Max and the cat

Max has developed a new problem and it started when he was on limited exercise due to his stitches. We have an ancient 3 legged cat who tolerates Max. He isnt scared of him but doesnt particularly like him. If max has ever got to close, gizzy will give him a no claws smack or a growl and max has always backed off. Max is fascinated by the cat always has been and follows him round drools while he is eating and tries every kind of belly crawling trick to get closer to the cat. I have never been worried as the cat put max in his place when he was about 8 weeks old and max has always seemed to respect the cat and backs off when warned. However in the last few weeks max has been pushing his luck and nudging the cat with his nose and if the cat suddenly appears and hobbles(3 legs) across any room the dog flies at him like he does a squirrel or rabbit in the woods. when he gets there he just nudges and as yet hasnt attempted to bite or grab him but i am worried this might be next. He did put his paw on the cat once and luckily hubby was there and gave max a firm no. When max chases the cat he turns on him and hisses but if max has chased it doesnt seem to bother him he wants to either give the cat a big bear hug or knock him out i cant decide which. when we are out the cat is shut in our room and does spend most of his time upstairs anyway so they are safe from each other while i am out but obviousley i dont want anything horrible to happen to maxs eyes or the poor cat.

Poor you - bit of a problem

Don't think I have any words of wisdom. From what you say it doesn't sound as though he wants to be mean - more to have a play - but if puss doesn't want that, there will be no play!

Keep an eye, I guess. Good luck.

dont know wot to suggest katy. My mums dog and cat play all day.. they wrestle with each other and bite each other til they yelp,lol. They are really mean, but they love chasing each other round the house playing.
Maybe this is what max is doing, he wants to play, but the cat isnt as interested. I wouldnt think he would ever bite him as hes grown up with him, and anyway the cat can move to higher ground if he doesnt like it. The cats reflex is 7 times quicker than the dogs bite

Ive never had a cat, but i know they need there space, with max growing older and ****ier he is going to push it, id normally say let the cat really put max in his place, but its not fair too, as the cat is old and leg challenged!

sorry im not much help!
good luck

yes he is leg challenged lol gems. thats part of the problem as he is not very quick and he wont jump up high so cant always get out of the way. i was watching animal hospital the other day and a dog had to have its eye out as a cat had got its claw right in!!!! this is what i want to avoid

Hmm Katy, I dont have any suggestions.

Luna will chase Oliver sometimes, but that's just to get to him, and give him a facewash.... Oliver will jump up on the table or chair.... Oliver goes to Luna himself, so I know they like eachother

I've got 5 cats and 2 dogs.

I've been through the dogs trying to chase the cats - I had to use a house line and if they went to chase the cats would stop them using the line and then give them a command. They are much better now and pretty much ignore the cats - unless they are playing then they will chase - but the cats have learned if they stop running the dogs stop chasing and walk away.

Tets does it too Katy
The same thing, nudging the cat, biting her legs...our cat is weird though cos she'll come in an rub heads with all 4 dogs, then Tets see's it as a chance to play but Bluffer isn't interested..although she then positions herself on the arm of the sofa, paw dangling,waiting for a dog to pass so she can have a swipe

Normally if there is no other alternative I cure this with Noise aversion therapy.

If set correctly the noise aversion object will make the dog think that pursuing the cat is making the noise. Given the cat is somewhat challenged in the leg department it may not be a bad idea. I recently had to treat a Rottie for aggression after it was traumatised after losing an eye to a irate household cat.

Noise Aversion Therapy.

Quite often a simple noise aversion technique can stop many unwanted and irritating behaviours such as jumping up aggression, barking and predatory chasing such as cats and other dogs.

Firstly you must make your noise aversive device, the best I have found is the small plastic bottles we get water or lemonade etc in, if they have had something sticky in them wash them out and dry first. Then quarter fill them with either small pebbles coins dried peas or really anything that really makes a good rattle, screw the top back on.

Now get some tasty treats cheese, puffed jerky, or dried liver is ideal, I normally use cheese. Get the dog to sit and put a treat on the floor and say “take it” repeat this five times then on the sixth time do exactly the same but this time pretend to put the treat down still saying take it! (The dog will think a treat is there and when it cannot find it will get a feeling of disappointment) as you say the “take it” word and the dogs looks for the treat shake the bottle land throw it next to the dog. Most dogs will stop or jump back in surprise this is called a “startle response. Quickly scoop up the bottle and ignore the dog for several seconds pretending you had nothing to do with bottle or the sound.

Repeat the exercise at least four or five times. You may find that the dog won't go to the food and may back away. If that happens call the dog to you, sympathise and give a treat,this will confirm the noise is not pleasant, which is what you want to happen. And that the dog should come back to you for sympathy and comfort.

Repeat this until the dog won't go to the food even when you put it down. When that happens, pick up the food and give it to the dog, praising it. The idea is not to make the dog refuse to eat off the floor, but to provide a focus for the dog during this training period.

Once the dog has learned that the shaker sound means "STOP" you can use it to stop the unwanted behaviour. You need to try to read your dog's body language and to use the shaker BEFORE the dog gets well into the unwanted behaviour. Such as jumping up or In the case of aggression, throw the shaker down as soon as your dog begins to stiffen or tense up, for instance just before cat chasing or interdog aggression. When you use the shaker, and the unwanted behaviour stops, immediately call the dog to you for praise and sympathy

After a while you will only need a slight shake of the can to stop the dog in its tracks. Be sure to work on obedience and basic training and commands this gives the dog an alternate behaviour that you can then reward. On the one hand you are using a correction (the sound) and on the other hand you are substituting a new behaviour. Some dogs are not noise aversive even using this technique if that is the case then alternative measures may be required. You can use training discs made by Mikki in place of the bottle, they are easier to carry but sometimes not so effective.

Stan

we had the same problem when we had our cat He was too old to have any interest in Star. She used to try and pin him down and lick him and try to get him to play. I definately think there was nothing nasty in it.

We tried training discs whenever she tried to run after him but nothing really worked for us. He just avoided her. Although they both slept on the bed beside me at night