German Wirehaired Pointer Club of America

katababa · Posted: 07/06/06, 2:38 pm Post subject: gwps and cats

hi,
i have a 14 month old male who has never been hunted ect, i was wondering if anyone had suggestions for acclamating him to living with cats. he's caught a bird once(the bird wason it's last leg) and he didn't kill it just barked at it and tried to get it to play. he's been around a couple cats and if the cat doesn't care about dogs he's just more intrigued than anything, BUT these cats are big wusses and they run and they drive him nuts and he whines at the bottom of the stairs to see if they are around. He will be living with these cats permanently and i would love some advice as how to proceed with the transition
thanks!

whiskerdog1 · Master Joined: 01 Apr 2005 Posts: 256 Location: Rustbelt

Id do so very cautiously, w/dog on lead and cat in crate maybe. If aggression is shown, correct it. Continue and slowly start to allow cats out of crate with dog on lead, introduce this way over time until your sure, correct any chasing or signs of unwanted aggrssion. Easier said than done perhaps.
If hes from hunting stock, you might be doomed-completely unnatural, that and the fact hes almost an adult-much easier with a pup. But give it a go. Remember this isnt a bichon frise-but a hunting breed, bred for generations to dispatch cats and other "vermin".

My draht bitch showed early aggression-to kill cats and coons-its genetic largely right out of the box. Not all dogs are like this and you might be ok.
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Real men hunt Wire Dogs

katababa · Posted: 07/15/06, 10:43 am Post subject:

well upon looking at his pedigree, with the papa being a master hunter and grandpartents ranging between MH, JH and SGR, and all of those abbreviations being predominantly all his ancestors on the pedigree, i'm guessing he comes from a hunting line and the cats don't really stand a chance . . .
what's your take?

whiskerdog1 · Master Joined: 01 Apr 2005 Posts: 256 Location: Rustbelt

Impossible for me to say or speculate.
He has a hunting background, but hasnt been worked or encouraged in terms of hunt drive. As before, proceed cautiously, the crate will tell you-if he goes Completely Crazy, then forget it-you can never trust him.
If not or marginal interest, you might be ok, but it will take time before trust.
Ive seen lots that have drive and will chase. Had some like that, they will not "close" and roll/destroy. In the hard core wires and German DDs-there is that element of Sharpness-and as said-its genetic, prewired and just a total hatred for fur. Only way I can describe it. Once they grab one, its over pretty quick and they only get better with experience!
_________________
Real men hunt Wire Dogs

katababa · Posted: 07/17/06, 8:49 pm Post subject:

well, he's totally bozankas for the cats, i've been correcting him HARD CORE, snapping his collar, and telling him to leave it ... . do you think if i trained him to hunt then i could turn his "hunting' mode off and on . . .??
the main problem also is that the cats run, and i believe he just wants to play, or maybe not . . .i think i just have to ingrain in him the leave it command and no trust whatsoever. . .

whiskerdog1 · Master Joined: 01 Apr 2005 Posts: 256 Location: Rustbelt

Honest opinion unless you have alot of experience with training to high levels, its Easier just to crate and separate both species. Not fun watching a dog kill a cat.
Personally, I wouldnt attempt it-you might be overmatched-not having seen your dog in the field and training to a reasonably high level, or breaking off of this behavior, which might be largely genetic-not a criticism in any way!, just that this is not easy to do with an adult dog that might be predisposed. Like telling him not to point birds or fetch. It can be done, but a long, uphill battle and even then, you might never trust him completely.
_________________
Real men hunt Wire Dogs

holbert · Member Joined: 27 Feb 2006 Posts: 7 Location: Knoxville

My two year GWP has grown up with three full blooded simese cats. Now occassionally I must admit there have been some chasing incidents, but it just took one of the cats to swat him on the nose and that was enough. But just so everything in the house doesn't get torn up, I keep them separated. My GWP Yeager pretty much stays downstairs and the cats upstairs so as to keep peace in the house. I wish luck but I don't think unless your GWP grew up with them it's going to work.

dualgwp · Posted: 07/19/06, 10:56 am Post subject:

Is your pup obedienced trained at all? If not, it's time to start down and stay. Also teach him "leave it" which means don't touch it, don't pick it up, don't look at it".

If you have him listening pretty well to basic ob commands... give this a try.
Put the cat in a carrier. Put the dog on a down stay and have a lead on him. Have someone have their foot on the lead, close to his neck so he cannot get up.

Bring the cat into the room, don't make a fuss, don't say anything at all. If the dog starts to get up, correct him and make him lie down and be still. Make him stay there until you see him beginning to relax. Watch for signs of him yawning and licking his lips. Once you see this, let him up and quietly walk him out of the room. No big hoopla, no big praise, keep it all calm.

Do it again, and again and again until the dog lies quietly with the cat in the carrier coming closer and closer to him. This may take a day, a week, or several. Key is, he is not to get up until he relaxes and gives it up.

Once you are comfortable that the dog is "getting it". Open the door to the carrier, and make the dog lie still. The moment, and I mean the moment he cues in on that cat, correct him. It doesn't have to be the end of the world corrrection, just a reminder that he isn't behaving.

If this persists, put the cat back into the carrier and start over again.

You should be able to condition this dog to be in the same room as the cat and be relaxed. But it will be work, and he will probably need reminders througout his life. But if you decide you want this to work, you can make it happen.

katababa · Posted: 07/19/06, 1:46 pm Post subject:

thanks for all your advice . . .. i will def try . .. i think the other thing that's hard is that both dog and cat haven't been around the other . . .not long term and without being separated . . .so when the cats see him, they run . . .i think the initial 2 weeks and everyone will get used to everyone, he';s already doing better and not so crazed . . .will walk by the places the cats usually are . .. he does love watching them across the fence though . ..
time helps . .. but i will def institute the down stay, that's a great idea, totally dind't think of that!
thanks!

Soni · Junior Joined: 04 Sep 2003 Posts: 35 Location: Nebraska

We have had our first "cat kill". I've always known my GWP behaved differently when he saw a cat - he automatically switched from companion to hunting mode. A couple weeks ago a cat made the mistake of coming in the backyard and it was over in about 3 minutes. I didn't know the cat was there until I heard the commotion.

We do have a cat in our home - and our GWP is a house dog too. There is a gate barrier to the upstairs, but the cat could easily jump over. In the home, I correct the GWP when "he gets that look" at our cat. Outdoors - cats are on their own I guess.

Hunting drive is strong - I can't blame the dog and we got him as an adult so he couldn't be introduced to cats when young.

Utahwineoh · Newbie Joined: 25 Sep 2006 Posts: 1

We almost had a cat incident two nights ago. Otto woke me up at 2:30 AM to let him out. As soon as I opened the back door I saw the cat in the back yard. Otto saw him too. He took off like a rocket for the cat...and the chase was on. The cat ran a few circles around the back yard with Otto close on its heels. Then in a last ditch effort, it ran up a tree. Otto stood barking for a few seconds until I could get there to correct him.

I got him back in the house, but he was wound up for the next couple of hours.

I'll bet our yard is off that cat's list for late night walks.

Billy Ray · Junior Joined: 29 Jun 2007 Posts: 29