PLEASE HELP I DONT KNOW WHAT 2 do r chow agressive to r cats

[Sonya]

We bought r chow at a animal shelter 3 weeks ago, as my husband owned 1 for 10 yrs till he passed away at age 15. I was apart of peppers life 4 yrs. Sam, a female my husband saw on the web is a beautiful dog. We take her on walks. She has a cage and its a 80 lb one (she is 42 lbs) to help train her around cats and to make sure she knows we are in charge of this house! She gets alot of time out of cage also but she chased cat and cat was so scared, We feel Sam would have killed the cats. But when dog is out of cage, cats r in r bedroom where they enjoy their cat tree there and a wall to wall window and bird feeders right against windows and we close the door and when dog is in cage some during the day and we do put her in it through the night and we leave bedroom door open for cats to go as they please, thinking if they all see each other it be ok. But cats still wont come out if they see she is in her cage as she barks at them and it scares them. My husband doesnt think its going to work, and my heart and his is breaking that we may have to get rid of Sam (shelter named her sam so we left it that way )! The cats are declawed and r indoor cats!!! Please I'm so sad over this. but i owe to keep my cats safe !!!!

[Fozzbear]

Three weeks is a very short space of time to expect a chow - who may have never seen a cat before - to learn how to behave around them. Why did you get an adult dog with indoor cats around? I'm not sure of the solution (my chow puppy has been with me for 8mths and still gets excited around the cats, it is a work in progress but the cats have access to a cat-flap and their own part of the house that she cant get to via an internal window). I'm sure that a good dog trainer could help you out but dont write off the situation, or poor Sam, after three short weeks.

[Sonya]

Hi, well as a animal lover and owner of cats, my 12 yr old had always been around dogs since he was born and the rescue cat we have had 1 yr
now sam is 8 yrs old and we ask the shelter how was sam about cats it was on r on paper work and we ask them in person, so they walk us with sam around 2 different cats that were not in cages but they werent running or even moving they just layed there, so im sure the dogs predator instints did not kick in.But we thought we had everything covered as alot of help there loved sam.
Having many dogs and cats long terrm i have never came across this, and us not knowing in sams 8 yrs ( plays like a 5 yr old)what kind of life he had and rules, and we d know dog was taken out of thhe home as he wasnt being cared for right.
Im ok with being excited bout the cats from sam but sam wants more than chck them out, I had went to pick my cat up off top of his tree not going to sit him down on ground or anything but dog came up to me fast to grab my 12 yr olds tail and my cat bit me so bad i should have gotton stictches for 2 of the 5 bites but guess i wasnt moving fast enough to put tigger back i was trying but i didnt want him to jump and put sam in predator mode cause i knew this would be trouble so i had to bare the pain!
Since i have written this post i had spoken to a very trained do trainer on personalitys and behaviors of dogs and we were ok with paying what we had to , but after the questions she ask me about 60 she came to the conclusion that my cats are in danger and sam being 8 and has had so many years of bad behavior i would be riskying my cats well being and that they are in fear and tramatized as cats do know when they feel a bad energy from a dog and my 12 yr old has never not accepted a dog even a frisky rescue terrie that i had till she passed of stomach cancer after 8 yrs, so she feels we should give the shelter the report and take sam back i have cried all day we both are very sad over this

[Sonya]

I need to add that if sam sees a rabbit on walks he tries to run for it we keep her on leash and walk the way we are suppose to and when people walk up to us she barks and barks at other dogs she shows aggression and her not being a puppy is a different ball game she pretty much has set her life as she was allowed :(

[Auddymay]

My almost 7 year old Chow will kill any small animal if she catches it, I know from personal experience. She recently destroyed my car doors on the passenger side-front and back trying to get at her arch nemesis, Kitsy Wu, my mom's cat. Other times, she has passed cats in carriers and crates and paid no mind...which is not to say she wouldn't kill an indoor cat, that is not a risk I would ever take. Not judging, but you should not de-claw a cat.

If it is a kill shelter, do not take her back, search for a Chow rescue instead. If it is no kill and they have no time limit, take her back so she can get a chance at a new home without cats.

[Sonya]

thanks fo your information, as cats declawed i did research and as a vet told me cconsidering how they could have ended up as in kill shelters mine made off very well and as many as cats that are abused and tormented by society and by other animals,my cats have a wonderful life very happy (well they were) they were young when done and contrary to what some cats deal with surviving on a daily basis its nothing , yrs ago i felt same way but i see these abused cats that are starving with diseases and u see my cats they live like queens and kings and so would sammy if i could make it work !! my cats never go out side except when i put them in a huge cage we bring out of garage and set on r sunny patio on cool mornings and they love being out there for a hour, and nothing can get to them. we have been asking people and i have posted places but no its not a kill shelter! I had just got bsck from taking sam a walk we passed 2 dogs and its not a i want to visit those dogs he was acting way to aggressive i had to keep him busy till they passed it really scared me! and i can handle pretty much the strenght if her but its dangerous!!, i have done everything i possible can and i am faced with this now just so sad just so sad cause she is a beautiful dog for someone who has no kids or animals, thank u very much for your words i appreciate it

[Cam Atis]

De-clawing is already an abuse to me. Why remove her only protection. You better protect de-clawed cats as you owe it to her.
I agree with what Auddymay said. She'll get herself killed as it would be difficult (to escape or climb) for her without her claws

[Ursa's daddy]

I really wish I had a good answer, but I do not. Chows and cats can get along, cats and pit bulls can get along. One of my cats was raised by my two chows, and another of my cats came from a pit bull rescue group. A cat that is fearful, and a dog that tends to chase small animals is not a good mix. Both will react in exactly the manner that will make things worse. The cat will want to run, and the dog will want to chase when it sees the cat run. To make the arrangement work, you will have to break both responses, which will probably take considerable time.

[Sonya]

Hi and thanks but i have met with a very highly educated dog trainer with many dregrees highest u can get and she strongly stands by the dog has had 8 yrs of bad training from owners who dont care if their dog chases cats as cats are alot of people jokes!! and she doesnt agree with dog chokers or the kind that zaps thm which is abuse!! and my cats have been declawed for yrs and i can bet that even if a cat wasnt declawed there is no way to fight off a chow that is very aggreesive and some people just dont get it i took 2 cats from death row so death better than declawing considering mine live very well ? so i guess then there is nothing wrong with me sending sam back to a kill shelter cause that was going to happen to my 2 cats if i had not taken them and i wouldnt have taken them as out side cats or with claws, as cats die by going out side all the time and here in ohio u rareley see strays any more as we have a huge accounts of coyotes that i never grew up with in this area but its bad now cats only live about 10 yrs living outdoors cause of nasty diseases and germs and they eat rats etc but indoor cats live up to 20 yrs

[Sonya]

wanted to make note i know a girl whos 15 yr old cat WITH CLAWS was killed by a chow!!!

[Fozzbear]

I think that you have made your mind up and it is the right thing to take Sam back to the shelter and give him another chance at a better life.
I am sure that you have nothing but the best of intentions but I hope that you will give a lot more consideration to your cats before you get another dog. I would have loved to rescue a dog (although happily you dont get so many chows in need of rescue in the UK as they arent a very popular breed). But I got a puppy because I could mould and teach it to respect the pets I already have. If you want a dog, maybe you would be better with a young one with less of the hunter instinct.

Btw, have to agree with what has been said about de-clawing - a horrible and unnecessary thing to do to a cat, glad yours are protected indoor cats with that human-inflicted disability!

[Boogie and Linda]

Of course any dog can kill a cat in certain circumstances. It is up to you to see the situations and avoid them. Most cats teach dogs to stay away using their claws. Are claws going to stop a determined dog, no, but a few pokes to an overly curious dog does teach the dog when they have over stepped their boundary.

I personally have a cat (with claws) and have 2 Chows, a Pekingese, and have had foster dogs. With my first foster dog, I was told he loves cats. I brought him home and all was fine. One day when I was letting him in from being outside, the cat ran and the dog took off after him. The cat went in my closet and the dog knocked the door off track and went in after the cat. There was a lot of barking and cat screaming and me screaming jumping in too. I was able to get them separated and the dog back outside and ran back in to get the cat. My hands had blood on them so I was sure the cat was hurt. I pulled him out and he was all wet from slobber but fine. I went back to look at the dog and his face was bleeding and scratched and poked all over. This was a Newfoundlnd chow mix who was over 100 lbs. So claws do help.

I only fully trust my first chow with the cat and he will still fight with the cat occasionally. My other chow gets all crazy and tries to get the cat especially when the cat runs. He doesn't hurt him when he gets him but the chow will knock over any and everything in his way to get him. We pretty much keep everyone separated. The cat goes in the room when the dogs come in loose. The dogs go in the yard when we are not home and the cat has run of the house. When we are all ready to settle to watch TV the chow that chases the cat gets tethered to a piece of furniture or around my wrist so if the cat does come out he can't get him. It takes work but it is easily done. I have been doing it for years. When we go to sleep, the dogs go in a bedroom or crate and the cat has run of the house again.

Your chow is still new and learning to trust you. You are asking an awful lot for him to love your cats too at this stage. And also, cats like to antagonize and then play the victim. Your cats are partly responsible for causing the reaction they are getting. Of course, it can turn out to be deadly for them. If you are not 100% dedicated to making this work for all of them then I would recommend finding a new home for the chow. If he came from a kill shelter, I wouldn't take him back though. I would rehome him myself or ask a rescue if they can help you.

Oh and my Pekingese who thinks he can fight any dog, the bigger the better, is terrified of my cat because he has been swiped more than once with the claws. The poor guy sits there and shakes when the cat walks up to him.

[Cam Atis]

Yes, one solid bat of her clawed paw will surely reduce a nosy dog to a whimper. Anyway, stray cats are no match to Hera (my dalmatian) who had a penchant for killing cats as her game of amusement...to my horror. Cookie was an expert rat killer so it is all smiles from me.

[Cam Atis]

I am currently training Cassie my chow puppy to learn to love the chick that my daughter brought home. Blue and Cassie are the dangers to her life.

[Astarte]

Hello!
I want to tell about my chows.

On 2009 I take old chow chow from shelter. I named him Semen. He was very sick, and I tried to cure him, but at the end I had to euthanize him Probably, because of his illness, Semen was very indifferent to my own cat, but on the walks he wanted to catch cats.

Last summer I bought puppy chow. Now she is 9 month old. She is very kind and very clever. She likes all dogs and wants to play with them, even if they more bigger size, than she.
About cats. I have a cat also, and she lives in our family, when I bought puppy chow. So, my chow don't bite my cat, but on the walk all cats seems for Kira (my chow) as mining I think, it is because many hundred years ago chow chow was hunters.
I wrote, that Kira is very clever dog. At 4 month we began to engage with instructor, and now Kira knows near 10 commands.
I think, Sonya, you need to visit dog instructor, which can tell you, how to direct hunter instinct of your chow in the right direction.

P.S. I'm sorry for mistakes. English is not my native language.

[Sarahloo]

I only fully trust my first chow with the cat and he will still fight with the cat occasionally. My other chow gets all crazy and tries to get the cat especially when the cat runs. He doesn't hurt him when he gets him but the chow will knock over any and everything in his way to get him. We pretty much keep everyone separated. The cat goes in the room when the dogs come in loose. The dogs go in the yard when we are not home and the cat has run of the house. When we are all ready to settle to watch TV the chow that chases the cat gets tethered to a piece of furniture or around my wrist so if the cat does come out he can't get him. It takes work but it is easily done. I have been doing it for years. When we go to sleep, the dogs go in a bedroom or crate and the cat has run of the house again.

That sounds like a good idea. Baby gates help too, and some rooms are just not that interesting for a dog, the rooms far away from mommy, so they are a good place for the cats' nap-times.

Now I really want to see your foster Chowfoundland!

[Sonya]

Thank you Astarte and Linda!!
!st Astarte as for your spelling dont worry about it as i am sure thats the least of r everyday worrys,,(,well mine at least) and I dont think as yet in this world we have email cops and able to read without punctuations etc lol
We do use a cage and one bigger for her than her weight as i feel its wrong to put a med size dog in a med cage it should be a bigger cage, or let children walk around their house holding cats like they are a puppets!
Like i have mentioned my one 12 yr old cat had been around a chow and 2 terriers( and terriers are considered just as bad as a chow around kids and cats ) his whole 12 yrs , its just this chow we are having issues and most 8 yr olds dont act like they are 4 yr old dogs and we went for a senior dog as they are the ones that do not get adopted in r society.
We do keep them seperated and the cats dont tease sam as how could that possibly be? they wont even come out around the house even when sam is in her cage!!!!!!!!!
. It had only taken that one time that my oldest cat was minding his own business and was in hie tree and i went to pick him up when sam jump toawards me to get to cat tail as i was standing thereand my cat wanted nothing to do with sam and as the other cat? when we brought sam home before we even had time to do anything he ran towards the other cat which scared her.
The cats just havent gotton to trust sam yet and rightfully so!
when a dog was taken out of a home & since Sam was 8 that owners did not do their job as a doog owner, as i have had terriers and a chow and lab and never had issues with my dogs abusing cats i wouldnt had stood for it.
So i see it like this cats never TEASED THE DOG & I have been a cat owner 53 yrs and not have known a 12 yr old that does lol they have far better things to do and we had taken on a SENIOR DOG that No one will adopt, and now we have done everything we can WE EVEN CONTACTED a TRAINER with many MANY Degrees that included Behavioralist !!!
As of now the cats stay in r room that they always loved anyways , they have everything a cat would want( explained in previous comments) during the day when i put sam back in cage the cats are free to come about house, they just dont want to as yet!
then when sam is out of cage r bderoom door is shut and bedroom is huge size wall to wall windows
As of last night i had decided that i am going to go against the trainer ( going with my gut)and keep Sam and keep in seperate rooms ALWAYS even if it takes a year so i pray cats will learn to come around sam while she is in her cage so she can get use to them and vice versa at least the cats have a great home they just wont get all of the house right now!
We do travel 5-7 times a year and always hired a stay in to care for them but sam will go to boarding as i wont trust someone else with my cats lives, and if i feel its never going to get better i will then go to another course of actions!

Thank you all for your advice and love to all your chows and lots lots of love to your cats if you own any they are wonderful pets!!!

[Zhuyos mom]

!st Astarte as for your spelling dont worry about it as i am sure thats the least of r everyday worrys,,(,well mine at least) and I dont think as yet in this world we have email cops and able to read without punctuations etc lol

Sonya, this is a rather rude comment you are directing to me, a moderator. I could have easily left your post where you left it so others would continue not to view and not respond to it, or I could have denied it from being posted since it was not legible. There are standard rules of engagement when you post on a forum like cc.org. On cc.org, although posting a topic or replying to one is not an *e-mail*, yes we have e-mail cops, they are called moderators. Please respect our decision and requests when asked http://forum.chowchow.org/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=10128. Additionally, I reached out to a few members who had cats and chow rescues living in the same roof to respomd and help you with your dilemna since you were receiving no hits at first.

[Sonya]

Sorry for being rude !!! was making light under the stress of all this which is alot.
One does a good thing by adopting a senior dog that always cost more money because of the age and always means bigger issues down the road alot sooner and we know the dog would more likely not get adopted and figured wouldnt be so active..ugh
Her price was already cut down from 100 to 45.00 but by time we bought everything we are now up to 500, which isnt the issue, i just want everyone to get along

[Ursa's daddy]

Chows and cats can get along quite well. I have a Persian cat which came from a pit bull rescue group. She has no problem with the dogs, and has all the other cats scared of her. Malachi, my male, who is just over 75 pounds will not walk past her without human encouragement, and possibly an escort. Yoda, my white cat, was found by the chows as a 4 week old kitten. They helped raise him. He will get a cattitude, and go out of his way to swat the terriers. He will sleep with Ursa. Ace, our mean Maine coon cat, samples the chow food every evening. He just wants to make sure they are getting good food. Ursa barked at him once, and he got in her face, explaining that alpha female dog did not out rank Big Kitty. With the right training, it is possible for them to get along. The baby gate is good, but your dog must be trained to respect it. Our cats have knocked the gates down, but the dogs have been trained to respect physical barriers which we put up. In the evening, if we don't want the dogs to go out on the screened porch, we typically just put a pillow in front of the door. They recognize it as barrier placed by humans. With a lot of training, it can be done, but as I said earlier, the cat's instinct is to run, and the dog's instinct is to chase. A cat instinct that can be used with dog training is that of seeking height. It is easier to train the dog to disengage from a cat that is off the floor and ignore it. It still takes a LOT of training.

[Sonya]

Thanks Ursa, i know fogs/cats can get along i never had issues b4 .
But being a 8 yr old chow its a new ball game and i am not afraid of a chow/cat chase i am afraid of a chow cat feast:(
It keeps going thru my mind what the highley qualified trainer/behavorist told me and that Sam has had 8 yrs of bad behavior and she felt wqe should give back to shelter:(
But then again i am one that knows NO one is God even dr's are wrong all the time !!!!
Well on a good note Sam did travel well by car with my husband to visit r son at Bellermen collge a 4 hr drive and a over nighter stayed at nice hotel that allowed dogs and attended 4 college baseball games:)
My husband did keep sam away from others didnt want to take any chances!
We baught another very tall cat tree so cats no matter what have a escape .
We do still and will for some time keep Sam in cage when cats are out!
well thats if they ever come out when Sam is in cage cause of now they still feel a bad energy from Sam.
So its a day to day thing but i do know there are some dogs that will NEVER accept cats especially if they are a senior dog.
I am taking day to day all i can do

[Cam Atis]

Goodluck to you in your quest. Although speaking from my own personal experiences. It is hard to break a dog's habit once it is established. I never really was able to train Hera not to kill cats. Cookie never killed cats. Hera got that habit from her previous owner (my in laws) so....
Another dog from my in laws is Princess a golden Lab who had a penchant for killing and eating chickens. She did it twice. Really uncontrollable. I returned Princess to her prev owner as I really cannot make her not to potty in her dog house. In my in law's house, Dogs are caged all their life. That's also Hera's training. Really hard to come around their upbringing.
Since I returned Princess to her owners - last week of Feb, I dont have to clean the dog cage and I am not to worry with the juvenile chicken that my daughters enjoy for 2weeks right now. As the chicken killer dog Princess is already
gone. Princess on the positive side is keenly intelligent and masters command in a few repetition. Actually she is the most easily trainable dogs I've ever had. t is just that her bad habits are so hard to train her out of it. So i gave up coz I still have a baby to take care of. She was given to me as a watch dog.
So again, goodluck, as I think you have a made up mind of keeping your 8 year old rescue chow together with your 12 year old de-clawed cat even before you posted in this forum for any help.
Keep us posted.

[Ursa's daddy]

Check out Hanna http://forum.chowchow.org/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=18473. Her owner was able to correct a number of issues. You will have to take it one day at a time, but it should be possible to at least get the dog not to chase the cats instantly.

[hayleedog]

Hi, this is Hannah's mom.

I didn't adopt Hannah from a shelter but she was headed that way. Her owner was a relative by marriage. When I got her she had many many issues but when you make the decision to adopt an adult dog you have to expect you also are accepting all of the bad habits and baggage she or he has picked up in their journey through life. It isn't their fault, every time a dog is rehomed he or she has another layer of baggage, and that is not to say that sometimes it isn't best to return a dog to a shelter so they can have a better chance at a forever home with a fmily that is a better fit. BUT sometimes it is the humans that need to adjust to the dogs needs.

You also need to do your research on chows and how they learn, they don't learn the same as other traditional breeds. Some may think they are being stubborn but it isn't that at all either. This breed actually thinks the issues through and he or she needs to understand and make sense of what you are asking of them. Also it takes time, you may think you aren't making any progress and then one day BAMM! they get it.

When I got hannah I was told she was raised with a cat and she was fine with them but from the day I got her everytime she spotted a cat she was gone lickity split. I don't personally have cats but I spent a good deal of my time in those early days chasing her around the neighborhood everytime she chased a cat. She was scolded and put on a time out. Now she is so much better. She still tenses up when she sees a cat but instead of bolting she looks at me. I tell her to 'leave it' or 'don't you dare' and she listens. I am so happy with her progress and had I listened to a few of my relatives who had told me in the brginning I should get rid of her I wouldn't have this wonderful, beautiful well adjusted, happy dog today.

BTW the cat hannah was raised with was a persian, I think largly it is the chase that is most appealing to them. I might would suggest trying to reward Sam whenever the cat is near and she doesnt react. Take baby steps and realize that the desired behavior isn't going to happen overnight. But if you work with her I'm sure she will learn to accept the cats. Even old dogs can learn, it just may take more time.

Good luck to you all

[Juniper]

I saw my Sheena loose in the street for 1.25 years…I believe she survived by catching and eating doves, sparrows, squirrels and possibly cats and had a thing for french fries too. She was her normal weight as well. I feed the birds and squirrels in my yard and was upset when I saw her chase, catch and begin to chomp on the birds (Sheena would get roundworms all the time as well)…I broke her of her habit in about one year. She was about 3.5 yrs old at that time…now she’s 11 yrs and sits and watches the birds and squirrels eat on the ground 5 feet from her. It took longer for her training on the squirrels since they took part in teasing her (or maybe they were especially tasty?)

As far as cats go…this is Sheena's territory-she’s alpha…doesn’t want strays on our property. I have rescued cats but kept them in the bathroom from 1 day to 2 months. Sheena eventually stopped chewing the door moulding to get at them. She doesn’t react to cats in enclosures or loose outdoors anymore. But I know it would need to be either a kitten or a really mellow cat for me to invite one in to live w/us for Sheena not to react aggressively…or a couple of swipes from cat claws .

As far as declawing goes, apparently with all your research you didn’t come upon the fact that one of the necessities of the claws is for the cat to be able to fully stretch their tendons, ligaments and muscles in their legs and keep them fully flexible-cats need to fully extend and they cannot do so w/o grabbing an object for support w/their claws. The surgery involves severing the nails up to the first joint where bone, ligaments and tendons are removed. After the operation, the cat may suffer damage to its nerves, have problems balancing and may suffer from chronic back and joint pain. The humans I know who have had surgery to remove/repair tendons or ligaments still have pain many years after surgery. Unfortunately animals hide their pain really well and you really don’t know how much pain they are really in but they will act out in negative ways. For whatever reason you chose to do this-I have had as many as 6 cats at one time, very well trained and no problems w/damaged furniture or objects or climbing all over the place. They were indoor/outdoors (indoors at night) and lived 15.5 to 22 years (Some rescued as adults). Taking the time to consistently train is the key. Please do not declaw any future cats you may have - it’s abusive.

Thank you for taking in an older chow and I hope it works out. Patience, understanding, knowledge, asking questions, training and non-conditional love is the key to success.