It is possible for them to co-exist, but you need to teach the puppy that the cat belongs to YOU. At first, I think the proper approach should be to keep them separated when you are not around. But when you are home, you should allow both animals free reign...you cannot correct problems if you just avoid them.

You have the right idea with the sit/off command, but chances are you are giving the command too late. Dogs often give off signals before they initiate a chase; ears forward, "alert", tail up, etc. Give the correction whenever you see this body language. I learned this from a dog trainer in trying to correct my own dog for another issue.

When correcting, do not shout or use high pitched voice, just firmly give a command, such as "here", to distract the puppy. I bet your kids yell, 'NO!!" in a loud voice, right? This gets the dog excited.

When he obeys, reward him with a small tidbit of food, or some affection, ear scratches, etc. Do not reward him with excited play or a toy, because then you are teaching him to be excited when the cat is around. He needs to learn that when the cat is present, he will be rewarded for calm. Rewarding him with a toy will teach him to be excited when he sees the cat because, "ohboyohboyohboy...I get a SQUEEKIE TOY!!"

One the cat realizes you have the dog under control, he will probably stop running away. Andn once the cat stops running the puppy will be less interested in chase.

Hope this helps!!

Lest you think I meant give the animals rule of the house...LOL.

Just as long as the dog knows the cat's in charge :-) you'll be fine. In puppiedom, I dont think they care, they just want to play.

Puppies are SOOOO annoying to cats, and older dogs!

When we got our beagle as a pup - my cat was about 4 years old. She hated that dog. Would not go near her, and my beagle thought everything meant play, play, play.

We taught her "Leave it alone!" for when she bugs the cats.

They get along well now- the oldest cat still acts like she hates the dog, turns up her nose and meows anytime she comes near her, but every so often I catch her running up to my dog, giving her playful bat, running away a few steps, over and over til the dog chases her and they'll play.

Puppies are just irritating to anything that doesn't have the same energy and mentality - and cats are so above that childish behavior ;)

They will learn to co-exist eventually. Pup will learn when to leave the cat alone, and as the puppy energy and aloofness starts to leave the pup, the cat will probably get pestered less and less.

What kind of puppy is it?

It sounds like there is still hope, but I will work on getting the pup (Savannah, a Wheaten terrier) under control sooner. You are right, cindyB, that it is easy to tell when a chase is about to begin, because generally there is a standoff/staredown first. I almost wonder whether the cat (Mason) initiates it on purpose, because sometimes he will come downstairs and hang out on a chair until Savannah notices him. And if she is chasing him, and he has enough of a lead, he will jump up high or shoot up the stairs, and watch smugly as she runs past him, clueless about where he is. BUT when he is caught off guard, or gets cornered, he seems genuinely panicky, and I hate to see him distressed.

And I just have to add that no, my kids do not yell "NO!" to the puppy (at least not anymore). The older kids have mostly been calm with her from the start, but it took my youngest (Meg, age 6) several months to learn to correct her properly. At first, when the pup would get playful and nippy, Meg would shriek and run. I kept Savannah on a leash so Meg could practice giving her commands without fear of being jumped on, and now she has enough confidence that Savannah will sit/stay for her. Not sure how to do that with Mason, though!

I have always heard, correct me if I am wrong -- that terriers and cats don't mix because terriers are very prey driven.

My daughter has always wanted a yorkie and I have always said no because I don't want to another animal to harass my cat who was here first.

Absolutely. It just takes time and patience.

I have two kinds of dogs that they say not to have around cats. I also have two cats - and we all co-exist peacefully.

It can be done, and is especially able to be done if the dog is raised with a cat, as this one will be. That's the most important thing when getting a dog with a high prey drive. You want a puppy because if they are raised with a cat, they don't see it as prey. And older dog who has not been around cats, or who has been trained to chase - will be a problem.

I have heard that terriers tend to have a high prey drive, too, but I don't think Savannah is much of a hunter. She will chase Mason if he is running away, but if she corners him, just prances around - not really brave enough to get within striking distance.

She would bother our pet rat (recently passed), too, but, although our rat was always very gentle with us, I think she may have bit Savannah (not sure how she managed that through her cage, but I swear that Savannah was afraid of her). So I think she is just obstinately trying to play, rather than hunting.

I almost wonder whether the cat (Mason) initiates it on purpose, because sometimes he will come downstairs and hang out on a chair until Savannah notices him. And if she is chasing him, and he has enough of a lead, he will jump up high or shoot up the stairs, and watch smugly as she runs past him, clueless about where he is.

Sounds very familiar. My dog (also part terrier) and old roommate's cat, and the cat definitely instigated. He would stick his tail straight up in the air, very nonchalantly strut across the room directly in front of dog, waving the tip of the tail just a bit (to be sure and attract attention?), then plop down on his side on the floor. This was the cue for the dog to initiate a wrestling match. They'd wrestle a couple minutes, cat would run off- but just up the stairs or onto a chair or something then stop and (oh so disinterestedly) watch dog dancing around trying to entice him back down. Dog would lose interest, go back to chew toy, nap, etc. Cat would then put tail straight back up in the air, strut past dog, and plop down on floor again. Repeat several times until one gets bored. The cat did not have any problem putting himself out of the dog's reach when he was truly not interested in playing.

A cat of course is much too dignified to just pounce on a dog. One will defend oneself if forced to; if, say, subject to unprovoked attack while innocently lying on the floor, but will certainly not initiate a wrestling match or game of chase.

My poodles were age 7 when we got the 4 week old kitten. We started right out letting KiKi eat with them. She hissed at them the first time, DH corrected her and it never happened again. They have never fought. She & the female poodle play together like they are the same species. KiKi chases her a while, then they change and Tia chases her. Jett, the male poodle we recently lost, never cared about playing but KiKi would walk by him and brush her tail in his face or if he was laying down she liked to jump over him.

because a de clawed cat is 75% defenseles to predators/ and damaged mentally as well as physically I would either re home the dog or the cat, if possible. The puppy could get an unhealthy view in that all cats don't have front claws, and one day he could meet a clawed cat with the resulting wounds/ect.

Puppies are highly adoptable, whereas cats, especially older cats are not. 70% of cats/kitten in our nations shelters get PTS, the stat is much lower for dogs and puppies. So if you value life and want to do this I would re home the puppy

www.softpaws.com is good if you ever get another cat, and have scratching problems or issues. Its a myth that you have to get a second cat de clawed because your other one is de clawed. By buying a de clawed cat at a shelter you are supporting declawing and could very well get a cat that bites/is mean or has potty issues,some buddys castoff after like you they now know what has happened.( I hope your cat doesn't have these issues)

Hmmm, rehoming the puppy was definitely not something I would have thought of. Not sure how that would protect her from being hurt by a clawed cat in the future, though. And though I do value life?? I don't think that Mason's life is so miserable - he is faster, more agile, and can jump far higher than Savannah. I just think that it is unpleasant and frightening for him to be chased and barked at from time to time, and was wondering whether I could expect an improvement.

I think it can be done. A while back I was asked to look after a dog who hated cats and would kill if he could. He did kill the neighbours little dog. I had a cat who had no fear of dogs as i had several.So when he arrived I just made sure I was around when they were in the same room. The dog just had to think of looking at the cat and I would say NO. If the cat was on a chair and he would walk by she would swat him one.Well when my friend came back after 2 weeks I showed her a picture of her dog and my cat sleeping together on the chesterfield with my dog.She said she could not have a cat cause this dog would kill them.

I have 4 cats living at home right now. 2 belong to my DD's who recently moved home. When we first got Riley he was small enough to not scare any of the cats. Bailey and Sky and Bailey learned quickly not to run and Riley would at worst just try to lick them (which they hate). Riley shows no agression with either of them, he just wants to play. However, it's a different story with Koko and Pepsi. Pepsi he's actually afraid of and will bark or squeal - it's actually pretty funny. Koko he'll chase and bark in a very aggressive manner although he never does anything if he catches her. So we keep a baby gate on the door to the bedrooms. This way the cats have their space that Riley can't intrude on but they can jump it if they want to join us in the main part of the house. As time has gone on (Riley is 2 now)they seem to get along better and better. I've actually seen the cats and Riley lay on the couch together. My cats are indoor only. If one gets out Riley actually herds them back. He sees it as his job.