Skip to content
Basenji Forums
  1. Home
  2. Basenji Training
  3. cats and dogs getting along together. lol

cats and dogs getting along together. lol

Basenji Training
  • B

    Our new basenji pup is coming along very well with her training. She's four and a half months old and a total cuddle love bug. She's got a very good temperament with no aggression or fearfulness. She's been cool about the vet, no I lie, she loves our vet. She's quite the social little thing.
    She's housebroken knows the house rules for the most part.
    She also gets no unsupervised time out of the crate.
    She sleeps in the bed, but is crated when we are away from the house. We both work from home for the most part so she's never been crated for more than 3 hours She's cool with the crate for the most part though she does grumble when she thinks she's been put in there for 'no good reason'.
    We also have three lovely rescue cats. I say rescue because we have a cat dumping problem at the end of our road. Not cool. All of the cats we have decided we were their people.
    Our boy cat has made friends with Mrs. Walters. They are besties. As long as she doesn't puppy play too rough. I'm expecting their relationship to blossom as she grows out of puppyhood. Here's the thing, our two 'grey slayers' have learned that we have a 'zero tolerance' with puppy play with them. They don't run away from her, but they do hunker down and get a little hissy. We don't allow Mrs. Walters to bother them, or be on the same couch/nook with them. These cats have taken to hanging out near her and basically teasing her so they can take a swipe. The cats are too smart! They know this puts the puppy in a crate time out and they win!
    No one is pleased with this - except the cats.
    One of the reason we decided on a puppy was to increase the chance that they would all get along. And honestly I think it's going as well as can be expected.
    So here is the question. As far as puppy play goes, will Mrs Walters eventually get it and ignore the cats that don't want to play? Any training tips? (besides ejecting the cats from the house)
    My goal is eventually to let her roam around the home a bit with less supervision. But there is no way I'm gonna leave her alone with the grey kitties right now!

    0
  • DebraDownSouthD

    Cats are jerks. But they also are training the pup. My tendency would be to stay out of it as much as possible. Perhaps a spray bottle to get them from hanging to close and when he tries to approach them. Teaching "Leave it" or "to me" to get him away from them might help. I am sure those here with cats will have better ideas. Setting up gates to keep the pup away from them might help.

    I think the cats not running is a good sign that you have a chance of happy co-existence.

    good lessons
    http://www.clickerlessons.com/index.htm

    Debra

    0
  • tanzaT

    @betsy - sounds to me like you are doing everything right.... the pup and cats need to make their own peace... and sounds like it is going as good as expected. The pup will learn the body language as she gets older of the cats... and yes, agree with Debra... good that the cats done run... and if the pups gets "swiped" by the kitties... what a better way to learn to back off...

    Pat Fragassi

    Tanza Basenjis

    www.tanzabasenjis.net

    0

Suggested Topics

  • BarklessdogB

    Dog landed on mars

    Basenji Training
    14
    0 Votes
    14 Posts
    6k Views
    Buddys PalB
    Hi! just reading thru this and all the suggestions are great, but if I may back up a bit….Why rush mother nature???? If he has been crated and not familiar with the world, why not make and allow the time for the guy you adopted? Let him learn by watching and you in return can gain tremendously by allowing the trust/bond with him. Let him watch the handicapped, bicycle, whatever, praise him (verbal or otherwise what ever is rewarding for him) after a reasonable time for not 'over-reacting' and then he would be more inclined to go with you and finish the walk. Uzie was rescued under similar circumstances and though I 'worked' with him, I had to allow him TIME-time for maturity, learning curve, environmental enrichment etc. It is different in every dog, human, animal............Patience.
  • B

    Introducing to the Dog Park

    Basenji Training
    9
    0 Votes
    9 Posts
    4k Views
    B
    @curlytails: Basilboy, I just saw this post recently and thought of your post. "Dog Park Etiquette: Dos and Don'ts from a Trainer" http://dogblog.dogster.com/2011/10/04/dog-park-etiquette-dos-and-donts-from-a-trainer/ (I'm having a weird issue where all links to that blog keep redirecting to one specific post, not the one that I intended to link, so you might have to go to the main page? Anyway, sorry for any confusion) I personally prefer dog parks where I can keep moving, where there are lots of trails and plenty of things for my dogs to sniff and see aside from just interacting with dogs – because not every dog enjoys playing with every other dog! I feel like they learn to keep a closer eye on you (and you on them) if you're a moving target and not grounded to one spot all the time. So I don't really like small, completely fence-enclosed dog parks myself, but I do need adequate physical barriers (large bodies of water, partial fencing, etc.) combined with high visibility in order to feel secure letting my dogs off leash. Thank you for the article, a great read for before going to the dog park. Though I think we will wait until our puppy classes are over and I'm more confident in his behavior.
  • H

    Hungry Dog

    Basenji Training
    37
    0 Votes
    37 Posts
    10k Views
    nobarkusN
    @Basenjimamma: Otis' favorite household machinery is by far the dishwasher…joy to the world, when it is open and the dishes are still dirty...yumm-o!! Dishwasher a favorite for every B I've ever had. One time I had a guest here and he had taken a shower earlier using a towel he brought. Ringo pulled his damp towel off the rack, hauled it in the living room and right in front of the guy proceeded to roll around on it until it was a twisted mess. I was embarrassed to say the least. He didn't care. :D
  • LovingLolaL

    Growling at Other Dogs

    Basenji Training
    25
    0 Votes
    25 Posts
    12k Views
    Z
    If I tried to pick up Sam and carry him away from a fight he would have a go at me. When he is worked up and I've tried to get him away he has bitten me. In every other respect he is a wonderful dog whom I love v much. I find it interesting that I haven't come across any other basenjis in this forum as aggressive as mine. Sam doesn't just growl or snap at other male dogs he actively pushes them and tries to goad them into fighting. I'm beginning to think that Sam is a particularly 'rambunctious' pup?
  • L

    Dog whisperer???

    Basenji Training
    33
    0 Votes
    33 Posts
    23k Views
    myranM
    I agree i´ve used those methods on all my dog´s(long before Cesar came along) not only the basenji and never has a dog questioned my leadership.But I always praise and i´ve never used force never had the need for it so there i´m different.These methods are common methods with working dog´s I used to have a Boxer and i´ve just adjusted certain parts of it to fit the Basenji ;) Many of the dog´s in that show are just left to "run wild" no training or excercise and instead lot´s of silly things with people who humanize their dog´s.And they looked surprised if they need to take walks jeez I take mine out 4-5 times a day and two of the walks are 6 miles and he he plays with other dog´s every single day to keep him socialized as he´s growing into adulthood.I also show train him every day not more then 10-15 minutes just to keep it fresh in his mind. What people tend to forget obedience training is something that you have to keep doing continuously as their memory is not like ours so you have to keep it fresh in the mind. I probably stated the obvious but I do agree with Jazzys mum:)
  • M

    Agggggressive at the Dog Park

    Basenji Training
    11
    0 Votes
    11 Posts
    5k Views
    jys1011J
    Lenora-how do you keep her on leash while she plays?? Just curious to see if this might work for us. thanks for the info!