# Help! My puppy is hurting my cat!



## Baxy (Dec 18, 2012)

Hello! I have a 4month old chocolate lab puppy who is lovely! But, he likes to grab my cat around her neck and drag her around. Its leading to her loosing patches of hair around her neck from him pulling it out and hes actually broken skin and made her neck bleed. She doesnt seem to care, shes not scratching him, hissing or anything. Shes not afraid of him and afterwards still rubs all overhim and sleeps with him - but im sure it must be hurting if its breaking skin and bleeding!? Im sure hes not doing it to be aggressive though, more playful. How can i stop him doing this? Ive trying loudly growling 'no!' but he doenst even flinch. Ive also tried separating them and putting him in another room away from us as punishment. 
Any advice would be much appreciated! Re-homing for either is NOT an option - im willing to do anything but that. 
Please help!!!


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## HollowHeaven (Feb 5, 2012)

Your puppy doesn't understand 'no'. 

Building a relationship with the cat is good, and it seems they have one if the cat is coming back for affection. But Lab pups are all about their teeth. Set boundaries, supervise them. When the play gets to that point, take the cat away for a little while. When he gets too rough, the fun stops.


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## blenderpie (Oct 5, 2012)

My parents dog used to drag the other dog around by her collar when he got too excited in his playing. We taught him "too rough." We basically said that and broke up the play everytime he got too riled up by calling him to us. Eventually we could say "too rough" and he would walk away, and then he realized that he could play as long as he didn't drag her, so he just stopped doing it all together. Took less than a month.


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## doxiemommy (Dec 18, 2009)

I agree, "no" is too generic. We humans are so ingrained to know all of the many meanings of the word "no" that we often overuse it, and assume that dogs know what we mean. 
Instead, teach "leave it" so that when he bugs the cat or is too rough, you can say "leave it" and he will know what to do.

Also, give the cat a place where she can where the puppy can't follow. We have a "room" for the cats, it's where their litter box is, their food dishes, their cat tree, and toys. We block the doorway with a baby gate that our dogs can't get over. That way, when our cats have had enough, they have a place to get away.


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## RonE (Feb 3, 2007)

> Also, give the cat a place where she can where the puppy can't follow.


Bingo.

My daughter has two dogs (one with a prey drive that puts my Plott hound to shame - okay, not really, but almost) and two cats. There is a "cat room" with a gate and a small door that only the cats can get through. If the dogs get too rough, the cats have some place to go for some peace.

Sadly, if the cats get too rough, the dogs are just out of luck, though they can go outside.


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## 3doglady (Jul 31, 2011)

Good advice given. If you are not familiar with Leave It training techniques, there is a video series by Kikopup that can break it down easily. The video focuses on food, but once the pup learns leave it, you can apply it to anything.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNAOe1djDyc

My dogs will respond to leave it, as meaning, what ever you are about to sniff, or put in your mouth..... stop and find something more appropriate to do.

The kitty and toddler command for my lab is "gentle", meaning, lay down and play appropriately, or I will take you (by leash) out of the room and away from the kitty/toddler. There is no opportunity to play rough when I teach 'gentle', so there is nothing to interrupt as there is with yours. Since the kitty or toddler was the reward, she needed to behave in a gentle way in order to spend time with either. "Gentle" was later translated to her play with our setter, who always got plowed into the ground when they played. I had to show my lab more appropriate ways to play and used the word gentle when I played tag with the setter. Our lab eventually caught on and now she just plays tag instead of full-on tackle.

However, with your cat enjoying the relationship and all its teeth, I agree that "Enough" "Too Rough" or "Leave It" is the best way to start.


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## hanksimon (Mar 18, 2009)

The previous posts have given you good advice, but they forgot to mention to main principle. You don't have a Lab, you have a furry alligator whose goal is to chew everything and all the time... and it's all fun! I'm not sure why the cat doesn't pop the pup, but some cats are too patient, and I know some cats won't run, either. 

A number of breeds have this problem, but when you have a Lab pup you may have to physically go save the current chewtoy du jour, by separating teeth from neck, saying "Leave it" like Doxie and blenderpie have suggested.


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