Aggressive to my dog

[suzanka]

My cat, who is 7,5 years old now, is aggressive to my dog, which is 4 years old. This has been since I've got the dog as a puppy. She's so frightened that she usually won't stay in the same room with the dog and if they are close to each other, she will hiss and growl, and sometimes will slap the dog with her paws. The dog is not aggressive to her, just wants to sniff her, because I've trained it that cats are out of reach. But it did use to chase her when it was young, because it is a German Shorthaired Pointer and it was hard for it to control itself around cats. So I managed to train the dog not the be aggressive to cats (in fact this happened more than two years ago) but my cat is still very fearful and when she starts slapping the dog with her paws, the dog tries to protect itself. Up to now, there haven't been any injuries but I'm afraid that one day they may get into a fight and something bad may happen. I love both of them and would love if they could get on well.

Probably the fact that the cat's mother was very aggressive to dogs matters, too. She has some dog-aggressive genes . I'd appreciate any suggestions about reducing my cat's fear and aggression! You can see my cat and my dog here, where they are fairly close to each other and didn't get into a fight.

[Mags]

Hi Suzanka, welcome to Catsey!

I'm afraid I'm not in a position to help you with your problem as I don't own a dog.
However, many of our members here have both cats and dogs together so I expect someone will be along shortly to give you some advice.

Just a couple of questions which may help us to get an idea of how they were when you got your dog............

How old was your cat when you first got her?

How did you introduce your cat to your puppy for the first time?

They do look quite friendly together in your photo ..... it could be that your cat is looking for a quiet life now and your dog wants to play!

I hope someone will be along soon to help you..

[suzanka]

The cat was three years old when the puppy came. I didn't do anything to introduce the pup, because I didn't know anything about caring for a dog and also it is my first cat. But I clearly remember that she was out in the yard when I arrived with the puppy she started hissing at it the moment we got in while I was still holding it in my hands. My cat hadn't met any dogs until then - so this lack of socialization does matter.

Well, the dog really is VERY playful (as every gundog) and sometimes just goes to sniff the cat and she starts hissing even if it walks in gently. Probably the cat doesn't want to be disturbed by any "giants with huge noses" But the problem is that I don't trust them and never leave them alone together.

I don't know - maybe the problem is that my cat is too moody . She does whatever she wants and nobody can tell her what to do. She is a very spoiled cat - she will do something only if she wants - playing, eating, being petted, etc. For example, if she doesn't want to be petted, she will shake herself and if you don't stop, she will "punish" you by mouthing - it doesn't hurt, it's just a warning.

Though, now our life is FAR more pleasurable than when my dog was young when it chased the cat, I think it can be even nicer. I'm really proud to have trained by myself a gundog from working lines not to chase a cat. That's why I regard training my cat as the next challenge of our life together.

Edit: When I take the dog out in the yard, I always make sure that the cat is inside because she gets very frightened when she sees the dog running.