[Updated October 19, 2017]

It’s fairly common for dogs to be placed for adoption with a caveat that there should be “no cats,” “no small animals,” or “no livestock” in their new homes. These warnings are usually based on observations of the dog while he spent time in a shelter or rescue, or on the dog’s history in his most recent home. While they are meant to prevent a tragedy, especially in the home of a well-meaning but not very experienced owner, the warnings can scare away committed owners who are willing and capable of addressing the dog’s predatory leanings. Here’s the story of one very determined couple who helped their new dog get past her cat-chasing past and go on to share her hearth with a pair of kitties.

Ken and Sue Johnson love German Shepherd Dogs and are very aware of the pet overpopulation problem. So it made sense, when their senior Shepherd died of old age, to adopt their next canine companion from a rescue group. They contacted a German Shepherd rescue, and adopted five-year-old black-and-tan Sara.

The rescue staff informed them that Sara, seized in a neglect case, had lived with cats in her previous home, so they felt confident taking her home to meet their senior cat. Much to their dismay, they discovered that while Sara may have lived with cats before, it probably wasn’t a harmonious relationship. When we met for our first behavior modification session they said, “We had a cat when we first brought Sara home. She chased the cat upstairs where he stayed for the next two months until he passed away.”

The Johnsons love cats, and were aching to adopt a bonded pair, to fill the void left by their last cat’s passing. Wisely, however, they didn’t want to subject two new cats to constant harassment by an aroused dog dedicated to terrorizing the felines. They asked if I could help Sara learn to get along with cats. I said we could try, and they signed up for a series of private behavior modification consults. The Johnsons were committed to keeping Sara whether we succeeded or not. They really wanted cats in their home, but were prepared to remain catless if we couldn’t make it work.

Finding a Good Feline Participant

We have three cats in the Miller household. Although they live with our own four dogs, I knew that Blue and Viva wouldn’t take kindly to participating in behavior modification sessions with a rowdy German Shepherd. Barney, however, is unflappable, and thus was drafted to be our “neutral cat.”

On the day of the Johnson’s first scheduled session in mid-December of 2012, I brought Barney out to the training center and placed him in a covered exercise pen, with a blanket over the top so he couldn’t leap out. We wanted him confined for his own safety, as well as to minimize his movement to help keep Sara’s arousal level low. I put an open carrier inside so Barney had a place to hide if he felt threatened by Sara. The stage was set and we waited for the Johnsons to arrive.

Cross-Species Relationships

While canines and felines are notorious for “fighting like cats and dogs,” they are not the only potential “mixed-family” challenge. Dogs who are not well socialized to other species can pose a threat to many other companion animals, from small rodents to rabbits, fish, birds, ferrets, pigs, goats, sheep, horses, and everything in between.

My modification protocol of choice for introducing a dog to a new species is classical conditioning: giving the dog a positive association with the new creature, while at the same time managing (with a leash, crate, baby gate, closed door, etc.) so said dog never learns the joy of chasing said (insert your species of choice here) in your home. Because classical and operant conditioning work together, at the same time your dog is creating a healthy association with your new furred, finned, or feathered family member (Cockatiels make pieces of delicious chicken appear!) he is also learning a new behavior (If I sit by my human’s side when the cockatiel is present I can make her feed me pieces of chicken!).

If you’re proactive with your introductions – and if your dog didn’t come to you with a lot of practice at chasing other animals – you can often create harmony in your household in a short time with reasonable effort.

If, however, you have a dog like Sara who already has an unhealthy predator/prey or other predatory association with other species, you’ll have to work hard to counter-condition (change) and desensitize her association and related behavior. Counter-conditioning is a “subset” of classical conditioning.

Classical conditioning is my preferred choice for many protocols because it is relatively easy to do well – easier for most of my clients, in my experience, than other options such as BAT and CAT (see “Other Modification Protocol Options,” below), and because I have had great success using it in a wide variety of behavior modification programs. I’ve seen it work well for everything from nail trimming and touch sensitivity, fear of cars and dog reactivity, resource guarding and fear-related aggression, to my own Scottish Terrier’s desire to maul Viva, the eight-week-old kitten we brought into our home 11 years ago.

Counter-Conditioning for Cat Tolerance – SESSION 1

The Johnsons arrived for their scheduled appointment, and after a brief discussion about the plan, we set to work. We initially introduced Sara to Barney-in-the-pen at a distance of 40 feet. I find that to be a good average threshold distance for most of my clients’ dogs in the presence of their arousal-causing stimuli. Not Sara! When she saw a cat 40 feet away she went immediately “over threshold” – ignoring food (venison instead of chicken, due to Sara’s food allergies), whining and aroused, trying to drag Susan toward the pen.

We backed up to 60 feet and tried again. At this increased distance Sara was able to begin working, and quickly made the association between the sight of Barney and receiving venison treats. Before long, she would look at Barney and quickly look back to Ken for her treat. This swift development of a conditioned emotional response (CER) gave us hope for success, despite her initial intense reaction to the sight of the cat in the pen. By the end of the session, Sara was able to be within 25 feet of Barney’s pen, with a relaxed, soft body language and expression.

Since the Johnsons didn’t have access to an accommodating Barney-style cat at home, I sent them off for two weeks to practice counter-conditioning Sara using the squirrels in her neighborhood – another source of high arousal for the dog.