by Sally Bradbury and Emma Judson
Many dogs live happily alongside cats and other animals. However, some breeds of dog, such as terriers, have generations of ancestry telling them to grab and kill small furry things. A cat’s instincts are to hiss and either fight or run. Either of these behaviours is likely to wind up a dog even more.
Play between puppies and cats may look innocent, but it’s possible that it’s not actually innocent play at all. It could be practise for hunting and fighting. Some dogs are hard-wired to find hunting, fighting, and killing very enjoyable activities. Once a dog is no longer a little puppy, the balance may change. The cat may not like playing anymore so it may run, which would, in turn, wind the dog up further. He could then chase and want to grab at the cat, and so the balance is lost.
Management
The best way to teach a dog to be fine around other animals is to prevent access to them so he can’t go wrong. Have dog-free areas and cat-free areas in the house. Acclimatise the dog to the cat being there and teach him that the cat is boring. Always prevent chasing because the more fun a dog has chasing, the more difficult it will be for him to choose an alternative behaviour.
You shouldn’t formally introduce them, and can’t really expect them to get along happily, but you can teach them all to be okay about living under the same roof.
The answer really is to separate them. Playing with cats often ends in tears and vets’ bills, even if your dog isn’t a working terrier. Make sure the dog can’t get to the cats. Make sure the cats can get away from the dog easily by installing baby gates and other barriers.
Teaching Tolerance
You can use Click the Trigger to teach an alternative behaviour to chasing. First, set up a situation where you are with the dog in one room and someone else oversees the cat in another room. There should be a baby gate in the doorway separating the rooms.
Sit with the dog on a lead and have your clicker (or marker word) and pot of yummy treats ready. Have the other person get the cat to walk past the baby gate. They could use a toy or smoked salmon lure, for instance. As soon as the dog sees the cat appear in the doorway, click and give him a treat. If he is too obsessed with the cat to take the food, then you either need a yummier (higher value) treat or you need to find somewhere where you can put a greater distance between the two animals. The treats stop as soon as the dog can no longer see the cat.

Continue over several sessions until the dog sees the cat and looks at you for a treat. The sessions should be just a few minutes long and end before everyone gets bored. The result will be a dog that likes the cat (sort of ) because the cat predicts Good Things, so the dog should have no desire to chase the cat away. The dog will also have an alternative behaviour of looking at you and asking for a treat. Once the behaviour is learned, the clicker will no longer be needed, and the reward could change to a toy or lower value treats. You can then, for example, use part of the dog’s daily food allowance as treats.
Give your Dog a Suitable Outlet for his Instincts
If your dog doesn’t have an outlet for his sharp mind and his need to hunt or rag/shake his prey, he is likely to chase the cat more. Chasing and fighting with cats is a self-rewarding behaviour, no matter how badly he gets hurt, as he gets an adrenalin rush from it. It is therefore rewarding for him. To give him an outlet, you could:
- Buy or make toys such as flirt poles so your dog can chase and rag the toy on the end of the line
- Set up scent trails for him to track or things for him to sniff out and find
- Feed from food dispensing toys rather than a bowl
No Punishment
Do not punish your dog (even by shouting) for approaching or even chasing cats. If you do, he’s likely to associate punishment with the cats rather than with his behaviour. Also, he’s going to associate you with unpleasant things, which will reduce his desire to listen to you, work for you, and generally cooperate with you. By preventing a situation where you may be tempted to yell at your dog, it all gets a lot easier!
Remember
- Prevent the access to the cats by use of baby gates
- Teach an alternative behaviour using Click the Trigger
- Fill up his day with walks, clicker training, puzzle solving, eating from food dispensing toys and games that involve chasing, ragging, scenting, or digging
- No punishment