pre-training for teaching the Leave-It command.

In this exercise, we ultimately want the dog to look back to us for guidance when he is unable to get to the treat.  We are looking for the dog to control his impulse to snatch something off the ground.

To begin, hold the dog’s leash short and toss a treat just out of the dog’s reach.  Make sure the dog sees you do this.  The dog will tug and pull and possible claw trying to get to the treat.  When the dog looks away from the treat, reward the dog with a different treat (from your hand).  Pick up the treat you tossed, and start again.  The goal is first to get the dog to look away from the treat, and then to look back at you.  When the dog does this, give your “Good” and reward with a different treat.  Once the dog actually turns away from the thrown treat and LOOKS at you, give a very happy “Good!” with extra treats and praise.
Also check out our Impulse Control Training Video.

Koa practicing Impulse Control.

Devo & Ogi practicing Loose Leash Walking.

Loose Leash Walking.

PRACTICE!

Loose Leash Walking

Look

Sit & Auto-sit, Down, and Up

Come when Called, with all 3 steps

Impulse Control

Ogi waiting for her reward for doing well.