Dog Abbey! Help With Cat Agression

[Otto'sMom]

You asked for it:

Austin is a 2 year old, neutered(for 2 months now) blind in the right eye(for 3 months now) long haired black and tan mini. I got him from Animal Control, he'd been caught as a stray and not adopted due to growling at people from his cage, possibly fear biting. Of course he wasn't neutered.

I have 10 cats. The other dogs (4)pay them no mind. Austin is out for blood. If they run, he's after them. If they stay still, he stares at them and won't stop. Even if they're sleeping on top of the entertainment center, he just locks in on them. If one isn't fast enough and gets cornered, he tries to bite their back legs and tail. He was like that before he lost his right eye's vision.
A cat can't walk into the room without setting him off.

The cats live in their room behind a baby gate, with 3 that stay on my kitchen countertops (I really don't cook anyway) and 3 that roam from room to room cat tree to cat tree and entertainment center, and 4 that just stay in the "cat room".

I've tried pinning him into a submissive position and telling him "NO!" when he goes after one. I've tried squirting him with the water with no result. I've leashed him in the house and that's the only thing that kept him from being able to get the kitties. What do you suggest?

[Patt]

Good question since I have the same problem with Trixie. DH is building a cat enclosure that attaches to the house so at least they will have more room and a change of scenery.

[isobelsmom]

Since I just saw this and you have tried all those methods...let me take a few and mull this over. I would suggest a shake can...but then you'd be correcting kitties and that will not do.

What I will say is that this boy sounds like he roamed and learned to hate kitties on the street OR his previous humans had cats and allowed him to get this way then perhaps lost or dumped him. Or he has what's called "misplaced aggression." Either way, it is a serious problem and I will ponder it for a bit in order to give you the best advice possible.

May I use this as a sticky when we fix it?

First, I have some questions for you, if you don't mind?!

1: What happens when you "pin" him? Does he fully relax? Does he partially relax, then off like a shot? Does he not relax at al (still feel major tension in his body)? How exactly are you pinning him? Scruff (belly down) or throat (belly up)?

2: Do ANY of the cats tease him in the least? VERY important question.

3: How long have you had him? What obedience has he had? How and why did he lose sight in that eye?

4: Is he aggressive at all with humans or the other dogs? How long has he been neutered?

5: What kind of food is he on and how is he fed? Where is he fed? Can he see the cats eat? Drink?

We'll stop there for now. I do this for all my clients and I'll treat each Dog Abbey as a client and go from there. Sometimes, cuz I'm not there in person, I have to take more time to solve it, but I do. Can you get me a pic or three of him in action so I can see his body language and that of the cats'? That would be wonderful!!!!! And VERY helpful.

[Otto'sMom]

Feel free to sticky this!

1. When pinned, he partially relaxes and then is off like a shot, on the hunt to where he remembers last seeing the kitty. He is pinned belly up, kinda sideways. It's much more difficult than I thought it'd be to pin a 9-11 lb dog. The only time I'm able to get him to fully relax showing his belly is after a bath wrapped in a towel or when I'm brushing his hair.

2. Cats ignore him and avoid him at all costs. No taunting him at all.

3. I've had him since June or July of 05. No obedience as of yet. He lost the sight in his eye in September when a black lab chomped his head at the dog park. He was trying to intimidate the big dog by jumping up in his face. He was not neutered at the time, had an appointment for the next week. The dog bit him in the head, resulting in the loss of his vision, and about 1000 bucks in vet bills. He wasn't barking at the dog, just jumping, and it only was 4 jumps before the other dog snapped.

4. Neutered for 2 months. And a little growly at people if they try to pick him up, but warms up instantly. When Grrrt gets her growl on at him, he growls back and Grrrt backs down immediately. The first day he came into the house, he wanted to mount Dolly (everybody is fixed) She tried to avoid him but had to resort to pinning his randy butt to get him to leave her alone that way. You could tell it upset Dolly to have to do that. Austin was totally OK with it. My pack's order is thus: Otto, Buddy, Dolly, and Grrrt. Austin has placed himself over Grrrt.

5. He's on Neutro Max, small bites kind. He gets 1/4 cup in the morning and in the evening shows no food agression at all. He tries to stick his head in everybody's bowl, like a buffet, but settles on the one I lead him to. He always likes what somebody else is having, and tries to get the Senior Mix that the older dogs eat. I put about 8 pieces of the senior in his food and it makes him happy. All the dogs are fed at once and I have no fights. Not always the same bowls, though.

The cats are all fed on a breakfast table up high and in the cat room. He can't see the cats in the cat room. I have a kitty fountain the kittys drink from in the laundry room. He LOVES to drink from that. I put water on the countertop for the kitties to drink from too. The cats stay out of sight most of the time, but some get lonely for me and try to visit and are immediately run off.

Austin sleeps in his kennel at night so I can have the cats that want to sleep with me there. No cats in the room, he gets to sleep in the big bed. He's very restless.

Don't know about the photos...I'm too busy trying to save the cat and prevent him from losing his other eye. He once cornered one of my cats in the bathroom and ended up with a nail sheath just barely stuck in his upper eyelid. His entire body is rigid and on the alert when he spots a kitty. I've tried something a pet communicator told me: Pet the dog and cat at the same time and tell him how important he and the cats are to me. Telling him that this is a "good kitty" and he shouldn't chase it. I do this as often as I can.

He's not much of a cuddler, he prefers to be nearby within close reach. He comes to me when I call him. He gives lots of kisses and if I stay on the phone for an extendted period of time (rare) he will lick my mouth and push the phone away from my head. (I was laying on the sofa when he did that)
He plays with Otto very well, usually initiating it. Only plays with Dolly at the dog park, not in the house. Defers to Buddy. Grrrt doesn't really like him at all.

Hope all this info helps.

[isobelsmom]

All this info does indeed help me tremendously. I'm glad you are open to the pet communicators...ummm, cuz I'm trained in canine massage therapy and holistic coaching along with my dog training. What this does is open the door to human andcanine psychology and allows me to access and take from both.

What is the reaction when you pet both? And then I think that's all I need regarding info.


Patt...feel free to drop me your info about kitty problems, too, so I can include info if it differs at all.

thanks....now I'll just sit and :scratch: and work on these wonderful puzzles!

[Otto'sMom]

He never relaxes when I'm holding him, petting him and talking softly to him when a cat is within eyeball range. I've held him and talked to the cats, had him on the bed with me and the cat was on top of the dresser, within reach. When I go into the cat room to spend any time with the cats, he's highly distressed, almost like "Don't you KNOW there are CATS in there?!!??" and makes little monkey noises outside the gate.

[isobelsmom]

thank you...another piece of the puzzle. Will sticky soon, Andrea.

[Otto'sMom]

I just wanted to add that he's really improved attitude wise since the neutering. He's a bold and mischevious little monkey and wasn't very close to me. He's bonded with me now and every time he comes back from the sitter, he's a better dog....except for that cat thing.

He stays with a Vet Tech and plays with a doberman mix while I'm out to sea. She has no cats.

[JanUet]

I would :love5: to see pics of your Cats!

Id you can get them all in one shot! :wow: