Is this possible!!?

Two of my Labs get extremely angry when they see a cat... this has come to a head recently as we've moved house, and all the neighbours have both dogs and cats!  Melvin loves everyone and everything, so he's no trouble, but the older two just don't understand cats!  I don't think they want to hurt them (I could be wrong, but they're ok with other animals including pet rabbits, pet rats, horses, goats, sheep etc), I just think they are a bit miffed when they come into the garden while they're stuck inside and they get wound up when they run away, it begins 'the chase'. 

I really don't know how to rectify this, as obviously cats run away with all this fuss, so they can't get used to them.  It's become a bit of a problem when I'm out walking with them, with there being soooo many cats in the road it's impossible to avoid them when we go out!  Thank goodness I generally have them on head collars, so I haven't gone flying... yet! 

Would it be a horrible idea to get a kitten of my own, to get them used to cats?  I know that doesn't sound like a good reason to get a cat, but I've always liked the thought of having one (this situation has just made me think about it sooner rather than later), and I can definitely offer a rescue cat a good home.  They have met kittens before, and have been quite happy with them.  Do you think this could help with their cat anxiety?  Is it cruel to bring a kitten into a house with 3 dogs?  Do you think the dogs would end up being ok with my cat, but still hate others?  Lots of questions :-D just hope some of you can answer them!

Thanks!

Clare

Would it be a horrible idea to get a kitten of my own, to get them used to cats?

It honestly would not make a difference I'm afraid. I have a house full of cats and dogs, but my dogs would still chase a strange cat they came across outdoors. They know full well who belongs here and who doesn't, and that the cats belong indoors and not outdoors. Hence if a cat came into our garden I would not rate its chances much. It would have entered the dogs' territory and might as well be of any animal species -when they run, the chase instinct kicks in. Eg. in the same way I could let a rabbit loose indoors and my dogs would just say hello, if they see a rabbit running free outdoors they would chase it unless I got to them first with a command to leave.

I am with Marrianne on this. I have cats and dogs always have my dogs accept our cats but no other. If cats come into the garden they will chase if I dont manage to stop them first inthe same way as they do with the foxes.
The only way I have dealt with it is that other cats soon learn not to come into our garden when the dogs ar out and if we are out and see a cat its a fast and firm leave

Agree with marianne, getting a kitten will not change the way your dogs react to 'strange' cats.

My last dog got on great with my cat they would even play together, but he would have hurt any cat he could catch if he caught one, he was so bad I had to do a sweep of the garden before letting him in it and be on high-alert when walking him.
I never did get my last dog good around other cats atall, I easily managed to introduce a new kitten into the house, but a dog will easily distinguish between a cat that belongs to the family and a strange cat. BUT, I didn't know the wonders of reward-based training then.

My current dog gets on great with my cat, but as he lives with her he is used to her so she is boring. Strange cats on the other hand are very exciting! He defiantely only wants to play with cats, but as Buster is so big that can spell trouble (squashed cat/me pulled over ) so I have been working on getting him to ignore (or pass without a fuss) any cat we see while out. Simple training, using a 'leave it' command, followed by treats & praise for not acting like a looney. It's working great and I rarely have to remind him now, he'll swish his tail in a calm happy way when he sees a cat but knows he's not allowed to play with it :) The only time he's recenlty expoled into excited play-bows was a few weeks ago when a young cat walked right up to him!!! But that's not something that happens very often!

> other cats soon learn not to come into our garden when the dogs ar out

LOL, I used to think cats avoided my garden because I had a dog, but there are always cats in my garden now. They do learn quickly! All the local cats have learnt that unless Buster is actually walking around, he wont bother with them (why get up to greet a cat when you can sleep on the patio?). Obviously the cats knew that my last dog would chase them, so most would avoid our garden and the braver ones who came into our garden, would keep an ear out for the door - as soon as the door opened they'd be gone.
Very cunning :)

Thanks everyone :-D

What you are saying makes sense.  I guess I'll do lots of training, now there's so much opportunity... and these cats are fairly dog-tolerant as they all live with dogs themselves.  To be honest, I didn't think I stood a chance training it out of them, but if it can work for some there's no reason why it won't work for me!  I find it extremely difficult to get any focus out of them when they are on 'cat alert' though!  I guess I'll have to resort to liver (urrrgghh... it's reserved only for the extreme training!)

Plus, from what you've all said, there's nothing to stop me introducing a kittie one day :-D it just won't solve my 'strange' cat problems.

Thanks again,

Clare

> I find it extremely difficult to get any focus out of them when they are on 'cat alert' though!

The trick is to get thier focus before they have chance to get fixated on the cat (with Buster I just say 'walk nice' and give him some cheese, as it gets him in 'listen to her & I get food' mode, LOL), it means being very vigilant, but worth it in the end. :)