# puppy gets too excited around our cats



## jpj (Mar 30, 2016)

Hey guys from me and my 11 week old chocolate cockapoo puppy Rolo! 

We have had Rolo here with us for almost 4 weeks now and as we have 2 cats already, we did everything we could to introduce them to each other gradually. They met after a few days of rolo being home with the cats having their own space upstairs and their scents being put around eachother. The introduction went better than expected but now rolo just gets too excited when she sees the cats and wants to chase them all the time so she's always on a lead around them. 

Does anyone have any tips to calm her down around them?

Here is a video of rolo and Freddie in the garden. Freddie is trying to put her in her place!

https://youtu.be/cL6PUqsiBn8

Thanks,

JPJ


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## Marzi (Sep 17, 2012)

Rolo is such a sweet heart...

I think he and your cat are actually being very good together.
I would boil some chicken breast and have it in small pieces in a handy container - anytime the cat is around keep dropping yummy bits of chicken - hopefully Rolo will be distracted from the cat - if the cat wants chicken too give him some! I'm sure Donna has posted a pic of one of her cat sitting for treats with all of her dogs 

Rolo is just being a puppy - he wants to play, you are managing the situation and I suspect that your cat is quite enjoying getting the pup in trouble 

(I saw a wonderful birthday card the other day which had a picture of a dog on a lead and the cat wandering by him all free and the dog had a speech bubble - they don't put you on a lead because they want you to run away! 
It made me laugh


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## LolaCockerpoo (Feb 1, 2016)

This post could be mine. 

Lolla is 19 weeks old, and her relationship with our cats is exactly the same as the one you describe with Rollo and Freddie. Her exuberance to meet and play with everyone she meets includes our cats. She's always sooooo happy to see them that she runs at full pelt and knocks them flying, then play bows, barks and tries to engage them in play. I really wish I'd stopped this when she was younger and smaller (when it was cute and the cats could handle her well enough). Now she gets such pleasure from pursuing and interacting with the cats, it's going to be a hard habit to break.

What I'm doing to try and stop the behavior:

1) Ensuring all contact between cat and dog is supervised. (Easier said than done when one cat actively seeks out the puppy and tries to wind her up, even going so far as to follow us on walks.)
2) Installed stair gate to ensure the cats have their own space.
3) Lola is on a trailing house lead to ensure that I can intervene quickly and stop her from the self-gratification of chasing.
4) Treating all calm behavior around the cats.
5) Training sessions with Lola on a lead, cats in the same room, clicking and treating every time her eye contact leaves the cats, every time the moves away from the cats, every time she's calm. I started this process with hubby holding the cat in his arms, then working up to putting the cat on the sofa, then finally putting the cat on the floor (all with Lola on a lead).

She's great during training session, but she still can't resist any quick movement the cats make (she's still on a house lead), and when she's not supervised or I don't have a treat to hand all bets are off. When the cats appear in the garden, she's off like a rocket and completely deaf. And she's definitely worse (more excited) with the cat who provokes/plays with her. So it's a work in progress. My only solace is that there's no aggression involved; she just wants to play. I just have nightmares about a clawed eye or underbelly (the dogs) if I'm not quick enough to intervene.

So in conclusion, try and stop it now. I left it until Lola was about 15 weeks until I tried to stop the behavior, and she'd already learnt it was very exciting and gratifying to play/chase/bark at the cats.

Good luck, and please let me know how you get on.


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## Disneyboo2 (Feb 18, 2016)

I'm sure it will all settle down. Your cat is standing her ground which is good and I'm sure your puppy will learn how far to push the cats before getting swatted by a paw. 

I have 3 cats who have all been brought up with an older dog so are finding a puppy a bit different! They all interact differently with her and are still learning to get along 

Cat no 1 is 14 years old and doesn't ever play and doesn't stand for any silly behaviour from the pup. Very early on the cat taught the puppy not to mess and now just has to turn round and give her a look and play stops! 

Cat no 2 is 4 years old and is the best around the puppy. She even cleans the dogs face after she has eaten. They play together most of the time but the puppy does have the habit of going overboard with nipping! This kitty sometimes has to find high ground but is soon back playing. 

Cat no 3 is 2 years old and is the least confident around the puppy and people. He is learning but gets surprised by her excitement sometimes and makes the mistake of running which just makes the situation worse! He is learning that it's better to walk past the puppy! 

I'm sure things will settle down! 

Not the best photo, the puppy started to move!


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## MHDDOG2016 (Jan 2, 2016)

It's helpful to hear everyone's experiences. We have a 16 year-old, a 14 year-old, and a 4 year-old, all with very different personalities and I am nervous to bring our puppy home in 2 1/2 weeks. I have been doing a lot of reading about how to introduce them and will will following your advice as well with treating and always being on a lead. I'll report back how it goes once the puppy is here and I would love an update from all of you as well over the next few weeks.


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## jpj (Mar 30, 2016)

Thanks for all your advice everyone, I will be sure to try it all out. This forum is great! 
Good luck with your new pup MHDDOG2016. This site was really useful for us when we introduced the puppy and cats 
https://www.bluecross.org.uk/pet-advice/introducing-dogs-and-cats


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## Alittlepoo (Apr 29, 2015)

I have a different view to offer here. My Sophie is almost 1 year old, my son and his wife live out of state and visit often. They have a cat that is just 2 weeks younger than Sophie and the two of them get along like little children. Beatrix, the kitty, has her claws but wears caps on them so injuries to Sophie's face or eyes is not a worry really and they do not hurt each other. 

When Beatrix comes to visit Sophie gets very excited and chases Bea all around the house, mostly in our family room. If Bea gets enough of it all, she goes behind our couch where Sophie can not get to her. BUT Bea will wait until the perfect opportunity and charge out from behind the couch and pounce on Sophie! It's so cute to watch, they roll over each other and play hide and seek around tables, chairs, the couch. Beatrix also likes to sit on top of Sophie's crate and the two of them have had several naps together inside the crate. 

There has never been an accident, they do not hurt each other and seem to be in tune to each other's needs. If one wants a drink of water, they both have a sip from Sophie's dish, occasionally Bea will enjoy a bit of Sophie's kibble and that's ok too. They sit together at the door and look outside. When they leave to go back home, Sophie looks everywhere for her buddy though she seems to know Bea has gone. So even having a kitty visit every few weeks can be enjoyable and we have not had any problems, did not have to introduce them slowly because they were babies together.


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## CockapooTeddie (Oct 27, 2015)

Teddie was exactly the same with our car George! At first we thought it would never work because George would just run away but soon enough it became like in your video, and as someone had already pointed out they are behaving quite nicely! The fact the cats stood there swipping rather than up a tree to me shows they arent scared. 
Teddie is 7months now and although they dont sit and cuddle they will play, Teddie will bounce around and George will swipe but without claws. Iv even watched George seek Teddie out to play! 
Once George has had enough he makes it known. 
I think your doing fine and they might never cuddle up on the sofa but watching that video i imagine they will be fine


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## jpj (Mar 30, 2016)

Thanks for your comments! Rolo is chasing the cats much less and they can now be in the same room without too much drama so we are finally seeing some progress 

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