German Wirehaired Pointer Club of America

[Sarah]

Hello,

I am picking up my GWP pup from the breeder shortly (he will be 7 weeks old). Things is, I have two cats. Can anyone advise as to how I can introduce the puppy to the cats safely ? I realise that Wires are gundogs and see small furry animals as prey. Are my cats in any danger or will early socialisation work ?

Thanks a million.

[abbygwp]

I don't know about cats, but I have had excellent results in introducing my GWP as a baby to our guinea pigs. Now they lay on the floor together, she licks them (I hope not to taste) and even plays with them in the backyard. I think she thinks they are puppies. She will steal the hay out of the open topped cage and has never tried to hurt them or showed any agression towards them.

With time and early intervention your dog should (I hope) see the cats as just one of the family and not prey. I think that maybe very early intervention may work as their prey drive has not yet kicked in.

[cmmilach]

Congrats on your new GWP. Since your pup is so young, you should not have any trouble with the cats. My male is 8 yrs old now & when I brought him home at 9 weeks I had a cat. He tried to play with the cat in the beginning, but the cat was not interested & he gave up. The dog & cat got along fine up until the cat passed away. Doc loves to hunt, but he learned to not hunt the cat in the house!

Good Luck.

Cathy

[Keith]

I live in the country and have found dead cats and squirrels that wandered into my fenced yard. I have 2 old littermates that killed cats, armadillos they tracked, and dogs they attempted to kill that I intervened and stopped. I have also had dogs that would never kill any animal on their own. I have noticed that there is a definite pack instinct that kicks in if one dog gets in a fight with an animal that triggers even the most docile dogs. The dog that I hunt now has never killed any animal and I don't think she would. But I have never seen her back down from any animal either. I remember when she was young she found a mole while we were out hunting. It propped itself up on its hind legs and hissed at her. She didn't know what to do and after I stopped laughing I pulled her away and we went on hunting. I can't imagine that any dog raised with another animal from a young pup wouldn't learn to live with it.

[Sarah]

Thanks for your honesty, Keith. Bit worrying ! Can I ask if you socialised your dogs much with other creatures in general when they were pups ?
Think my dog will be ok if I socialise him with my two cats from very early on from what everyone is saying. But what about other cats and other creatures when out and about ? Would this be different then ? Do they then go into hunt mode if the cat/whatever doesn't 'belong' to him ?
Just a thought.

[abbygwp]

Sarah,
You want to socailze your puppy as much as possible. They can be agressive towards other dogs if not socalized properly. Socalization should be with people, dogs, cars, strollers etc. Everyday life. Not necessarily other animals that he would not encounter in a normal routine setting.

A dog park is a great idea once they have had all their shots.

[outdoorsman]

I picked up my GWP pup last Monday. We have 2 cats. so far it has been just a feeling out process. THe cats smell the dog through the crate. but when he is out of the crate tey keep tehir distance. I still am keeping him on a leash when he is out of the crate. Just until, I am confident he will be safe with the cats.

[Walter & Claudia]

Hi Sarah,

We have a 10 week old GWP and he never has attact my cats. He will play with Oliver, our Tabby, but when Oliver has enough he just turns and walks away. When Arthur tries to play rough with him Oliver just cryes out and swats him one and that settels it.
I also have tried the pray bottel with water when things get out of hand with Simon our Ridgeback mix and the cats that worked great.

Good Luck
Claudia