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 Introducing New Dog to Cats

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wpskier222
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wpskier222

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PostSubject: Re: Introducing New Dog to Cats   Introducing New Dog to Cats - Page 2 EmptyThu Oct 23, 2014 2:44 pm

Just because I live in the city does not mean I have never lived in a rural area, nor does it mean that I have never seen a wild predator. Now you are making assumptions about me. Chasing stuffed animals and toys, is prey drive. However an inanimate object is quite different to the warm, soft body of real prey, so there is not the same charge or attraction in relation to those objects, and obviously a dog does not attach the same significance to them, but they are still prey to some degree. Prey drive and play are closely related, they are not the same thing, but you can't say there in no prey drive involved in play. I would argue that play is a different expression of prey drive through positive social interaction.

As far as making absolute statements, I will make one more. Simply because a dog does not have to kill to survive does not mean they won't kill, because like it or not they are predators. Breed traits will have an influence on behavior, but they are still the same species. Yes, they are domesticated predators, so there is going to be a difference between a dog and a coyote and how they stalk and kill, however that doesn't mean the drive isn't there. If it wasn't there, a chase and pounce would not be triggered by a blowing leaf.
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MiyasMomma
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Female Join date : 2014-06-26
Location : west Texas

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PostSubject: Re: Introducing New Dog to Cats   Introducing New Dog to Cats - Page 2 EmptyThu Oct 23, 2014 3:02 pm

Indeed Jen, I think though we are giving a disservice to the op, by hijacking her thread. We all have differences of opinions, differences in how we train. I do not mean to assume that because you live in the city that how we view the dog has to be different. I had an uphill battle from day one with Miya, got her at 5 weeks, sold to me as a husky/wolf, living in the country. Living in the country introduces dogs to way more live and unlive(leaves) prey, than you in the city. I made no qualms in agreeing with my childhood husky, she was a down and out killing machine, I still do not understand why she left our pet cats alone but killed feral cats.

In all of this conversation it does boil down to beliefs and opinions and not fact and fiction, and this is where my feathers got ruffled. 1. Here we prefer clarity to agreement. Obviously not everyone is going to agree on a topic; here we prefer to talk out our differences in a respectful manner to ensure mutual understanding and respect. It's the number one forum rule. We can not get inside our dogs head, so therefore it is all conjecture and guesswork. Yes dogs are naturally predators, but I truly believe we can train them to know when and what they can kill and what not to.

I do have a very unique dog and we do have a unique relationship, I truly give out what works for me in hopes that it may work for someone else. To deem my way is all wrong and everybody elses way is right is not fair. It really should be somewhere in between, yes?
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seattlesibe
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seattlesibe

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PostSubject: Re: Introducing New Dog to Cats   Introducing New Dog to Cats - Page 2 EmptyThu Oct 23, 2014 3:06 pm

Prey drive extends beyond the *animal hunts animal* manifestation.

There is an argument to be made that if there is a difference in the prey drive of urban verses rural Huskies, then it might both more repressed and rechanneled (by necessity just to live in the city) in the urban Husky. But to suggest it's less true or potent doesn't hold much water.
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seattlesibe
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seattlesibe

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PostSubject: Re: Introducing New Dog to Cats   Introducing New Dog to Cats - Page 2 EmptyThu Oct 23, 2014 3:12 pm

MiyasMomma wrote:
I still do not understand why she left our pet cats alone but killed feral cats.

Training and socialization. Both are all about taking what is fundamentally there as nature and repackaging it in a way that suits our lives. -----good tie in to the domestication discussion last week.
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MiyasMomma
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PostSubject: Re: Introducing New Dog to Cats   Introducing New Dog to Cats - Page 2 EmptyThu Oct 23, 2014 3:21 pm

My internet is flaked out and did have a post right after Kelly. Yes Kelly, "mine" along with leave it has worked. Yes I have a bond with Miya that recall is superb. I have called Miya off of cats, roadrunners, skunks, rabbits, guinea hens, you name I have called her off. She has stopped the chase, which imho is the beginning of the predator coming out, on a cat and armadillo because they left our property. I am with her 24/7/365 since she was 5 weeks old. Miya is a different breed all her own. I have never seen a dog, let alone a husky, respond the way she does with me, her handler. My mother trained and worked a gsd kennel. I do know a thing or two about training. I am sorry if it seems unthinkable that Miya respects my personal items, and Miya will come back to me when called off of a chase and potential attack.

Jen, imho, the chase and kill with Dizzy and friend is because of the pack mentality, I know the training you have done, if it was Dizzy by himself I'm pretty confident you would have been able to call him off.

I will reiterate, if I had video to post up, you would be amazed at Miya the husky, my friend and neighbors are astounded at the discipline she has, it was done with positive reinforcement and praise, and mutual respect. I love this dog, and have never encountered a smarter dog. I can not explain why I have this dog, but she is cut form a different husky cloth. If I give a tip that bewilders, rather than say impossible, please ask how. Being scoffed at is not a respectful attitude. Iand I do try to be respectful to everyone here, even if I think they are totally wrong.

Jeff, my childhood husky was never trained to do more than sit, shake, roll over and smile, that dog was not trained for anything, but instinctively knew the difference between pet and feral.
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wpskier222
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wpskier222

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PostSubject: Re: Introducing New Dog to Cats   Introducing New Dog to Cats - Page 2 EmptyThu Oct 23, 2014 3:21 pm

We encounter live prey every single day, unfortunately I've had the pleasure of encountering dead prey as well, and he's caught and killed two squirrels. Here is what we encounter daily: squirrels, rats, mice, raccoons, pigeons (walk a husky through a flock of pigeons while the neighborhood crazy is feeding them bagels and you'll see the drive), and many species of wild birds. What we have encountered in the city, but not frequently: owl, snakes, skunks, foxes, rabbits, feral cats. Also keep in mind that I also frequently leave the city and take Dizzy on many adventures, the less settled the better.

The reason I continued the discussion of drive (that you brought up) was your assertion that a dog could not kill a cat. That IS a dangerous and factually incorrect statement, hence my insistence that drive is a fundamental part of a dog and protecting the other household animals through training and socialization is necessary.
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wpskier222
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PostSubject: Re: Introducing New Dog to Cats   Introducing New Dog to Cats - Page 2 EmptyThu Oct 23, 2014 3:23 pm

MiyasMomma wrote:
Jen, imho, the chase and kill with Dizzy and friend is because of the pack mentality, I know the training you have done, if it was Dizzy by himself I'm pretty confident you would have been able to call him off.

That is incorrect. He has killed a squirrel on his own.
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Kellyb
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PostSubject: Re: Introducing New Dog to Cats   Introducing New Dog to Cats - Page 2 EmptyThu Oct 23, 2014 3:32 pm

Oh I'm sorry, I clearly bow down to your superior training skills.


I'm done today.
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MiyasMomma
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PostSubject: Re: Introducing New Dog to Cats   Introducing New Dog to Cats - Page 2 EmptyThu Oct 23, 2014 3:41 pm

You were not able to call him off with the e-collar then to? Every dog has different degree of drive, this is true. at 6 months of age Miya was around a baby duck, she sniffed and pawed and in a blink of an eye beak, feathers, feet were completely consumed. She has never showed an inclination of killing and eating after that day. I will maintain that the squirrel was chased prior to attack and kill. You have dumb squirrels in NYC, lol, 99% of them here climb up a tree, and yes Miya will circle it, and she will go play with me and then go back to the tree. I'll take her in and when we go back out she'll go back to the tree it went up. I also seen her chase a squirrel around our house and back up the tree. I too slammed on my panic button, because she was going toward the highway, I was on the phone so my recall would have been yelled at the person I was talking too and not to her. This happened incredibly fast. My heart sank, I feared that the squirrel would lead her across the road, but nope, in a matter of seconds she came from the other side of the house in hot pursuit of squirrel and up the tree it went.

And please Kelly I did not say I have superior training skills, I was merely saying what works for me may work for someone else, my apologies, if that came off wrong.
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wpskier222
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PostSubject: Re: Introducing New Dog to Cats   Introducing New Dog to Cats - Page 2 EmptyThu Oct 23, 2014 3:46 pm

Kelly, I'm with you, I give up.
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aljones
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aljones

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PostSubject: Re: Introducing New Dog to Cats   Introducing New Dog to Cats - Page 2 EmptyThu Oct 23, 2014 3:51 pm

Going back to the original topic, as you've seen prey drive is displayed in many different ways. Which is where I think the thread was almost completely sidetracked. Our dogs, Husky's in general, are unique; each of them is unique.

How each dog responds to a cat is different, some could care less while to others they're the ultimate prey. Introducing an older cat to a younger Husky is normally safe because the cat has 20 ways to put puppy in his place. Introducing an older Husky to a cat is nerve wracking at best. Of my mothers two cats one tolerated one of my dogs, the other cat wanted nothing to do with them. One of my Husky's (Sasha, who I'd least expect to be accepting) accepted her cats without a problem; my "perpetual teenager" just thought they were things to chase.

Whatever you do, do it very carefully and be very aware of how the dog is reacting ...

_________________
Introducing New Dog to Cats - Page 2 S-event    Introducing New Dog to Cats - Page 2 S-event

“Properly trained, a man can be dog’s best friend.”

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MiyasMomma
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PostSubject: Re: Introducing New Dog to Cats   Introducing New Dog to Cats - Page 2 EmptyThu Oct 23, 2014 3:54 pm

Jen, I also said socialize and train, to hope that your dog will not kill your cat. I will say that a socialized, trained dog should not kill it's household animals, be it cat or whatever, and that's why I mentioned my first husky, she was not necessarily trained in leaving our cats alone, but she did, and she knew that a feral cat was not ours and did kill them. I never said a dog could not kill a cat, however, in the cat's defense, a cat can climb a tree or become higher up than a dog, I know my dog can not climb a tree, and a cat can certainly out run a dog. But I do not recall ever saying no dog will kill a cat statement, I did preface that through training and socialization that a dog should not kill a cat.
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wpskier222
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PostSubject: Re: Introducing New Dog to Cats   Introducing New Dog to Cats - Page 2 EmptyThu Oct 23, 2014 3:59 pm

MiyasMomma wrote:
I really believe a dog can't catch a cat anyways, cat's claws are sharp so they can protect themselves, they can get higher up from a dog, and lastly the prey drive kicks in when the chase is on, if a cat stands its ground, I really don't fear for a cat's life, now the dog on the other hand can get pretty messed up from a cat, lol.
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Karu4Link
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PostSubject: Re: Introducing New Dog to Cats   Introducing New Dog to Cats - Page 2 EmptyThu Oct 23, 2014 4:06 pm

Yikes, this thread has kind of rabbit trailed lol. Going back to the original post, thanks so much for everyone's advice. We are going to cautiously introduce them tonight. I'll report back later! Smile
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MiyasMomma
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PostSubject: Re: Introducing New Dog to Cats   Introducing New Dog to Cats - Page 2 EmptyThu Oct 23, 2014 4:11 pm

Jen I did not exactly say no dog will kill a cat, and I did put the lol, on there, please reread what you copied. I mentioned prior to what you copied on training and socializing, it was somewhat tongue in cheek with my comment hence the lol, but I did not say anywhere at all that "No dog will kill a cat" statement.
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amymeme
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PostSubject: Re: Introducing New Dog to Cats   Introducing New Dog to Cats - Page 2 EmptyThu Oct 23, 2014 8:05 pm

MiyasMomma wrote:
and a cat can certainly out run a dog. But I do not recall ever saying no dog will kill a cat statement, I did preface that through training and socialization that a dog should not kill a cat.

Both Ami and Archer can seriously outrun our cat. And, respectfully, "should not" is different than "would not". My previous husky DID.
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Karu4Link
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PostSubject: Re: Introducing New Dog to Cats   Introducing New Dog to Cats - Page 2 EmptyThu Oct 23, 2014 11:00 pm

We had the first introduction tonight. Gaia barked once at Stormy, who hissed and backed away. Gaia was struggling against her leash pretty hard, but we managed to calm her to the point that she was able to do her obedience training with us. Both cats hid under a chair at first, but then came out and watched warily from a distance. Gaia is learning fast, and within about 5 minutes she picked up "look". (We point to our eyes and say "look" when we want her to focus on us). She was able to hold our gaze for longer and longer each time. We'll see if she remembers it tomorrow. So far, she has successfully learned "sit" "nose" (she touches her nose to our hand, another technique I have heard is used to gain her attention), and "look". She shows progress with "leave it" and "drop it" but isn't consistent with obeying them yet.

We decided to separate the animals again tonight just because we want a chance to monitor them this weekend when we're home all day. We aren't confident enough in her attention span to let her off the leash just yet since we're worried she might try to chase the cats.

Tomorrow night and this weekend we will probably try having them around each other permanently. I think it went pretty well so far, she showed definite interest in the cats, but we were successfully able to distract her with obedience training since the cats were hanging back and watching from the shadows. I'm fairly confident that with enough training and careful monitoring, they will be able to at least tolerate each other. Thanks all for the advice!
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wpskier222
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PostSubject: Re: Introducing New Dog to Cats   Introducing New Dog to Cats - Page 2 EmptyFri Oct 24, 2014 11:44 am

That's great! Congrats on the first success! Keep at it and you'll have peace in the household. Smile

Introducing New Dog to Cats - Page 2 001pea10
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Karu4Link
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PostSubject: Re: Introducing New Dog to Cats   Introducing New Dog to Cats - Page 2 EmptyFri Oct 24, 2014 11:55 am

Aww, what a great picture! They're all so pretty! Looks like they are all pretty well behaved. Did it take you long to teach Dizzy to leave them alone?

Gaia was behaving a lot better today; before we had introduced her to the cats last night she had been throwing tantrums while we were trying to take her out to use the bathroom. She kept flinging herself to the ground and hiding her nose in the grass and refusing to move, then when we gently pulled on the leash she would roll over on her back and start chewing on the leash. We reprimanded her, and when that didn't work after several tries, we put her in timeout for about 10 minutes, then took her back out and she was behaving almost perfectly. This morning she successfully did sit, nose, and look before I fed her, and she's learning that when I open doors, she needs to sit, and wait for me to call her before she can go through them. It's absolutely mind-blowing how quickly she is learning things considering we've only had her since Sunday.
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wpskier222
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PostSubject: Re: Introducing New Dog to Cats   Introducing New Dog to Cats - Page 2 EmptyFri Oct 24, 2014 12:07 pm

Ha ha, sounds like she's trying to play with those little tantrums. They are such goofballs sometimes. Timeout is amazingly helpful, and got me through some really obnoxious tantrums with Diz. I once had to time him to a streetlight and walk away for 5 minutes....

It didn't take Dizzy long to learn the house rules regarding the cats, I'd say maybe a month, but he was younger, and he learned much more quickly when he was Gaia's age. He was just sort of nutty when I brought him home at 9 weeks, like a little wild jackal or something! He learned pretty quickly, but he tested for a long time. He also still tests every once in a while, but I now allow him to approach because I know if they hiss, he will walk away, or if they run, he won't chase, and just looks sad his overture of friendship didn't work, he also never makes direct eye contact. Smile

Here's a video of him last winter (during the superbowl). It's hard to see, but Martini (cat) is on the arm of the couch next to me. He want's to approach, but he can tell she's uncomfortable, so he's wooing at her. He does this when he wants to be friends... It's not something i normally allow, but i wanted to get a video of his low wooing sound.

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Karu4Link
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PostSubject: Re: Introducing New Dog to Cats   Introducing New Dog to Cats - Page 2 EmptyFri Oct 24, 2014 12:14 pm

Aww haha. He looks so distraught, like "Why? I just want to play with you..."

I guess we'll just have to take one day at a time until Gaia learns that the cats are none of her business lol. Thanks so much for the input. Smile
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amymeme
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PostSubject: Re: Introducing New Dog to Cats   Introducing New Dog to Cats - Page 2 EmptyFri Oct 24, 2014 12:26 pm

Looks like you have a good handle on training Gaia - good luck with the cats and the "wolf".

I wish I could get Ami and PC to tolerate each other. First time he saw her, Pussy Cat tried her usual "sit and taunt" with dogs. Ami, on the other hand did the mother lunge of all lunges, gave my shoulder something to think about for days and PC, thinking better of her actions, headed to the nearest tree to contemplate the "wolf in the backyard" and the new order of things. At best, a year later, she will warily sit as I make Ami sit on leash and break his stare with my hand waving in front of his face. I have little hope that she will ever be safe if he's loose. Fortunately, his tags jingle so she has warning he's around and there are ample trees always close by. She's lived this long outside by knowing how to make herself scarce. We will see but I am not hopeful.
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wpskier222
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PostSubject: Re: Introducing New Dog to Cats   Introducing New Dog to Cats - Page 2 EmptySat Oct 25, 2014 12:19 pm

Yeah he'd really like to be friends with martini, he's just a bit too big and intimidating. He's calmed down a lot in the last month or so (I'm hoping this phase sticks around a while) and who knows, maybe they will end up cuddle buddies
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HuskyLovers
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PostSubject: Re: Introducing New Dog to Cats   Introducing New Dog to Cats - Page 2 EmptySun Oct 26, 2014 12:41 am

wpskier222 wrote:
If he didn't listen he got a time out.

Hi Jen,

I know this is not my original thread, but this is such great advice. We also have several cats. Once I learned of the high prey drive of the Siberian, I decided it would be best to get a puppy to raise as a part of our pack, cats and all.

I'm just curious what form of time out you would utilize? I have heard not to use the crate for this purpose, so I'm wondering what you suggest?
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wpskier222
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PostSubject: Re: Introducing New Dog to Cats   Introducing New Dog to Cats - Page 2 EmptySun Oct 26, 2014 1:30 pm

Well honestly, we have such a small apartment (the downside of nyc), so I used his crate. I haven't seen any adverse reaction. He still enjoys his crate and goes in there on his own. I never really considered it a punishment, I looked at it more as chill time, generally a time out was needed if he got too excited or too fixated. I would put him in the crate with something to chew and a lot of times he would be asleep within 5 minutes. Wink along with that, I always made sure to spend time making the crate a happy experience. Even the timeouts were a positive experience for him, it was removing him from an over stimulating situation and letting him rest. Smile
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