How do I help my adult cat accept the young dog?
Growing up in the country, we always had both dogs and cats around and they all got along just fine with each other. We even had one of our cats save one of our dogs from an attack by a larger dog that got past our fences and onto our property one day and went into attack mode when it saw our dog.
So, I thought that especially if the cat was already in the home when we got the dog, and we then introduced a puppy and socialized it to see the cat as one of the family, things would work out pretty well.
However, despite a few swipes to her nose, the dog insists on trying to play with the cat (she really wants the cat to chase her because she does the same stuff she does with my parent's sheltie when the puppy wants momma sheltie to play), but the cat doesn't get it and bats at the dog and runs away.
I'm starting to worry about the cat because he only comes out of hiding at night while the puppy is in her crate despite six months passing and lots of dog training. Will things settle down over time or is there something more I can do to help this relationship come along and at least include tolerance?
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Give your cat a high place where he can observe the dog and feel safe in that the blasted canine can't reach him. This will serve as a safe haven. Also make sure there are at least 2 different ways to get out of that safe haven so the dog can't lay in ambush.
During feeding time use put the food on 2 sides of a door opened to a gap, and let the cat start eating first before the dog gets her food. This will allow them to experience each other while eating instead of the already established behaviors.
when you do see unacceptable behavior intervene and correct the one initiating the bad behavior (which may sometimes actually be the cat)
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