I know that Bode is still a baby and patience is necessary, but I'm really frustrated with this situation. Sometimes Bode will completely ignore the cat (Myles). When he does, we praise him, tell him he's a good boy, etc...But other times Bode will not leave Myles alone. He will run after him, and today he started to put his mouth on him. When he does this, we yell "No!" and try to re-direct him. It's tough though because he will just do it out of nowhere, and we are not always close enough to physically correct him. Myles is also being a butthead about it. He purposely will taunt him/walk in front of him. He also has never had to use violence to protect himself, so I don't think he realizes he can swat Bode to tell him to back off.

What more can we do right now? If it's like this now, I am worried about how he will be when the prey drive kicks in. Myles was our first furbaby and I love him and it stresses me out that this is happening!

I will admit that I have never owned a cat, always had dogs. But I am sure you don't want to physically correct Bode when he is bothering the cat. I'm sure many people will give you advise but have you tried a water bottle when he gets to close the the cat. Just spray him with it. I have friends who swear this will work.

are you keeping bode leashed in the house? maybe keeping him leashed is the best course of action with the cat around till he knows to leave him alone. spray water is good to. sorry not really a cat person and not a puppy person but these are things i have read in the past.

He hasn't been leashed in the house because there really hasn't been any other reason. I will try the water bottle thing next.

Well I am a cat person but I don't have this problem because my cats both know how to put the dog in her place!!

That said here are a couple of ideas. . .

First, make sure the cat has a place he can escape to if things get out of hand. I find baby gates are good for this because you can leave enough room underneath for the cat to get through but not the dog. This has always been the case in my house and works not just with other animals but also small children.

Second, make sure the cat has a place to eat and use the litterbox (if he is indoors) that the dog can NEVER get to. (This can be the same place but needs to be out of Bode's view . . . the idea is to provide the cat a safe, secure place to go. Not one where the dog can sit and watch, bark and growl at the cat. This also works for Bode on the out of sight, out of mind philosophy.)

Third, make sure that Bode knows the cat is higher up in the pack than he is. ( I know a lot of people don't follow the pack mentality anymore but its the easiest way to explain this.) You can do this by holding the cat and giving the cat attention in Bode's presence (i.e. the cat is in your lap and Bode has to sit at your feet and ignor the cat). Allowing the cat to be up higher than Bode. (My cats like to sit on the half wall or the window sill.) Feed the cat before you feed Bode. Etc.

Finally, if you haven't yet you need to teach Bode leave it and drop it. I use leave it with Saphire anytime she thinks about approaching something she shouldn't have (this includes cats, rabbits, my things etc.) and drop it anytime she gets ahold of something she shouldn't have. So you could use leave it everytime Bode shows interest in the cat. Thus teaching him to stay away from the cat.

This will take some time but should help improve the situation.

I would also agree with not using physical correction. . . husky's tend to do better with positive reinforcement and redirection. For example, you could put Bode in a time out away from the cat anytime he interacts with the cat inappropriately.

The water bottle and leash ideas both sound like good ideas to me also.

Myles does have a place to hide, but he rarely uses it, which is part of the problem. If Bode gets too rough, Myles will just run away a little bit away and lay down, right in plain view.

What is the best way to teach "leave it"?

Well I don't know about the best way. . . . but I started with a favorite toy and lots of treats. I put the toy on the ground. . . told Saphire "Leave it" . . . and when she did what she was told she got treats. Then I started using "leave it" for everything I didn't want her to touch.

Unfortunately trianing cats is much more difficult. . . How rough is Bode getting? Can you supervise until either Myles defends himself, runs, or its dangerous? What about borrowing a friends dog that likes to play with cats but won't hurt them?

Just trying to help figure out a way to get Myles to either stand up for himself or get away. This is a two sided problem and will probably require some learning on both sides.

Saphire isn't mean to the cats but she is just a pup and gets a little too rough sometimes. The cats are not mean to her but will let her know if she is too rough by either growling and batting or running away.

I don't think Bode is being mean, I think he just wants to play. I just am worried about it going too far. For the most part Bode just chases Myles and yips sometimes (like he does with dogs he's trying to get to play). Today though he opened his mouth at Myles' side against the door.

Sara, Don't freak yourself out too much. Delilah and Cato both mouth the cats. The cats actually like it and they also like getting nibbled. It's like a kitty massage. It doesn't mean its aggressive or that he is trying to eat Myles.

As far as correcting, I will go against every "positive reinforcement" rule for the cats. It's a bit different than jumping up or potty training. You have the cats lives in your hands. We had no issue with Delilah, she acclimated to cats VERY quickly, but with Cato - completely different story. At first, he wanted to chase them everywhere and the cats were no help, as they antagonized him. They still do. In any case, if Cato go rough with the cat, even it was playing, he got a firm grab of the muzzle with a loud and deep "NO!" and the cat got thrown over the gate, to make sure they BOTH knew it was not okay. After a few weeks, Cato got the point and now all I have to do is look over and say "Cato..." and he will leave the cat. Honestly, I used tough love and he got a FIRM grab of the muzzle - yes, he cried a little, but I wasn't hurting him, just annoying him. With the cat's lives you cannot take a chance. I'll get some scrutiny for this, but negative reinforcement works for us and I would rather not come home to a dead kitty.

What is myles' escape?

Right now, his escape is up on furniture and counters. He also has a closet that he likes to hide in and Bode doesn't bother him in there. We are probably going to have to come up with a better solution once Bode gets bigger, but our house is so small that it's tough. We could babygate the office off (which is where his closet is and the litterbox is, but I don't know if Myles would jump it. He's not a big jumper.

I know I'm freaking out a little bit too much, but I've never lived in a household with cats and dogs together. And we love Myles so much (even if he is a cat!), I don't want him to be too stressed out.

Go get a baby gate with a Kitty Hole in it - we have this one:

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=10957722

The dogs can't fit through it at full height, right now Cato still squeezes, but he is only 7 months. Delilah can't fit through it at all.

We love our cats too, and gate off the Kitchen and Basement so they can have their own space. You can make it work!

Pretty much been where you are last month.This is what I did. Thane and Halla used to wrestle when Thane was small it was all playful because Thane could not hurt Halla. Now Thane is almost 5 months old and could kill Halla with his playful behavior but he does not know this. The cat is just a jerk and taunts the dog cause he feels it's his job XD.

So to break Thane of the rough play with the cat I had to play man to dog defense for the cat for a whole week . Thane knows that I'm top dog and for a whole week I was defending the cat and "would not share" if he played rough.

So when I let him out he gets to use the bathroom and play, when he would spot the cat I stand by and let them start wrestling. The second the cat hisses or let's off a growl I'm on Thane like crap on velcro. I let out a stern "Leave It" and push him off, then I would pick up the cat and sit down on the floor and put myself between him and the cat, if Thane tried to get the cat I would push him back and stare him in the face with my I'm not pleased look to let him know I'm not playing. Eventually he would lose interest. Next time they try to play I repeat the process, if he's on leash beside me same deal.

After a week he got the message that if the cat hisses or growls, he's done playing with him. Now when they play it's soft play, if the cat makes a noise he knows it's done and walks away. Some days he won't even touch the cat . They are best friends.

I think the important thing here is to remember that you have to train them both. Its great to train Bode to not hurt the cat, but remember a dog can do a lot of damage to a cat faster than you can stop them. So it is also important to teach the cat to get away if he feels threatened.

I would punish Bode and put Myles in the office every time they get too rough. This teaches Bode to play nice and Myles to get away.

As for the baby gate, the one with the cat hole is nice to have but in a pinch you can use a regular baby gate set high enough off the floor to allow the cat to slip underneath the gate but still keep the dog out.

AND

mheath0429 wrote:

he got a firm grab of the muzzle with a loud and deep "NO!" and the cat got thrown over the gate, to make sure they BOTH knew it was not okay.

I believe positive reinforcement is better than beating your dog in an attempt to get results. This doesn't qualify. I use this technique along with redirection a lot with Saphire!

dbingham12 wrote:

mheath0429 wrote:

he got a firm grab of the muzzle with a loud and deep "NO!" and the cat got thrown over the gate, to make sure they BOTH knew it was not okay.

I believe positive reinforcement is better than beating your dog in an attempt to get results. This doesn't qualify. I use this technique along with redirection a lot with Saphire!

This is all I meant by physical redirection in the original. No one ever said anything about "beating" a dog.

MGoBlue wrote:

dbingham12 wrote:

mheath0429 wrote:

he got a firm grab of the muzzle with a loud and deep "NO!" and the cat got thrown over the gate, to make sure they BOTH knew it was not okay.

I believe positive reinforcement is better than beating your dog in an attempt to get results. This doesn't qualify. I use this technique along with redirection a lot with Saphire!

This is all I meant by physical redirection in the original. No one ever said anything about "beating" a dog.

Sorry didn't mean to imply that. Just some people say physical redirection and mean a swat to the nose! And for Saphire that means no cooperation at all! Again sorry didn't mean any offense!

dbingham12 wrote:

Sorry didn't mean to imply that. Just some people say physical redirection and mean a swat to the nose! And for Saphire that means no cooperation at all! Again sorry didn't mean any offense!

It's ok. That's just a strong phrase to use on a board where people are here because they obviously care about their pets. No problem though!

Unfortunately . . . the beating thing happens a lot more than you would think. I watched a guy last night beat his new puppy because he ran up to Saphire and I on our walk (mind you the pup wasn't on a leash) and Saphire wents nuts because she had her "husky ears" on last night and wouldn't listen to a thing. When I called the guy out on it he told me he loved the pup and didn't want him to "behave like my monster." So unfortunately love and care do not always equal no beatings. A lot of people still think that you have to be forcefull to establish dominance. Hopefully though if we keep speaking up those of us who know better can help fix that. But really again I am truely sorry. I didn't mean to offend or imply.

Just want to make sure I read this correctly - I don't beat Cato in the least - a firm muzzle grab is not beating.

I would never beat my dogs.

No I agree that a firm muzzle grab is NOT beating. But I try not to advise physical anything because I don't want to inadvertantly encourage inappropriate physical contact (beating). I was just pointing out that you shouldn't worry about "scrutiny" for this kind of discipline.

(Maybe I should just stop here. I wasn't implying that anyone was beating their animals. Just that there is a difference between appropriate physical contact and inappropriate physical contact , which to me is beating regardless of the level of inappropriateness.)

you are fine! I wasn't trying to be a butthead with my comment, I was confused. I think it was worded oddly.

I understand where you are going with this, as I wouldn't advocate beating. People need to understand what is acceptable and what is not. Muzzle grabbing, for me, is to focus Cato's attention to me.

mheath0429 wrote:

Muzzle grabbing, for me, is to focus Cato's attention to me.

100% agreed.

I have three cats. Anubis go this ass beaten up when pissed them off . I would say if your cat is self confident there is a chance that Bode will lose interest after a while, but I definately would not allow him to put his mouth on the cat. So like Jennifer said keeping him on leash when he is near Myles might be the best way.