We have three cats here and the biggest issue I am having with Nita is introducing them.
I know that she lived with a cat a few years ago and has been around my brothers friends cats. I have been told she just wants to play with them, won't hurt them but she likes to play rough. My problem is I am having a hard time reading her body language. To me when she sees my cats it seems more like she wants to go after them but I can't tell if she wants to hurt them or just play.
Up till this she has been great. I have even trained her to leave the cat food alone. She will walk by it and not touch it. We have gerbils and the first days she was transfixed by them and wanted to pounce on them through the glass but they are old news now. We have our basement stairs gated off so the cats have somewhere to go that Nita can't. We have bunnies down there and I can easily tell that if she could get to them she would eat them. We went down on leash to have a cat training session. The cats are curious but are all puffed up and will hiss if she gets to close. I had her sitting with her back to them so the cats could smell her. She even seemed to be ignoring them for a bit. The cats feel comfortable around her(up to 3-4 feet close to her) but as soon as they get closer Nita will go at them which the cats don't appreciate.
I guess I am having a hard time deciding her intentions. Does she want to play or really hurt them. I am tempted to get a muzzle of sorts to so I can feel more comfortable letting her get closer. Any suggestions? Help!
I also have to ask my brother how she is around other dogs. We were outside last night for a potty break and Nita saw the neighborhood St. Bernard walk by and started barking at him/her. She has a very intimidating bark, thats for sure.
I know that she lived with a cat a few years ago and has been around my brothers friends cats. I have been told she just wants to play with them, won't hurt them but she likes to play rough. My problem is I am having a hard time reading her body language. To me when she sees my cats it seems more like she wants to go after them but I can't tell if she wants to hurt them or just play.
Up till this she has been great. I have even trained her to leave the cat food alone. She will walk by it and not touch it. We have gerbils and the first days she was transfixed by them and wanted to pounce on them through the glass but they are old news now. We have our basement stairs gated off so the cats have somewhere to go that Nita can't. We have bunnies down there and I can easily tell that if she could get to them she would eat them. We went down on leash to have a cat training session. The cats are curious but are all puffed up and will hiss if she gets to close. I had her sitting with her back to them so the cats could smell her. She even seemed to be ignoring them for a bit. The cats feel comfortable around her(up to 3-4 feet close to her) but as soon as they get closer Nita will go at them which the cats don't appreciate.
I guess I am having a hard time deciding her intentions. Does she want to play or really hurt them. I am tempted to get a muzzle of sorts to so I can feel more comfortable letting her get closer. Any suggestions? Help!
I also have to ask my brother how she is around other dogs. We were outside last night for a potty break and Nita saw the neighborhood St. Bernard walk by and started barking at him/her. She has a very intimidating bark, thats for sure.