The Beatle asked:
I desperately need some help.
I recently got a 2 y-o beagle and when he came in contact with my cat, he barked and my cat hissed and arched his back.
Start a Doggie Daycare
I desperately need some help.
I recently got a 2 y-o beagle and when he came in contact with my cat, he barked and my cat hissed and arched his back.
Start a Doggie Daycare
July 27th, 2008 at 6:59 am
put both of them in a room and have a friend hold your dog [or cat doesnt matter] and have you hold your other pet. carefully let them see each and sit for 10 minutes and let them view each other. then let them go for only a minute and let them interact and sniff. if they still hiss/bark hold them and keep trying untill they eventually sniff and agree to be nice. but warning! if your cat is small/a kitten you have to be careful of your dog picking it up by the neck. (my kitten thought my dog was its mother so had no problem with this but the vet avised for me to try and stop it)
July 28th, 2008 at 12:23 am
Do not give either animal attention while this behavior is going on. The attention feeds the behavior and tells them that it’s good to do that. What you need to do is put your dog on a leash and hold the cat and walk around the house.Do NOT let your dog bark, sniff or show any attention to the cat. IF he does give him a quick snap of the leash called a correction. If the cat shows any of the behavior you said, thump his nose softly and say no or bad. Do this several times a day. Then when they finally ignore each other, do as the first answerer said but don’t hold either animal. I would put both in the master bath with the dog on a leash and just let them get used to each other. Do not let them sniff or touch yet. Both of what I have said needs to happen over a span of a week or 2. When they are fine in the bathroom then let the dog and cat sniff each other, if one of them isn’t comfortable with it. Start over again. This is not something that will happen over night. It will take time and consistency. Keep doing the steps I have mentioned until they are comfortable with each other. Then let them in bathroom off leash and watch them. If they do fine, then they should be ok, and let them roam the house together. If not, again, start over. In the mean time, I recommend separating your house, so the dog can not go into half the house, which is for the cat. If the dog has a crate, put him in the crate while you are away, and on a leash while your home. This also helps with showing him your boss. Most people’s mistakes when getting a new pet. Because this lets him know that you are in control of his actions, which is how a pack should work. Good luck and feel free to contact me with any questions!
July 28th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
very carefully! beagles are bred to be working/hunting dogs… that translates to chase anything small and furry and scare the s*** out of it! cat, rabbit, mouse, mole, skunk, you get the idea…your dog is doing what he thinks you want him to do. get rid of this strange little furry creature! i wouldnt ever leave them alone unsupervised (until you know they get along GREAT) because the beagle could kill the cat. at 2 years old it’s going to be difficult at best to make him accept the cat if he’s not used to being with cats/small animals. just be careful and always make the situation positive for the cat and dog. you dont want them to associate anything negative with each other.