How to introduce your Greyhound to your Cat

Most Greyhounds need to be trained to coexist peaceably with a cat. Until this training is complete you'll have to keep your cat and Greyhound separated. The training can take a day or two or it can take weeks, depending how "keen" your dog is to chase and how good you are at training! Some dogs are so keen they're best left to another, cat-free, home, while at the other extreme some are just not inclined to chase and hardly need any training at all. If you live on your own you probably need one of these non-chasers because the training needs two people.

There are two parts to the process:

1. Teaching your Greyhound the general command "NO". This means "whatever you're doing, or even thinking about doing, don't!". As with all doggy commands, you should try not to use it to mean anything else (like No you can't go for a walk).

2. The introduction itself.

This is the procedure ...

Without the cat, teach the general command NO

1. Place a meaty dog biscuit (for example) on the floor in a separate room to your dog (or outside). You need enough space to walk to and fro past it.

2. Put your dog on the lead, with his collar properly fitted (right at the top of the neck and tight enough so that only two fingers will fit inside) and walk him casually towards the dog biscuit on a two-foot lead, so he can see it but cannot reach it.

3. As he looks at the dog biscuit, say "NO" firmly (but not aggressively). Don't delay the command until he lunges, say it as soon as he looks. If after your command he stops looking at the dog biscuit and looks at you, then praise him. Repeat several times so you are sure he understands. If your verbal command alone is not enough to divert his gaze from the food to yourself, then walk him past the dog biscuit again and this time say "NO" and check his collar by quickly tugging with the lead. As your dog feels the tug on his collar he will turn to see where it came from. At this point you have broken his train of thought from the dog biscuit towards yourself, and this is the time you must praise him. He will briefly enjoy the praise and then return to the more interesting sight of the food again! As soon as his gaze starts to go back to the food repeat the NO command and then praise when he looks away again.

4. It is imperative that your dog looks away from the food and at you as soon as you say NO and check him. If it takes many attempts you are not asserting yourself strongly enough, and your dog is gaining control of the situation - knowing you don’t really mean business! It is also imperative that praise is given when your dog looks away from the food —he needs to learn the difference between right and wrong in his new ‘no chase’ world.

5. Once you are confident your dog really does understand the word NO, test and train him with other distractions i.e. balls, running children, the open rubbish bin etc so he learns that NO means ‘stop what you are doing at look at me’. After a few attempts you should not have to check your dog, the word alone should be enough. Soon your dog will anticipate what is going to happen as soon as he sees the distraction and will look straight at you for his praise without you even needing to issue the command— thus the lesson has really been learned—he has realised how to get praise by being good! Most dogs learn this command in a matter of minutes, however he will need repetitive reinforcement by you over the coming days to enable him to remember the command.

Now you can start the cat introduction.

Set it up like this:

1. Have a helper who knows the cat and can hold it safely. Have them take up station upstairs or in a closed room.

2. Put your Greyhound on the lead and muzzle him, then settle with him in the empty living room.

3. Have your helper come in without the cat, greet the dog, get sniffed and then sit down somewhere. Repeat this without the greeting until your dog loses interest in your helper coming into the room.

4. Then have the helper go out and come back in holding the cat. Make sure the cat can't escape and identify herself as running prey to your dog, also that your cat is held firmly enough so that she doesn't bother struggling to escape.

5. As your dog looks at the cat, you say "No" so that he stops looking at it and looks at you. Praise him as usual. If need be jerk the lead to make him stop looking at your cat.

At this point you have a choice of technique, depending on the situation and how your cat is coping.

Either... Repeat the entry until your Greyhound has learned not to look at your cat, and the cat has got used to the dog enough so that when your helper lets go of her, she won't immediately run. Depending on your dog's nature and how thoroughly you did the "No" training, this stage may take an hour, a few days, or even longer.

OR Keep your Greyhound and cat in the room until your Greyhound loses interest in your cat. You have to prevent your dog looking at your cat throughout the session, so end each session while you're winning.

* Once the situation is calm you can let your cat free, and then train your dog to ignore the moving cat.

* Once you have both animals relaxed in the same room and ignoring each other, you can take the lead off your dog, but leave the muzzle on.

Now the dog and the cat tend to go through a period of ignoring each other, to the extent of passing each other in a narrow passage as if the other was not there!

The next stage is touching noses and becoming friends, although sometimes they just continue to ignore each other.

Tricky customers: some dogs learn faster with additional reinforcements. If your dog does not respond to the above advice then fill a water spray bottle. As you issue the command NO spray his rump with water, usually the unpleasant wet sensation of the water, is enough to distract him from the cat and avert his gaze to your praising voice.

The first few days

Don't take chances in the early stages— if you go out don't leave your dog and cat in the same room. Don't force them to be together, if your cat is struggling to get out of a tight hold this will make your dog more anxious; try to make meetings as natural as possible. A hiss or swipe from your cat is acceptable, but never allow your cat to attack your dog as it is likely to make his behaviour worse rather than better. Also don't forget his eyes are vulnerable. Also bear in mind that your dog and your own cat may become great friends, but he may need more supervision with other people's cats.

Make sure that your cat has a place to escape. If necessary, put a baby gate at the bottom of the stairs so that your cat can get through but your Greyhound can't.

Even when you have a dog who apparently shows no interest in cats, you should be aware that it is possible, even if your dog eats and sleeps with the cat, that if your cat runs or comes charging through the cat flap, your dog may chase it. Not having cat flaps avoids the situation and when letting your dog into your garden, alert any cats in the garden and allow them time to leave before letting your dog free. Even if he's cat-friendly he'll see the garden as his territory and may not accept another predator in it.

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