Of Dachshunds & cats.


BorderCollies

New Member
My mother and I are moving in with my stepdad in a few months, and he has three Dachshunds. Two of them are 6 years old. The oldest one is Katie, she's 15. Gets along with everyone and everything.

I have a fair amount of dog experience - I own, work, and foster Border Collies...However, with Border Collies, I'm used to them wanting to herd the cats. Or, if they want to chase, they aren't dead-set on wanting to kill them...like the two youngest Dachshunds are. I understand the background of this breed, that they were bred to tunnel and kill their prey. They like to kill any prey they can get ahold of. The other day, they killed a 6ft+ King Snake in our yard.

However, I need them to NOT want to kill my 3 cats! Any time one of them sees the cats, it is all they can focus on.
I have one of the two staying with me for a couple months here at my house.

I need some advice. I am willing to use any training tool/method that might work. Anybody have experience with this?
 
The full sized dachshund we used to have would bark and aggressively run at any cats he saw in the neighborhood.

As soon as the cat raised it's fur and hissed, Henry would turn and run away, "crying like a girl".

Our tweenie also puts up a pretty good front, and will try to harrass cats, but again will run away if the cat hisses at him.

I've heard other stories of dachshunds and cats living peacefully together.
 

Steph

New Member
I have a dachshund (Arelus) and a cat (Helios) and they get along fairly well...actually Helios puts Arelus in his place if he gets too rough. So they do have their moments, but Arelus usually comes out the loser. Helios (who is 9 and a rescue) was also here already when Arelus came home as an 8 wk old pup and I think the old boy has a way with "raising" pups. He "raised" my 2 shih tzu crosses who are now 4 (they are the ones who torment Helios to no end) and then when Ree came along he did the same thing as he did with the other 2.

If your guys get focused on the cats, you have to find a way to break their concentration - bounce a tennis ball, make a loud noise, just something that "snaps" them out of it. Also I find the command "Leave it" works well too, especially if I know that Helios is not in the mood to play and Arelus is, I tell him to leave it and he leaves Helios alone. You also might want to consider for the first little while, any interaction between them be done with the dogs on leash, that way, if need be, the cats can remove themselves safely without being chased by the dogs. It will take time to get them all used to each other.

Good luck!
 

Inkeri

New Member
I suppose it's more difficult to make them friends when they're all grown-ups and the cats don't have experience with dogs and the dogs don't have experience with cats. But you can do it!! :)
In my experience it's easier to make the dog accept the cat (the cat may never accept the dog as a family-member).We've always had cats and dogs at home and they've been more or less best friends (depends on the cat), but the dogs have never accepted any other cats - like the neighbours cat. Dachshunds are pack-loving dogs, so you can use that as a tool. This sounds silly, but what i've done, is that i pet the cat frequently and say things like "this is a good cat, he's my friend" etc... with the dog in the room. And of course, in time they will understand that these cats live in their pack and are a part of it.
BUT they may never be best friends, so always have an eye on them. Cats are sneaky and so are dachsies. ;)
 

BorderCollies

New Member
I suppose it's more difficult to make them friends when they're all grown-ups and the cats don't have experience with dogs and the dogs don't have experience with cats. But you can do it!! :)
In my experience it's easier to make the dog accept the cat (the cat may never accept the dog as a family-member).
Actually, my cats have lots of dog experience! I'm on Border Collie foster dog number 15 right now. :) My cats know not to run from a dog...though they still do it on a rare occasion.
 

DeafDogs

Alberta Region Moderator
Mine just wwant to play with cats! Mouse was playing with my friend's cat, (she REALLY wants him to chase her!) who usually just glares at her, but the other day she managed to entice him into a game of chase around the couch! LOL they were even dekeing eachother out! LOL it was awesome! but with my aggressive terrier, I keep him on a leash, then tell him to leave it around cats, and/or break his concentration.

The other thing you can do is put baby gates up, so the cats can get away if need be
 

Kitaku

New Member
i have a cat and a dog, the dog grew up with a cat but now he thinks cats are as friendly as other dogs and wants to play with it , something you should be careful about if a stray cat comes around.
 
Top