Help! First Encounter Went Bad

[Armden]

Hey guys I need some advice. My husband and I have started our dog sitting business and Rex has been our only pet ..well we had gotten another cat briefly but had to return him he was being very aggressive to rex anyway back on topic rex has been the only pet in the house for the past two years and he's is as spoiled as he can be he gets cuddles and kisses and all our attention everyday...well we have our first dog boarding customer (we also do doggy daycare and other services ) he's a sheltie and super friendly well he got excited when he saw Rex and rushed to see him which scared rex (it was poor planning on our part i understand that )since been in a bad mood growling at the dog and my husband. .I'm hoping he's just throwing a fit and will soon come around...any advice to help?

 

[susanm9006]

So you are intending to mix your boarding dogs into your household? If that is the case it's going to be a real challenge for your cat who would regularly have to get used to strange dogs. And how would you know whether these boarder dogs are not aggressive with cats? It would seems to me that the only way this could work would be of the dogs had their own space separate from your cats living quarters.

 

[Armden]

I only take dogs that their owners know are good with cats for rexs sake. He grew up with dogs for the first 9 months of his life but has been the only one around for the past two years I think he's just having a fit because he's not the only one anymore.

 

[Columbine]

Cats just don't think that way. It takes the vast majority of cats a long time to get truly comfortable around full time resident dogs. You're asking far too much of Rex in expecting him to just be able to cope with strange dogs coming in and out all the time. He's not 'throwing a fit' - he's SCARED. You know the dogs are good with cats, but HE doesn't!

Also, I assume by 'good with cats' you mean dogs that live with cats at home. Most dogs who live with cats learn to be good with their cats - the cats who are part of their pack. This only rarely extends to cats outside of their homes. I've had friends come over with their dogs for doggy playdates with mine (all sizes and types, from little Shih Tsus to big dobies, and everything in between). Even dogs who live which cats of their own have shown undesirable (ie prey/chase) instincts and behaviour with my cats. For this reason we'd always make sure to give the cats 'safe passage' upstairs, and keep all the dogs in one room as much as possible (we unfortunately don't have doors downstairs), and certainly on the ground floor. Note - all the dogs concerned were VERY well trained, and would be watched very closely the whole time. Any dog we were at all unsure about would be kept on a leash.

It's also important to note that our cats, who'd all grown up with dogs, were genuinely nervous, and sometimes scared, of the visiting dogs, and justifiably so. A running cat will almost always be a target to a stranger-dog. You just can't take that risk.

Your best (and imo only responsible) option is to split your house into dog zones and cat zones. You should only need a couple of rooms at most for the dog business, and the rest of the house can be Rex's territory. Under NO circumstances should the dogs be unsupervised if Rex is around. He's totally dependant on you, and his health, safety and wellbeing is your responsibility.

I'm sorry if this comes across as harsh, but a constant revolving door of dogs is not something Rex should have to cope with in his safe space. If you continue as you are, you'll be very likely to see anxiety based behavioural problems in Rex in the future. Do all the animals a favour, and keep separate areas for your doggy business (which sounds great, btw) and Rex's home.