Dog obsessed with "new" cat......

So, quite obv you know nothing about animal behavior.

The dog thinks you and the wife as part of the pack. You and the wife are #1&2 with the dog being #3. New animal means a challenge to #3 spot. Dog will do everything it can to get/keep the #3 spot.

Your first mistake was thinking that the dog would bond with any cat,
Your second was throwing the cat into the mix without any kind of trial/introduction period.
The third and greatest is, you have no idea about animal behavior.

The dog and cat will bond eventually, but you've made it much harder then it needs to be.

Put the dog in it's place when it goes for the cat. The cat will always be #4 as it is weak. This needs to be acknowledge and accepted by all.

I have 12 dogs. I'm very well versed in dog & pack behavior.
 
Sounds like the dog might be jealous of the cat, therefore my suggestion would be to give the dog some attention too. Stroke the dog and cat together to show they are equal.
 
MB101 said:
So, quite obv you know nothing about animal behavior.

The dog thinks you and the wife as part of the pack. You and the wife are #1&2 with the dog being #3. New animal means a challenge to #3 spot. Dog will do everything it can to get/keep the #3 spot.

Your first mistake was thinking that the dog would bond with any cat,
Your second was throwing the cat into the mix without any kind of trial/introduction period.
The third and greatest is, you have no idea about animal behavior.

The dog and cat will bond eventually, but you've made it much harder then it needs to be.

Put the dog in it's place when it goes for the cat. The cat will always be #4 as it is weak. This needs to be acknowledge and accepted by all.

I have 12 dogs. I'm very well versed in dog & pack behavior.
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The alpha dog theory has pretty much been debunked of late. Dog behaviour is much more complex than that. Those theories originated from Schenkels study of grey wolves held in captivity. Two main problems with that study when applying to dogs, they were wolves, they were in captivity. Although dogs do have pack elements, they are more a family pack rather than a hierarchy pack with a single alpha. This means humans don't need to be aggressively assertive over their dogs to prove to it that it is weaker and #3 etc. It also means that in your world of dog understanding a cat can "out rank" a dog. That is definitely true as I have witnessed it many times.
 
MB101 said:
So, quite obv you know nothing about animal behavior.

The dog thinks you and the wife as part of the pack. You and the wife are #1&2 with the dog being #3. New animal means a challenge to #3 spot. Dog will do everything it can to get/keep the #3 spot.

Your first mistake was thinking that the dog would bond with any cat,
Your second was throwing the cat into the mix without any kind of trial/introduction period.
The third and greatest is, you have no idea about animal behavior.

The dog and cat will bond eventually, but you've made it much harder then it needs to be.

Put the dog in it's place when it goes for the cat. The cat will always be #4 as it is weak. This needs to be acknowledge and accepted by all.

I have 12 dogs. I'm very well versed in dog & pack behavior.
Click to expand...

No offence, but you seem to know little about animal behaviour yourself and are just regurgitating Caesar Milan.

We have a 3 legged cat, missing it's front left leg. We bought it into our house when we already had 2 dogs, one older and placid, the other young and excitable.

We had the cat out and let the dogs in to the room with him. Diesel, the older dog came up, looked, stayed back and ignored it. Miller, the younger dog came straight up, put his face in the cats face and get attacked for it. Split them up and the cat spent the next 6 hours hiding behind the TV.

The cat had a couple of run ins with the older dog over the next few months and they never really made friends. The dog kept his distance for the several years until we had to say goodbye (the cat actually got quite distressed when he was gone).

The younger dog kept introducing himself and going for him when the cat scratched him. it took a good 5-6 months for them to decide on their relationship. I have photos of them sleeping in the same bed but the cat defo seems to be in charge.

And to think we had to lie to get the cat because the rehoming center said he couldn't cope in a home with 2 dogs.

OP, don't worry about them going for each other, they need to figure out the dynamic between them, they'll set boundaries. Step in if it gets too much and try to stay out of the scratch zone. They will sort something out, they'll either get on, or they'll avoid each other. Normally, the cat comes out on top!
 
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My cat it has three corners,
Three corners has my cat.
And had it not three corners,
It would not be my cat.
 
MB101 said:
I have 12 dogs. I'm very well versed in dog & pack behavior.
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Your house must STINK!

I couldn't stand the stench when my sister lived with me with her 2 dogs (so technically 3 dogs, eheh)

But 12 of them?! Urgh.

Oh and FWIW when I brought my cat into my place and introduced to the dogs, at first the cat hissed etc but after a few months they just got used to each other and were fine. Also my kitchen door has a glass main section so they could see each other and be inches away which I think helped a lot.
 
MB101 said:
Put the dog in it's place when it goes for the cat. The cat will always be #4 as it is weak. This needs to be acknowledge and accepted by all.
Click to expand...

Ha! Unless it's been through some sort of traumatic experience, no cat will ever settle for rank 4. I've seen lots of homes that have both cats and dogs and cats always dominate. Not only are they above dogs in "rank" they often see themselves above humans.
 
We have 3 dogs and 3 cats, 2 of the dogs are GSDs and the table is:
1: Female cat
2: Female kitten
3: Female mongrel
4: Older male shepard
5: Younger male shepard
6: Male cat (has some issues)

The dogs get on incredibly well with the cats and the cats will seek the dogs out when they want to sleep.

Anyone that says a cat will settle for the spot below a dog clearly doesn't have a bloody clue.
 
MB101 said:
So, quite obv you know nothing about animal behavior.

The dog thinks you and the wife as part of the pack. You and the wife are #1&2 with the dog being #3. New animal means a challenge to #3 spot. Dog will do everything it can to get/keep the #3 spot.

Your first mistake was thinking that the dog would bond with any cat,
Your second was throwing the cat into the mix without any kind of trial/introduction period.
The third and greatest is, you have no idea about animal behavior.

The dog and cat will bond eventually, but you've made it much harder then it needs to be.

Put the dog in it's place when it goes for the cat. The cat will always be #4 as it is weak. This needs to be acknowledge and accepted by all.

I have 12 dogs. I'm very well versed in dog & pack behavior.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your "expert" analysis , if you'd bothered to read my OP you'd realise the dog previously bonded just fine with four cats that used to live with us at our old address.

Given we only got the cat on Sunday and I posted on Monday, wouldn't you say this is the introductory / trial period?

I quite understand pack instinct in dogs, given she's a large German Shepherd, it's important she knows her place in our house , which she does.

As I say, she's well used to cats, just seems to be an issue with this particular one, maybe she finds the missing leg an issue?

This cat stands it's ground (my previous four didn't) this is possibly it too....

You think your well versed in dog & pack behaviour but your crap at reading situations!


Anyway, fwiw, wife reports things are much calmer this morning although she's going to buy a water pistol later as a back up should it be required....
 
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