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  #31  
Old April 9th, 2008, 03:43 PM
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Sorry I haven't been back to update. We picked her up on sunday morning, she did very well on the 5 hour trip home. We had some juggling to do with the cats, who still don't particularly like her, but are very curious. it's been an exhausting few days. She's been hard to handle on walks, very agressive towards other dogs and pulling. Hard to control. We've been working on it and talking with Melinda. She's very good here at home, she listens well and is very good when left home all day alone.

For now we've got the cats set up in our bedroom with a babygate, they don't venture out very much and I don't thinkI should force them out of their safety zone. Angus put her in her place once the other night and Whisper wouldn't make eye contact with him after that. But now he won't come out of the bedroom. Finn spent the first 30 hours under the couch not eating or using the litterbox. We eventually lifted up the couch to get her and put her in the bedroom, she's way more comfortable now and has come out a couple times to check the dog out. Whisper really wants to see the cats and get close, we're allowing it to a degree, but I'm really nervous that one of the cats will get hurt.

We had a major breakthrough today. I took her to the off leash park to check it out. I left Whisper in the car while I went in to see if I could talk to some owners about bringing my agressive dog in and meeting some other dogs. I was reading the bulletin board and a lady came in with her dog and started talking to me asking me where my dog was etc... I told her my situation and she suggested that I bring her in but put her in the small run and see how she does alone while other dogs come and go. We were only in the small run for a few minutes when a lady came with her 2 yellow labs and whisper started barking through the fence at the dogs. The lady and I started talking and Whisper went up to her to ask for pets. She convinced me to bring Whisper into the regular area, I was a bit hesitant, but she told me that dogs figure things out for themselves and if anything happened everyone would help out. So off we went. Whisper did fantastic, she joined in the fun immediately, I was so happy. She ran and ran and ran. And she would come when I called, she kept looking for me to see where I was and would run full tilt at me then stop and wiggle her butt. We were there for about an hour and she didn't stop. The lady showed me around and told me what was what. Mississauga has great off leash community. WE will be going there everyday I think.

We still have to work with the cats but overall we're making progress. She's such a good dog. Now we just need more space.

Photos to follow.
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Meowy Meowers - Angus n' Finn - 5 yrs old
Barky Barker - Skylar - 4 yrs old??

Last edited by Stacer; April 9th, 2008 at 03:49 PM.
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  #32  
Old April 9th, 2008, 03:48 PM
aslan aslan is offline
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OMG that is such good news, where in mississauga are you taking her. I didn't realize you lived so close to me. She would probably do well with my Quincy.
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  #33  
Old April 9th, 2008, 04:02 PM
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Just after leaving Melinda's


At Melinda's. Me with Brina and Whsiper.


Sleeping on the armrest. She spent most of the drive like this.


At home on her new bed (which she isn't really using)
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Meowy Meowers - Angus n' Finn - 5 yrs old
Barky Barker - Skylar - 4 yrs old??
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  #34  
Old April 9th, 2008, 04:03 PM
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We're in the northwest corner. I went to Totoreco (sp?) Park today.
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Meowy Meowers - Angus n' Finn - 5 yrs old
Barky Barker - Skylar - 4 yrs old??
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  #35  
Old April 9th, 2008, 04:24 PM
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Aww Stacer,seeing her gets me all teary-eyed,what a dfference in her
I was really worried about the cats,I know mine would be climbing the walls
I hope it works out with the cats,is Whisper used to cats??
I think sometimes it's more difficicult to get cats used to dogs.
But Ithe kitties will soon be able to rule the house like before
It will of course take time and a lot of patience.
You are afor rocking your world by adopting Whisper,she's a lucky girl.
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  #36  
Old April 9th, 2008, 04:44 PM
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Thanks Chico. The cats are coming around very slowly, and we're trying not to push it. I do feel guilty that they've been displaced in their own home, but we're leaving the bedroom door open with the babygate, so they can come out. Whisper did go after Angus when he jumped over the gate the other night and i think that set him back a bit. WE need to do withthe cats what I did with the off leash park today, just put them together and see waht happens, but it makes me nervous, Angus and Finn are my first babies and I would never forgive myself if something happened to them. Not that I thinkWhisper has it in her to kill them, but if she got too excited to see them or one of htem moved too fast and caused Whisper to chase and shake if she caught one of them.

We're looking into training, it will do Nathan and I good.
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Meowy Meowers - Angus n' Finn - 5 yrs old
Barky Barker - Skylar - 4 yrs old??
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  #37  
Old April 9th, 2008, 05:17 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Stacer View Post

We're looking into training, it will do Nathan and I good.
Too funny it's supposed to be for the dog! But yes, I do understand what you're saying though.

About the cats, other than the chase issue, I'd worry more that Whisper gets a claw in her eye than the cats get a tooth in them. Usually, cats will put the dog in their place and be ... well, cats. Supreme beings who rule everyone in their household.
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  #38  
Old April 9th, 2008, 05:40 PM
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Good job Stacer, sounds like Whisper is adjusting very well
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  #39  
Old April 11th, 2008, 12:31 PM
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Oh wow, Stacer I didnt see this till now, congrats and thanks for being an . I am sure whisper thanks you too! About the agression - lots can be done about it, ask lots of question, do some research and work on it...it takes time and energy, but it can be worked on!!

Keep us posted and more pics please!
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  #40  
Old April 11th, 2008, 08:01 PM
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Thanks! We're still working on the cats, it's going to be a slow process and we're OK with that. Nathan is out with Skylar (that's her new name) and the cats are in the livingroom with me, it's been about 5 days since they've been able to enjoy being out here with me. I've contacted a trainer about coming here to help us with the cat/dog issue becasue we really have no idea how to properly go about it. SKylar seems to see them as prey and it terrifies me.

Otherwise everything is still going well, all the people we meet at the dog park think she's wonderful. She's so well behaved when she's there and seems to like the people more than the dogs, greeting everyone as they arrive.
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Meowy Meowers - Angus n' Finn - 5 yrs old
Barky Barker - Skylar - 4 yrs old??
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  #41  
Old April 11th, 2008, 09:04 PM
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Quote:
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SKylar seems to see them as prey and it terrifies me.
Are the cats still run away from her ? It could be only that. When I got Bailey , he always wanted to run after my 2 old cats because , they were running away from him , but once they settled down and Bailey was able to take a good sniff of them , it was all ok.

Other than the cats issue , it seems to be going pretty good !
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  #42  
Old April 12th, 2008, 07:03 AM
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Aww Stacer,it must be nervewracking having to worry about the kitties safety:sad:
Like you,I would have no clue as to what to do
I guess nobody knows how Skylar really is with cats,since she was a stray,hopefully she's just curious
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  #43  
Old April 12th, 2008, 07:32 AM
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She was tested with cats at Melinda's trainer's house with her 3 cats. But those cats have been around dogs alot, whereas Angus and Finn have had very minor contact with dogs and from a safe distance.

Skylar has gotten close to both of them. First with Angus, he hissed and swatted and then Skylar did everything she could to avoid him, then later that same evening Angus jumped over the gate back into the livingroom and Skylar darted at him and pinned him against the front door. Since then he's been very skittish around her and runs away if she gets too close, which sends her into a frenzy to get at him.

Finn was in the livingroom window and had a closeup with Skylar, there was some hissing, but Skylar wasn't as intimidated this time, she tried climbing up to get at her. Again, as soon as Finn made any type of movement to get away, Skylar would go nuts.

So if the cats were statues everything would be OK, but because they sometimes move she wants to get them. They can't even really walk calmly across the room without her whining and pulling to get them.
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Meowy Meowers - Angus n' Finn - 5 yrs old
Barky Barker - Skylar - 4 yrs old??
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  #44  
Old April 12th, 2008, 10:31 AM
katherine93 katherine93 is offline
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When we first got our german shepherd we had the same problem..My mom bought a muzzle and put it on him. Then we took one cat at a time and put it in my moms laps.. Having the dog on a leash we sat him down in from of my mom. And let him sniff the cats for a few minutes. The cats stayed calm because they were up with her. We did this once a day for about 10 mintues for the first few weeks and then they were fine with each other. they generally ignor each other now. Maybe that will help a little ( Oh yea that is the only time we EVER muzzle our dogs..lol..just wanted to make that clear:P)
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  #45  
Old April 12th, 2008, 01:37 PM
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Stacer, you might want to read this about dog/cat introductions, it has some great tips: http://www.labadoption.org/linkpages...icles/Cats.pdf

Quote:
While you are working on reliable obedience, either separate the
dog and cat or tether the dog to you when he is in a place
where he might encounter the cat. I use a simple leash tied to
my belt loop. (Take caution in doing this – if your dog can
pull you off your feet, don’t risk getting hurt! Work more on separating the
dog and cat until you feel more comfortable with their interaction.) When
the dog sees the cat and tries to get her, I stop dead and wait. Saying
things to the dog at this point, especially rapidly repeated things (i.e. “no
no no no!”) will just get him more excited, so I wait silently. As soon as the
dog puts any slack in the leash at all (and this could take several minutes),
praise the dog wildly with treats, a game, and/or petting and scratching
his favorite spot.

Once the dog starts to get the idea that you like it when he’s not so intent
on the cat, you can start finding things that he may be willing to like more
than the cat. Since most dogs are attracted to the cat because of the
chase, offer a much more fun chase game in the opposite direction. Call
the dog’s name in a happy voice and when he looks your way, be
bouncy and exciting and head away from the cat. When the dog starts
moving toward you start to praise him and find a toy for him to play with.
Even if the dog quickly looses interest in you and wants to head toward
the cat again, you’ve given the cat enough time to get away and you
have reinforced the dog for leaving the cat alone. All the dog wants is
some fun. If you provide that fun instead of scolding the dog for going
after the cat, he is more likely to choose you over the cat the next time
you call him.
I personally don't think it's a good idea to just let the animals work it out for themselves. It can create some permanent anxiety for the cats and cement it in the dog's mind that cats are fun to chase. A friend of mine tried that technique with her Rottweiler puppy and now her 2 cats permanently live in her upstairs bedroom, way too terrified to ever venture downstairs. Good luck!
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  #46  
Old April 12th, 2008, 02:39 PM
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Congratulations on the new family member!!
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  #47  
Old April 12th, 2008, 05:26 PM
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Thanks CK!

We've been keeping them completely separated, under no circumstances would we let them work it out on their own. We're too attached to the cats to do that!

Thus far our technique has been to keep Skylar on leash when the bedroom door is open (with babygate across), when she gets near the door we keep a watchful eye and approach her calmly to grab her leash in case she decides to jump at one of the cats (she has knocked the gate down on several occasions). When the cats are up on the dresser or bed we've taken her into the bedroom on leash and told her to sit and stay with lots of praise when she does it. We're hoping that doing this will at least get them used to being in the same room. As soon as there's any sign of her wanting to get at the cats (usually because one of the cats moved), we end the meeting.

The cats have been brave enough to jump over the gate on several occasions but jump back immediately if the dog spots them.

I'm hoping having a trainer come into our apartment to walk us through this will help.
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Meowy Meowers - Angus n' Finn - 5 yrs old
Barky Barker - Skylar - 4 yrs old??
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