Jealous of cats?? Any ideas how to overcome this??

Hi yes indeed another question

Ok Dizzy is now 7 months old, we have 6 cats in the house and when the cats are sleeping or walking around she for the best part ingnores them. She will sniff them and they rub against her but for the most part it is amicable.

However, if they try to jump on my lap or on the bed when I am there she will chase them off. She has started to bite them now which is getting to be a problem. The cats are pretty dog savvy and are not overly phased by her but obviously this needs to stop.

When she does this if she is on the bed I make her get off or I will stand up and ignore her. She understands leave but I don't seem to be able to make it effective in this situation. If she doesn't react (which is rare) or leaves for a little while then I praise and treat her.

If she is in her crate upstairs she still goes mad in the crate pawing and barking when they come near me.

Anyone got any ideas of how to take this back to basics and start again? As I am rather fond of my cats too and don't want this split. I am uncertain whether she is jealous or bizzarely thinks she is protecting me or even guarding me???

Thanks.

She's probably doing neither TBH

Much more likely she is wanting to play, puppies explore with their mouths an awful lot & have to learn that cats do not appreciate this-mine put up with a lot from my dogs, but when they have had enough the dogs are put firmly in their place sometimes it only takes a look or a claws in swipe.

Cats need to be able to escape upwards & to a place dogs cannot reach. I often have one or two (or more dogs)laid next to me/on me & one or other(& sometimes both)cats as well. I make a point from the outset of having a new puppy to T Touch massge both the puppy & a cat at the smae time & this means both the puppy & the cat get used to chilling out near each other.

Roodee, my youngest dog, often does a chase me game with Reg(my tom)it goes Roodee zooms in & onto the window ledge chased by reg & then Reg zooming out chased by Roodee with a bit of very energetic dog/cat wrestling thrown in. It's usually Reg that starts it too !

At first I thought it was over enthusiastic play too as they were an object of great excitement whenever she saw them but this really doesn't feel playful, if you know what I mean. It really does seem to be her seeing them off whenever they come near me. If she is asleep and one jumps up she will go for them and then straight back off to sleep when they have gone! I have tried as you say you do with fussing them together on the bed, can I ask what you do if the pup then tries to go for the cat? I do have a couple of cats that are not at all put off by her to practice with but I am feeling really sorry for my old senile boy who only wants a lap and a cuddle without a chunk of fur being pulled out by Dizz! She will sleep next to them by the fire etc so I know she can settle with them.

Sounds to me like your dog could be jealous of the cats getting your attention, I have 2 dogs and they get jealous if one thinks the other is getting more attention and they growl at each other.I also have 8 cats and the dogs are great with the cats but Brinley did once growl at one of the cats who was getting my attention and I told him off big style, I don't believe in hitting animals so it was just a telling off but he knew I wasn't pleased and he hasn't done it since, luckily there was no biting involved, and it seems to have been a one off, I think my telling him off has done the trick, this was months ago but Brinley is the type of dog who wants to please so telling him off is pretty devastating for him.I hope you can stop your dog before one of the cats gets hurt.

T Touch isn't fussing it's a massage technique that releases the animals natural endorphins & this mean the animal actually relaxes & if done often enough will teach the dog that having the cat need near you is a time to chill out.

Simply goodle T Touch UK & you will find the site with free advice & instruction on how to do the massage(basically it is 1 1/4 clockwise circular massage using the first three digit tips(finger tips)of one hand

Ok thanks off to google now!!

I second Joedee's recommendation of Ttouch - I use it regularly with my horse (and also the Tteam exercises) and it is a fantastic technique! My mum got me three Sarah Fisher books for Christmas that explain it all for dogs so I'm looking forward to trying it with Sam now

Thanks I have been having a look at getting a book or two to read up on this technique. Sounds like it could help an awful lot of psycho rescue pets that live in my house

Do the cats react when she has a go at them at all?
Tillly always tries to muscle in when the cat's on my lap, but the cat just whacks her one & Tilly backs off & sits next to me. The cat is certainly the boss in our house.

Depends which cat it is. 2 will just disappear, all the others will do the usual hissing and smacking which doesn't seem to deter her really. She is fine with them anywhere else in the house walking round or whatever just when they are near me! She does try to muscle in when I'm fussing Molly too but has a bit more respect for her as she is bigger I suppose. Trying to reward lots for good interactions today and see where that gets us.