A Pup and his Cat

We all know that dogs and cats don't "naturally" get along. Well, what do you do when you have a cat that grew up with a dog and doesn't know how to protect himself against a little pup because he's used to cuddling with his last pup friend? 

Beau, our large, very fluffy cat, has been in our lives since he was a kitten. Recently turning 8 years old, the big fluff ball just doesn't know what it's like to have a chaotic environment. Our last husky, Koda, would cuddle and sleep with Beau daily and even when he became a senior dog, he still tolerated Beau enough that Beau never really had to learn how to protect himself. 

Echo being only 10 weeks old, doesn't know any better, but that doesn't mean we can continue letting him jump on Beau because the bigger he gets, the more concern we have of him accidentally killing the cat. We've tried to make sure Echo knows that Beau is not a toy and one day I'm hoping that Beau gives Echo a good slap just to warn him off, but I don't see that in the nearby future. 

Trainers will tell you that you don't necessarily want the pup to fear or think he can't have the cat, because technically in the future they can be cuddle buddies and we for sure want that! But instead, we just need to tell him that he can't have the cat YET. That comes in the form of a training command called "wait". (see my article for other training commands we've learned)

The "wait" command is pretty awesome. Definitely make sure that you have training treats and I recommend you find some that are gentle on your pups digestive system because you use A LOT of treats for training in the beginning. Put a treat in your hand and close your hand into a fist. Put your hand down at pup level and say "(name) wait". He will sniff your hand like a crazy pup for a little bit, eventually realizing that he can't get to the treat. He will tire or become frustrated and back off. Only when he backs off and/or sits and waits patiently should you give him the treat. Let me tell you... we only did this for a day before Echo caught on. He's so smart and easily understands the term. Since we started using the "wait" command, he backs off the cat quickly (with a couple mistake pounces here and there because no one is perfect) and comes right to us for his treat. The command also works for making him back off other things as well. But one thing I will tell you is in the beginning... if he's full speed ahead and charging at something he has in his sights and you yell wait? He will NOT wait lol. With puppies, if they're already dead set on that one thing that they want, no training command will break through that little head of theirs. When they get older, it should get better, hopefully...

Until next time!

Jana

(follow us on Instagram for daily pictures! @hearts_4paws)

*All posts by this blog are my personal opinions and experiences. Please consult with a Veterinary or Trainer when it comes to professional advice.