Aggressiveness toward my cat.

Tigerstripe40 · 13-12-2012, 00:54

Hello this is my first post.

I don't directly own a Vlcak, but my buddy and roommate does.
His name is Zazimir (we call him Zaz) and he's just over a year old.

I have had my cat for about 7 years now. The cat has lived in the home with a black labrador for 5 years and they get along fine. Initially (5 years ago)there was some tension with the lab, the cat gave a hiss and after a bit, bloodied the labs nose with his claws and its been fine ever since. They play with each other, they sleep together. No issues there.

Now, with the Vlcak Zaz, the cat has been in the picture since day 1. The vlcak has shown aggression with the cat. The cat will hiss, and scratch, and in some occasions, has bloodied Zaz's nose, however, Zaz will not back down. Neither will the cat. Typically we end up physically separating the dog and cat. Zaz will get put in his kennel and the cat will go hide for a while. I have a baby gate to keep Zaz out of the area the cat typically occupies, however, the gate doesn't always get closed and Zaz will go straight for the room my cat is in.

I figure its natural curiosity with the dog, however, the cat will swat at Zaz when Zaz starts biting at the cat, and since neither will back down, it will escalate into a fight (we always intercept before it gets really aggressive, and so far, no injuries to the cat other than hurt pride, and a bloodied nose for the dog).

My fear is that Zaz will get the better of the cat one day and seriously harm him or kill him. -I don't want that to happen.

I feel its time to get involved myself.

Any clues on how to cull this behavior from the dog?

yukidomari · 13-12-2012, 06:43

Hi, Zaz is a dog somewhat familiar on another forum, Galomy Oak Botolf. From knowing other Vlcak who lived/were living with cats (as with basically all other dogs), you have four scenarios:

- Vlcak learns to leave cat alone
- Vlcak learns to be gentle and play to the cat's level
- Vlcak likes to 'play' with the cat (bully it, mostly) with the opportunity rises, but wouldn't seriously hurt it otherwise (sort of like living with a small breed dog and a vlcak)
- It's not safe to keep Vlcak around cat, they must be separated.

In all circumstances I think it basically comes down to management..... I think there is no 'fair' way to cull an animal's inherent prey drive especially if you ever consider leaving the animals alone together unsupervised. Depending on the excitement level, you can very strongly enforce a 'leave it' and go from there...

For me, my Vlcaks and my small dogs basically are the third category, and I always have had to enforce a strong 'leave it' which is generally respected. But still I don't leave them alone together yet when I'm not home to monitor it... my Vlcaks definitely do try to bully the minis even if they retaliate, because the vlcaks think it's great fun to illicit some reaction..

Tigerstripe40 · 13-12-2012, 07:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by yukidomari

Hi, Zaz is a dog somewhat familiar on another forum, Galomy Oak Botolf. From knowing other Vlcak who lived/were living with cats (as with basically all other dogs), you have four scenarios:

- Vlcak learns to leave cat alone
- Vlcak learns to be gentle and play to the cat's level
- Vlcak likes to 'play' with the cat (bully it, mostly) with the opportunity rises, but wouldn't seriously hurt it otherwise (sort of like living with a small breed dog and a vlcak)
- It's not safe to keep Vlcak around cat, they must be separated.

In all circumstances I think it basically comes down to management..... I think there is no 'fair' way to cull an animal's inherent prey drive especially if you ever consider leaving the animals alone together unsupervised. Depending on the excitement level, you can very strongly enforce a 'leave it' and go from there...

Zaz came from Galomy Oaks.

He's not very good about listening to commands when he doesn't want to (especially when you don't have a treat in your hand). I suppose that when hes in the house with the cat at the same time, I should keep some treats in my pocket so that if there IS an altercation, I holler 'leave it!' and pull out a treat?

yukidomari · 13-12-2012, 07:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tigerstripe40

Zaz came from Galomy Oaks.

He's not very good about listening to commands when he doesn't want to (especially when you don't have a treat in your hand). I suppose that when hes in the house with the cat at the same time, I should keep some treats in my pocket so that if there IS an altercation, I holler 'leave it!' and pull out a treat?

you could try with increasingly exciting and distracting situations, but I wouldn't expect him to go from say, 2 (sitting in parking lot with people walking around) to 90 (stop mid way chasing a running fuzzy) without levels in the middle..

Also, if you're addressing SPECIFIC behaviors, it's also not a bad time to issue corrections..

but if he is really, really food driven, you could also try the 'pay attention to me (and not the cat/distraction) game......(and in time increase the attention paying part from like 1 second to a few minutes to...)

in terms of management and training, you could use a light drag line around the house, so to back up the leave its and so (to enforce they get done) until it's reliable. but again, it depends on the excitement level the dog shows.. if he's TRULY aggressive to the cat, which by the way, doesn't seem so, since a one year old Vlcak could easily kill one.. of course it would not be very effective..

my male (now a little over two) now can do 'leave its' to cats we see while walking, but if i don't 'warn' him to leave it, he will still bolt after them..

tupacs2legs · 13-12-2012, 13:10

Hmm, if you have to physically seperate them and the cat is not injured I don't think the dog wants to hurt the cat(I'm not saying the behaviour is a desired one) but think about it.....the cat would be long dead!

Shadowlands · 14-12-2012, 10:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by yukidomari

my male (now a little over two) now can do 'leave its' to cats we see while walking, but if i don't 'warn' him to leave it, he will still bolt after them..

We have the same situation with ours

Quote:

Originally Posted by yukidomari

- Vlcak learns to leave cat alone
- Vlcak learns to be gentle and play to the cat's level
- Vlcak likes to 'play' with the cat (bully it, mostly) with the opportunity rises, but wouldn't seriously hurt it otherwise (sort of like living with a small breed dog and a vlcak)
- It's not safe to keep Vlcak around cat, they must be separated.

Our airedale is definitely a level 3, so whenever she sees the cat first, BJ (virtually 1 year old vlciak) is the same. On his own though he is very gentle towards the cat (who still can't quite work out how to react

). I find if I remain completely calm during their interactions, BJ and the cat will too - any raising of my voice or change in my movements can escalate the excitement level to being a level 3

Quote:

Originally Posted by tupacs2legs

Hmm, if you have to physically seperate them and the cat is not injured I don't think the dog wants to hurt the cat(I'm not saying the behaviour is a desired one) but think about it.....the cat would be long dead!

I have to agree here

saschia · 14-12-2012, 14:37

Hi, I think maybe the problem is more deep. You say that Zaz is "not very good about listening to commands when he doesn't want to". That is the main problem. One year old vlcak should be able to comprehend that obeying is a must and should obey the "normal" commands in all but really complicated situations. At home, getting treats should now be only a really well-deserved reward. If he does not obey even if he is not distracted much, then the problem is in your authority. Even if the dog does not belong to you, if you live in the same household, it should consider you as an authority.

13-12-2012, 00:54	#1
Tigerstripe40 Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: West Valley City, Utah Posts: 4	Aggressiveness toward my cat. Hello this is my first post. I don't directly own a Vlcak, but my buddy and roommate does. His name is Zazimir (we call him Zaz) and he's just over a year old. I have had my cat for about 7 years now. The cat has lived in the home with a black labrador for 5 years and they get along fine. Initially (5 years ago)there was some tension with the lab, the cat gave a hiss and after a bit, bloodied the labs nose with his claws and its been fine ever since. They play with each other, they sleep together. No issues there. Now, with the Vlcak Zaz, the cat has been in the picture since day 1. The vlcak has shown aggression with the cat. The cat will hiss, and scratch, and in some occasions, has bloodied Zaz's nose, however, Zaz will not back down. Neither will the cat. Typically we end up physically separating the dog and cat. Zaz will get put in his kennel and the cat will go hide for a while. I have a baby gate to keep Zaz out of the area the cat typically occupies, however, the gate doesn't always get closed and Zaz will go straight for the room my cat is in. I figure its natural curiosity with the dog, however, the cat will swat at Zaz when Zaz starts biting at the cat, and since neither will back down, it will escalate into a fight (we always intercept before it gets really aggressive, and so far, no injuries to the cat other than hurt pride, and a bloodied nose for the dog). My fear is that Zaz will get the better of the cat one day and seriously harm him or kill him. -I don't want that to happen. I feel its time to get involved myself. Any clues on how to cull this behavior from the dog?

13-12-2012, 06:43	#2
yukidomari Moderator Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Los Angeles CA Posts: 847	Hi, Zaz is a dog somewhat familiar on another forum, Galomy Oak Botolf. From knowing other Vlcak who lived/were living with cats (as with basically all other dogs), you have four scenarios: - Vlcak learns to leave cat alone - Vlcak learns to be gentle and play to the cat's level - Vlcak likes to 'play' with the cat (bully it, mostly) with the opportunity rises, but wouldn't seriously hurt it otherwise (sort of like living with a small breed dog and a vlcak) - It's not safe to keep Vlcak around cat, they must be separated. In all circumstances I think it basically comes down to management..... I think there is no 'fair' way to cull an animal's inherent prey drive especially if you ever consider leaving the animals alone together unsupervised. Depending on the excitement level, you can very strongly enforce a 'leave it' and go from there... For me, my Vlcaks and my small dogs basically are the third category, and I always have had to enforce a strong 'leave it' which is generally respected. But still I don't leave them alone together yet when I'm not home to monitor it... my Vlcaks definitely do try to bully the minis even if they retaliate, because the vlcaks think it's great fun to illicit some reaction.. __________________ "Learn to do well; seek judgment." www.greyfarer.com/ Last edited by yukidomari; 13-12-2012 at 06:52.

14-12-2012, 14:37	#7
saschia Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Bratislava Posts: 936	Hi, I think maybe the problem is more deep. You say that Zaz is "not very good about listening to commands when he doesn't want to". That is the main problem. One year old vlcak should be able to comprehend that obeying is a must and should obey the "normal" commands in all but really complicated situations. At home, getting treats should now be only a really well-deserved reward. If he does not obey even if he is not distracted much, then the problem is in your authority. Even if the dog does not belong to you, if you live in the same household, it should consider you as an authority. __________________ Saschia (Sasa Zahradnikova) http://www.chiens-loup-tchecoslovaqu...ei-et-damon.ws

13-12-2012, 13:10	#5
tupacs2legs rookie Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: london Posts: 320	Hmm, if you have to physically seperate them and the cat is not injured I don't think the dog wants to hurt the cat(I'm not saying the behaviour is a desired one) but think about it.....the cat would be long dead!