My yorkie chases the cats!
 

Hi there

I have a 4yr old Yorkie who is the absolute love of my life.

The problem?

I moved in with my boyfriend and now my beloved Yorkie is finding great pleasure in chasing his cats.

It becomes a complete circus with the cats jumping up and down and all over furniture and blinds.

What do I do?

Thanks:animal36

My Yorkie also chases the cat, but in my case it is more play than terrorizing.

When Sophie Kate was a puppy she would attempt to be "Alpha Dog" over the cats, while I was attempting to train her with the "No" command (sharply saying NO and clapping my hands) the cat took over training, smacked her a few times and it all seemed to stop.

Of course I had to put up with high drama from Sophie Kate because the cat smacked her. I should add I was always aware of the cat being around Sophie Kate at first to make sure the sharp claws did not cause harm.

Wish I could help you....I had an issue with my 2 yorkies girls and our HUGE Maine Coon.....McKenzi was here long before we got the girls...If we showed him any affection for if he meowed (Sadie...first yorkie) would attack him!! :eek: Now....a 22lb cat and a 5 lb dog ...sadie(my alpha girl)would NOT back down....then a year later we got Lillie...she picked up the same habit from her big sister...there were a few times I had to put McKenzi in the bedroom for the dogs safety...as he got older he slept alot but, when he would move around they were right there and ready to jump on him! I had to watch them constantly...He could have really hurt them badly...I would say NO! clap my hands...smack a rolled up newspaper on my leg...nothing seemed to work...I would take them out of the situation then they would be fine...Sadly McKenzi took his journey over Rainbow Bridge the Monday before Thanksgiving..I truly believe the girls knew how sick he was...they would just sit and look at him...never tried to jump or chase him...all this being said...we will never bring another cat into our home as long as we have yorkies....never had this kind of issue before with any of my dogs...

Yeah they will probably work it out eventually. A couple of swipes from the cats usually cures them of wanting to chase them. When I first brought Brandi home, she tried the same thing. My cat swiped her a few times and needless to say they now coexist peacefully except for the occassional argument.

Also my cat even she though could seriously scratch my little one...she didn't. The swipe was more like a warning swipe so I didn't have to worry about her scratch Brandi.

Thanks all. I'm just so concerned that the cat will hurt the dog but I hope all works out!

Before Sprocket came to live with us he lived in a house with cats, and it was dog chase cats, then cats chase dog, all the time, until somebody got tired. Mostly Sprocket gave up first BUT when the cats were done, they just hid or a good swipe of the paw. Did Sprocket learn to leave the cats alone, NO WAY, still loves cats and would chase given any chance. LOL. Loves cats, one of the best play toys there is. So don't worry, cats can and DO hold their own.

Sophia never plays with my hubby's cat "Ivan"... She will just bark at him if she sees him jumping on tables where food is...or if she hears us getting after him. She thinks she is the boss...but only vocally, she never challenges him physically.

As for Peyton...he LOVES Ivan. Peyton plays and plays and plays with him. Ivan hisses and bats at him and they chase and wrestle each other. Very cute! When Ivan has had enough, he lets Peyton know...or jumps somewhere Peyton can't reach. :p

I would say that it is going to take a while for things to settle down. Your dog is not used to having cats around and obviously the cats are not used to being chased. I never had a dog vs cat problem until Gracie. I was raising a litter of kittens when I first got her. They kind of grew up together but Gracie still feels she is the boss of all cats. As a puppy she sometimes would chase the older cats. She knows she is not supposed to do it but sometimes when she is playing she may decide to give one of the cats a little chase. Most of them know how to deal with her now. One likes to wrestle with her. You need to keep telling your dog not to bother the cats but complete compliance may not happen right away. Stick to it though because these dogs have an inborn desire to chase other critters.

Just have to be carefull. We had a dog loose an eye to a run in with an old cranky tom.

We have two cats and my dogs are in love with my male and he loves them too, they play together all the time. Sophie my female though only likes them on her own time and if they mess with her in between she hisses and might smack them. They learned quickly though to only play with her when she is ready which is usually every night.

We have 6 dogs and 15 cats and there is always a fight between somebody. So far no problem. Even our 4 month old Shih Tzu has learned to keep his distance from them. At night my oldere dogs sleep on my bed with some of our cats and it's vry peaceful. It just takes time.

They will work it out in time. I have 5 cats and 2 yorkies. My little Jewels has made herself the boss over them she will let them know if they step over the line but they cohabitate well together