We are thinking about adopting a dog, but we have an 11 year old cat that we want to keep safe. Is there a way to test a dog´s prey drive before adopting her and making a mistake?
Many shelters and rescue groups will already have evaluated dogs for compatibility with cats. Even then, exercise caution.
It's impossible to know for sure how a dog will coexist in a household with a cat. You may want to consider avoiding breeds and dogs mixed with those breeds which are notorious for having a high prey drive, like Huskies and Terriers. You may also want to lean toward an owner surrendered dog who previously lived with and got along with cats.
Don't forget that you'll have to determine how well your cat will tolerate a dog.
I've found that whether a dog and cat can co-habitate depends almost more on the cat than the dog. Excluding the dogs with drives that will kill a cat no matter the circumstance, other dogs are perfectly willing to ignore a cat that ignores them, however, almost all dogs will chase and harass a cat that runs when it sees a dog. It becomes a fun game for them and it's hard to resist chasing a cat that is running for it's life. Two of my dogs would harm a cat whether it runs or not, one dog pays cats no mind and the other two dogs only bother cats if they run or freak out about a dog being near. I'd make sure your cat is is able to tolerate the presence of a dog first, then seek out a dog that is suitable.
Most shelters have evaluated whether dogs can be with cats and can help you find one that has either lived with cats before or is happy to ignore them.
If a dog has prey drive, it will chase you (to play) when you run. Dogs with low prey drive loose interest quickly and seem bored. If you toss an object, and he chases it, then that is prey drive.
Well, what you could do is get an RC car and take a stuffed animal, and glue the animal to the car. Then see if the dog reacts to the car being driven around. If the dog looks at it curiously, and sniffs, it's fine. If the dog chases after it and tries to grab/shake the stuffy, then.. well, you can guess what would happen with a cat.
You could probably try bringing in one of your cats favorite toys and see how the dog reacts to it. Also if you are getting a dog at a kennel they usually have papers that say weither they get along with cats or not
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Many shelters and rescue groups will already have evaluated dogs for compatibility with cats. Even then, exercise caution.
It's impossible to know for sure how a dog will coexist in a household with a cat. You may want to consider avoiding breeds and dogs mixed with those breeds which are notorious for having a high prey drive, like Huskies and Terriers. You may also want to lean toward an owner surrendered dog who previously lived with and got along with cats.
Don't forget that you'll have to determine how well your cat will tolerate a dog.
I've found that whether a dog and cat can co-habitate depends almost more on the cat than the dog. Excluding the dogs with drives that will kill a cat no matter the circumstance, other dogs are perfectly willing to ignore a cat that ignores them, however, almost all dogs will chase and harass a cat that runs when it sees a dog. It becomes a fun game for them and it's hard to resist chasing a cat that is running for it's life. Two of my dogs would harm a cat whether it runs or not, one dog pays cats no mind and the other two dogs only bother cats if they run or freak out about a dog being near. I'd make sure your cat is is able to tolerate the presence of a dog first, then seek out a dog that is suitable.
Most shelters have evaluated whether dogs can be with cats and can help you find one that has either lived with cats before or is happy to ignore them.
If a dog has prey drive, it will chase you (to play) when you run. Dogs with low prey drive loose interest quickly and seem bored. If you toss an object, and he chases it, then that is prey drive.
Well, what you could do is get an RC car and take a stuffed animal, and glue the animal to the car. Then see if the dog reacts to the car being driven around. If the dog looks at it curiously, and sniffs, it's fine. If the dog chases after it and tries to grab/shake the stuffy, then.. well, you can guess what would happen with a cat.
You could probably try bringing in one of your cats favorite toys and see how the dog reacts to it. Also if you are getting a dog at a kennel they usually have papers that say weither they get along with cats or not