Dog Training for Cats

I’m going to start with two disclaimers. 

First, Newt is the only cat John and I ever had direct experience with, and Petey (remember her?) is the only kitten we ever had direct experience with. We made the mistake of assuming some behavior traits that were consistent between Newt and Petey would be consistent with Ripley.

In other words, we had basically no idea what we were doing when Ripley didn’t just dive in and befriend Coop and Newt right away. Although, in hindsight, you guys know us… our obvious assumption should have obviously been that this would be difficult because hello.

Here’s the gist: Ripley was scared of Cooper. Newt was scared of Ripley.

Second, I’m so lucky to work in the pet industry! I’ve talked to three separate cat experts and have three cat books (I’ll share my thoughts on those another day) to draw from!

The Newt + Ripley relationship is complex and evolving. That’s its own post. Who knew: Cats aren’t like dogs. They don’t just sniff butts and move on with their lives. #whoknew

As for the Ripley and Cooper situation, we have it under control. In fact, it’s maybe better than we could’ve expected in this short amount of time. So, I figured I’d share our experience in case anyone else is struggling to introduce a kitten to a dog OR struggling to help one pet overcome a fear of another pet. Tricky situations all around.

For today, I want to focus on one aspect of that complexity: dog training for cats.

We started out with one big advantage–that also provided some challenges. That is, Cooper LOVES cats. He loves cats. He loves kittens. He just loves ’em… a little too much. He wants to skitter with every cat he sees. He wants to bop them with his nose, flip them over, lick their faces, the works.

Cats, on the other hand, do not want that. Any of it.

Ripley, in particular, was horrified. And terrified. She first saw Cooper with him on leash many feet away, and she puffed up, hissed, and scrambled back into her safe space. The second time she saw Cooper, he was on leash, and she was many feet away, and she puffed up, hissed, and scrambled back into her safe space. Same thing with the third, fourth, fifth, we lost count how many times.

All the while, Cooper was like, “Hello, friend! Wanna skitter? Hey, where’d ya go?”

{{To be fair, the first time I sneezed around Rip, she hissed. The first time the toaster popped up toast around Rip, she hissed. The first time she saw her reflection, she hissed. Rip is a classic scaredy cat. So that’s our starting line…}}

So, ultimately, here’s what worked for us, and if you’re someone trying to introduce a kitten to a dog, I hope this helps:

Number 1: Cooper’s training.

Honestly, the first day, he totally blacked out (see previous most recent post re: this mental state for Coop), but we kept him on leash, reinforced good behavior with squeeze cheese, and he eventually found his wits. Even after he got his head back, he was on lockdown–on leash, on his bed, with cheese and praise–while the kitten was allowed to approach at will. She didn’t, of course, but she led the charge. When she was ready to approach, we kept him on his bed and let her sniff him. Thankfully, Coop is pretty solid with down/stay on his bed, and he’s been through this regimen with Newt and Petey, so he was pretty cool about it.

Takeaway: Before you introduce your pup to a kitten (or any new animal, really) work like crazy on a solid down/stay on a place like a bed or mat. That behavior, when it’s reliable, is GOLD.

Number 2: Let the cat set the pace.

For a couple weeks thereafter, I scootched Cooper’s bed right under my desk. I’d put him on the bed, clip on the leash, then bring Rip into my office. She decided if and when to approach him (or if and when to hiss at him). For a couple weeks, that was basically it. He broke his stay a handful of times to bop her with his nose, and when that happened she’d be a little more guarded for a bit but recovered pretty quickly. Bottom line: The cat gets to set the pace.

A post shared by Maggie Marton (@maggiemarton) on Oct 5, 2017 at 12:28pm PDT

Number 3: Push them… a little…

After it was clear Ripley felt comfortable around Coop when he was on his bed, I let him wander to the extent of his leash when she was in the room. At first, she was timid, but she had stopped hissing almost entirely. Every time I felt she was getting comfortable with a stage with him, I’d raise the bar a smidge.

I’m not sure how or when it happened, but one day, Ripley just started wrestling with Cooper. Like, all-out, maniacal, pummeling, and leaping wrestling matches.

It’s been six weeks, and the two of them are playmates, constantly wrestling and chasing. I actually think Cooper needs to step up and “correct” some of her behavior because she gets super rough with him (seriously.) and he kind of just takes it…

In this case, it was all about dog training for cats–getting Ripley used to being around Cooper. If you’re looking for training dogs to be around cats, I covered that waaayyyyyy back when Newtie first met the three dogs. Here’s part one, part two, and part three.

{{Incidentally, looking back at those now, Cooper and Newt started off the same way, with Newt beating up Coop in play… I wonder what it is about cats and Cooper…}}

I’m also super grateful that Cooper, despite his many, many, many quirks, seems built for kitties. Who knew.

I call this Ripley + Cooper case closed! The two are pretty natural brother and sister at this point… griping and fighting, but also loving.

Next up Ripley + Newt… this case file is going to be thick. Stay tuned!