Ok, seriously, it's just a cat!

[Courtney]

So the cats and dogs have been living in the same house for 6 months or so now. And Napoleon STILL freaks out when he sees the cats - he whines and gets all antsy. He does not want to do anything bad to them, I am sure of it. The cats know it too because he does not faze them. Tina hisses at him but Molly doesn't even blink if he is close to her. (and some fosters we have had, Molly lets it be known when she does not like them!) Molly also likes to taunt him by sitting where he can see her but not get to her. When he does get a chance to get close to them he just wants to sniff them and follow them (ok, chase them) if they run away. Neither will swat at him, and I wish they would! Molly has swatted at other dogs so why not Napoleon!! The cats have their own territories in the house so they do not mingle with the dogs often. Tina rules the office which is blocked by a baby gate and Molly hangs out upstairs which is also blocked off. But Napoleon will STARE at the cats and whine and want to get close especially at night when we are in bed and Molly is roaming around. I realize I should be doing some sort of training with him and I do plan to find a clicker training class to do at some point. But seriously, shouldn't he be more used to having cats around by now?? Any ideas?

[Lisa]

I'm not the best to answer this because I'm highly allergic to cats, so mine don't interact with them!

But, if you think 'Po just wants to get to know the cats, you should be okay...if he sees them as prey, I don't know if you can train that out of him.

[Patt]

I feel you are making headway with the cats tolerating Po, but not sure of him. Does he want to chase them? My inside cats are deathly afraid of Trixie and she chases them every chance she gets, they cannot be in the same room, which at times very difficult. We have had Trix since June 2004 and as far as the inside cats we have not made any progress at all. In Trixie's case I don't believe training would help as she is out to kill. She seems to tolerate the outside cats to a point on the porch.

Training might help Po but if he has a true prey drive I don't think you are going to change him. Good luck!!

[Jen]

No advice since Miss Tasha hates cats. There are a few strays in the neighborhood and when we meet one she growls and her hair stands up.

[Puppen]

No advice since ToeBee Kitty likes the doggers and loves on them.:hearts: So sorry, I say...give it some time, eventually maybe they will all just fall into an arrangment.

[isobelsmom]

If you are sure that 'Po will not hurt the cats then I would give him just what he wants: more kitty time. He is obsessing on them because he cannot get to them for any length of time to satisfy his curiosity and territory.

When I run into this kind of thing with my clients, I always set up a program to desensitize the dog to whatever s/he is obsessed with or scared of so that things can get on an even keel.

Give 'Po kitty time by having your main "alpha" cat (the one who won't take crap) be the intro one and let them be together with 'Po on lead so you can control him. You might want to have another help you with the kitty end by putting the kitty on lead (and I have done this) so that s/he doesn't run off. Give it a few minutes (no more then five) and as soon as 'Po seems to say "that's it?" tell him he's a good boy and go back to normal routine. Keep upping the intro time for each cat as the days pass. Soon he will learn that there is nothing there to get excited about.

While he is on lead and sniffing kitty butt, praise him as long as he is NOT excited. Praise him when he is CALM only!!! VERY important as you want to cement the "no big deal here" attitude in him.

Feel free to PM me if you have questions. Hope this helps.