Best Dog Breeds For A Cat Household?

shadowplay

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So my partner and I just bought our first house, and we're thinking of getting a dog when we move in. What types of dogs generally do well with cats, and if you introduced a dog to a cat household, how was the adjustment period?
 

amethyst

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I think the best answer is one that grew up with cats, or is a puppy. Aside from that, just avoid dog with high prey drive, or ones that were bred to kill small animals. I think the best bet is to go with a breed that is bred to work with other animals or is passive (like collies, corgis, shelties, shepherds, newfies, non working line labs and goldens, etc) if you are wanting a medium to large dog, or a companion breed (like Maltese, shih tzu, Pomeranian, pug, etc) if you are wanting a small dog. You also want to look at the individual dogs too, temperament can vary even in the same litter let alone the same breed.

I currently have a rough collie, a lab/german shepherd mix, and a rottie mix, and all are fine with the cats, though my current rottie does get a little over excited and too intense for the cats at times (the rottie mix I had before was more mellow and serious). All of them were introduced to cats a puppies, just keep the pup either confined to a room with a gate to allow the cats to come and go to meet (I used a baby gate that the cats could easily jump over as well as sniff the dog though), or keep the pup on a leash in the house so you can monitor interactions. I would also either have the dog crated at night or in a separate room that the cat can't get into at night until you are sure they are ok together. For me by the time the pup was old enough to have free run of the house they were ok with each other.

You do also want to keep the cat in mind too, not all cats are happy about getting a dog added to their home. Has the cat been around dogs before? If so what kind and what was the experience like? Also how old is the cat? A young cat that has never been around dogs before will be more accepting then an older cat that is use to living alone (or only with other cats).
 

akaLuann

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So my partner and I just bought our first house, and we're thinking of getting a dog when we move in. What types of dogs generally do well with cats, and if you introduced a dog to a cat household, how was the adjustment period?
I am NO expert but I have two rescue dogs. I had my kitten first and was about a year when I adopted a Boxer from the humane society. I use to have boxers, and they have never messed with cats or kids. In the house. We adopted a red nose pit that found us and she has no interest in them. She plays with the dog aggressively but never once attacked the cat. I would recommend taking the dog outside on walks and see how he reacts to other animals. Does he chase cats and squirrels, etc.? There is an excellent article on this site, just read last night.
 

IndyJones

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It really depends on the dog. Some have a high hunt drive and others don't breed alone can't really tell you. I've had retrievers and really different personalities between them. One would relentlessly hunt out the cats yet our current one seems to think he is a cat even grooms his face with his paw after eating.

I would say gun dogs and herders would be most likely to chase cats and things in general since they are bred to do so. Yappy little dogs also probably would be a poor match.
 

Gizmobius

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I do housesitting for a couple who has a golden retriever and a cocker spaniel. The golden retriever was absolutely smitten with both my previous cat and my current kitten and just wants to play with and sleep next to my kitten. The spaniel is well behaved, just gets a bit too excited when the kitten shows him interest! But the golden is wonderful, I'd like to get one someday just based on how she's been around my kitties.
 

daisyd

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There is a thread titled 'friends' (I think) on here at the moment about dogs and cats
 

goingpostal

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A dog is a dog, they are all predators and even the most mild can and do kill cats, either caught up in prey drive, by accident playing hard, by redirected aggression due to excitement or food, it's unrealistic imo to expect a certain personality towards small furry critters based on breed alone. You need to manage situations, know body language and your animals. If your dog plays hard with the cat or chases it, you probably don't want to leave them unattended together. Luckily dogs are extremely trainable and most accept cats pretty readily. I see more small lap dogs that seem to be buddy buddy with cats as opposed to just tolerating but there's no shortage of big dogs that seem to love their kitties too.

I had an older very unfriendly cat and added three adult pit bull mixes over the years, strong highly prey driven dogs with unknown backgrounds. With a cat that growled, hissed, smacked and ran from dogs. (She did eventually learn to ignore them and they were taught to leave her alone.) She died a year ago and I added an adult cat again recently and the adjustment period went pretty smoothly. After a few days of separation, getting used to new smells and sounds for everyone I introduce the calmest dog first and introduce each dog to her separately, I don't just throw her into a pack of excited dogs. We go slow and dogs that want to chase go on a leash and get corrected if needed but they are pretty happy to ignore the cat and offer good behavior for food. After a couple days it's like she's always been here. My sister has a big lab with 3 cats, only one likes him back but he is fine with other animals, my mom has an adopted mini schnauzer that is pretty prey driven who lives and plays fine with her cat but will chase my sister's. I also fostered a rat terrier that lives with four cats now, terrified of other dogs, but great with them.
 

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kashmir64

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I have a miniature schnauzer and he loves cats. He's even good with the kittens. I also have the added advantage that these dogs don't shed. They do need to get clipped every 3-4 months though.
 

NewYork1303

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Herding dogs are good only for patient cats. They want families to be in the same room all the time and don't like cats wandering around or sleeping in their own spaces. They often try to gather them and get them to join the room with everyone else in it by barking, nudging, or even nipping at a cat's butt. They are also not usually great dogs for people without lots of time to devote to them. These dogs are working dogs and must be working to be happy (I define working pretty loosely. It can entail going on long 10 mile or more walks, learning new tricks, playing flyball, agility, fetch). I've known people with border collies that literally had agility equipment set up all over in the house just so the dogs could work and get the amount of work that they needed into each day.

I like Labs and golden retrievers personally. They are so sweet, patient, and generally mothering toward cats. There are a lot that are being bred badly especially when it comes to temperament, watch out for breeders that are too focused on the look of a dog or ones that are running something closer to a puppy mill where the health of the mother dog and the offspring isn't a consideration.

The problem with dogs getting along with cats to the point of playing with them is that dog play can be very rough and an excited dog can get overzealous in the moment. One of my mother's cats had a dog next door that was its friend and they loved to play like crazy. One day the dog just grabbed the cat and shook it, broke its neck. The dog didn't mean anything by it, but it was just big and excited. It didn't even realize what it had done initially and expected the cat to get up and play more.
 

lalagimp

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Tommy's sister was a shih tzu mix. I also had a pekingese that acted very much like a cat before I started having cats in my life.
 

daisyd

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Herding dogs are good only for patient cats. They want families to be in the same room all the time and don't like cats wandering around or sleeping in their own spaces. They often try to gather them and get them to join the room with everyone else in it by barking, nudging, or even nipping at a cat's butt. They are also not usually great dogs for people without lots of time to devote to them. These dogs are working dogs and must be working to be happy (I define working pretty loosely. It can entail going on long 10 mile or more walks, learning new tricks, playing flyball, agility, fetch). I've known people with border collies that literally had agility equipment set up all over in the house just so the dogs could work and get the amount of work that they needed into each day.

I like Labs and golden retrievers personally. They are so sweet, patient, and generally mothering toward cats. There are a lot that are being bred badly especially when it comes to temperament, watch out for breeders that are too focused on the look of a dog or ones that are running something closer to a puppy mill where the health of the mother dog and the offspring isn't a consideration.

The problem with dogs getting along with cats to the point of playing with them is that dog play can be very rough and an excited dog can get overzealous in the moment. One of my mother's cats had a dog next door that was its friend and they loved to play like crazy. One day the dog just grabbed the cat and shook it, broke its neck. The dog didn't mean anything by it, but it was just big and excited. It didn't even realize what it had done initially and expected the cat to get up and play more.
Gosh that's put me off getting a dog too
 

neely

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I don't think you can unequivocally guarantee a specific breed would be good with cats. I agree certain breeds are more commonly known to think of cats as prey but there are always exceptions and you have to ascertain the individual dog's temperament. When we were interested in adding a dog to the family we walked him through the shelter where the cats were kept to get a feel for his reaction. Neither our cat, Neely, or our dog were purebred. The dog was a mix of 2 large herding breeds. We did the introduction very slowly and long story short, even though the dog did herd Neely he never hurt her in any way. In fact, she baited him into chasing her and they got along famously. They were best buds, our cat even knew when the dog was ill towards the end and sensed it. She would sit beside him and no longer tried to bait him into chasing her. They were bonded so closely. :redheartpump:

I always say, "go with your gut." if you can adopt or go through a rescue as DragonsNKitties pointed out, they might be very helpful since they would be more familiar with the dog's temperament and personality. Best of luck on your first house acquisition and please keep us posted on adding a dog to your family. :)
 

miagi's_mommy

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Even dogs raised with cats can have a high prey drive when mature. Your best bet is to adopt a dog that has been tested or fostered with cats.
 

miagi's_mommy

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Labs are generally good with everything.. so maybe look into getting one a shelter. :) My brother's dog (Lab mix) loves our cats and especially loved Tiger!
 

IndyJones

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I think it depends on the lab. We fostered one but had to return her because she relentlessly chased our geriatric ckd kitty. Breed alone isn't the best indicator.
 
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shadowplay

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Thanks everyone! I was thinking of going through a shelter/rescue already, and it sounds like that would be my best plan. My boyfriend loves labs, so I may keep my eyes peeled for a lab/lab mix as it sounds like they could be a good fit. But I have no real breed preference, so I'll be flexible!
 

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Thanks everyone! I was thinking of going through a shelter/rescue already, and it sounds like that would be my best plan. My boyfriend loves labs, so I may keep my eyes peeled for a lab/lab mix as it sounds like they could be a good fit. But I have no real breed preference, so I'll be flexible!
You should have no problem finding one. There are so many great lab mixes at shelters waiting for a home. :biggrin: There are also many other great ones dogs out there. Feel free to ask the shelter workers/volunteers for help. They'll usually know the most about the dogs and be able to point you toward what you're looking for.
 
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