Adopted a yorkie and I'm concerned that he will injure my cats
 

I adopted him from a friend who wasn't home enough to take proper care of him. I looked at information on introducing cats and dogs online, and as I work from home, thought it would be okay. Today, I had one of the cats on the back of the couch and Harley (my Yorkie) was barking, jumping and basically going nuts, as I stood in front of him, and calmly told him no.

Then, Harley ran over to this bootie he lays with, grabbed it by the teeth and shook it around really hard, went to the couch to bark at the cat, and back to shaking the bootie again. It looks like he is sending a message to the cat.

I love my animals and am very worried that I made a mistake bringing him home. He isn't fixed yet, will that help? He is 18 months old. Sorry that this post is so disjointed, I am so worried.

Also, are these words showing up as links in my post something normal that happens or do I have a virus now too?

First off, Welcome to YT :)

I'm pretty sure he was just playing, and not trying to "send a message to the cat." That's just how yorkies play. They were bred to be ratters to they like to grab things and shake them (how they'd kill a rat).

I personally don't have any experience with cats, but there are other members here that have both yorkies & cats, so I'm sure a few of them will be able to offer you some advice on your situation.

Welcome to YT! There are others here would have Yorkies and cats that co-exist well. I think the biggest mistake people make is thinking that they will adopt any breed and it will all work right away. We have a Boxer who is 6 years older than our Yorkie and eventhough she is the sweetest girl ever it was still a transition for everyone involved. Good luck!

PS You came to the right place for all things "Yorkie":)

He's a terrier. They like to play and I think he may be telling the kitty he wants to play. Yorkies play a lot, generally, and often need someone or another puppy to play with them. Shaking toys is very common for them. Have you tried playing with him? Yorkies are lots of fun to have around. I hope things go well for you.:)

Hi there and welcome, no your yorkie is just wanting to play, you gotta love them.

My Gracie was raised around cats but she can get all wound up and want to play with them. The cat I have that grew up with Gracie will still wrestle with her sometimes. The cat is about twice the size of Gracie but Gracie is not concerned. She gets all wound up when she feels she may be losing the wrestling match and starts barking a lot. It's really funny to watch. If it goes on too long I'll break it up because the barking starts to get to be a bit too much. The cat could hurt Gracie if she wanted to but they really are good buds. Gracie also is very protective of her toys and if a cat gets too close to one of her toys she will growl and nudge the cat away from her property. She's kind of obsessive about her toys.

If your guy is not used to being around cats you may need to teach him some cat manners but he should do fine after you establish some ground rules. Gracie also gets kind of crazy with her toys and shakes the daylights out of them when she is in one of her wacky moods. I think it is a terrier trait. Someone posted a video of some terriers killing rats in a barn the other day and they shook those rats just like Gracie shakes her toys. I don't think your dog is doing anything but playing and other than a quick chase he won't hurt your kitty.

My cats and dogs get along great. Occasionally the 2 cats hate each other but they are fine with the dogs. I would however give the cat a safe area that the dog can't get to. Mine have food, water, beds, and litter boxes in the laudryroom with a gate at the door so if they want preace and quiet away from the dogs they can have it.

Okay, I did read that playing tug could make the dog think that being aggresive is a good thing and want to stay away from that. In fact, it is this forum that made me think that he would be fine with the cats, until I specifically googled for the possibility of Yorkies being violent with cats and lots of awful stories came up.

. We have been going on long walks, training to 'sit' with little bits of chicken rewards and generally hanging out. He had a mild freakout when I vacuumed and ran into his crate but was fine when I put the vacuum cleaner away.

Believe it or not, I do not own a ball, what other toys do you all suggest that will keep him interested and entertained?

Squeaky balls, but not too big. There are squeaky balls that you can order that are for the smaller dogs. They like plush toys that squeak, too. You can get some kong toys and put little treats in them to help entertain him. There are even puzzle toys available that keep them occupied and some of the puzzle toys are made so that you can hide treats in them. Yorkies are people dogs. They don't do well on their own. They like to be with their people and don't be surprised to find you have a shadow.:) I have always played tug of war with my yorkies and I have never had one that was aggressive in any way.

Welcome to yt, ummm I play tugowar all the time with my girls and never have a problem. Also Yorkies are no different than other dogs for aggression with cats, some don't like them some do, I just always teach the Yorkies to be nice to the cats and so far so good in my 27 years living with Yorkies. I like the long walks, it tires them out and lowers there energy levels in the house. I find also Yorkies LOVE another one at least for company. You have surely come to the right place for answers! Good luck and I would neuter him soon.

I think the tug thing has a lot to do with the personality of your dog. If a dog is prone to get aggressive then tugging will incite that behavior. Some dogs just don't have that desire in them. When Gracie was a puppy we couldn't play too aggressively with her because she would get overly rough. Now that she is an adult and knows the behavior ground rules it is just very funny to see how she likes to pretend she is a tough little girl.

Thank-you to everyone who replied. We just got back from our night-time walk and there was an incident. A neighbors dog (not on a lead) wanted to say hi, and Harley completely freaked out, barking and lunging, I had to pick him up and cross the street. Meanwhile, the guy with the dog is looking at both of us like we are crazy. So, Harley needs to be socialized with people, dogs and cats. At least he is good for me! I hope I can handle this.

I don't think you mentioned how long you have had him but it seems he is also trying adjust to you. He is an adult in a new situation and that can be very upsetting especially for a Yorkie. He probably feels a bit insecure at this point. If he was never around other dogs much I can understand why he might freak out especially since he is in a fairly new environment. Give him some time and extra TLC. It's not fun for any dog to be re-homed.

Sorry about that, yes we brought him home Friday night. He seemed to bond with me as soon as we took the first walk together, he was barking aggresively until I picked up the harness and leash from his box of stuff, suddenly he did this adorable begging thing and looked like a muppet. We went for a walk and since then he has been at my side and responsive- unless having a barking fit at something or someone else.

He is good with my boyfriend too, and sleeps calmly in his crate until 7am which I love.

Awe you can handle it it takes patience for sure. We had to socialize Georgie with our 4 year old skin child. Georgie was here first so we had to get him used to our son. We've made it work trust me it's possible:)

Your neighbor is the crazy one for not having his dog a lead! Georgie gets feisty too! One thing to know is they don't realize their size they have small dog syndrome;)

Yes, Miles shakes all of his toys around like that especially thr stuffed animals.

Oh, you are right about the neighbor, I saw that little dog running down the street once with no owner in sight as I was pulling in one night. After I parked I walked over to check on the dog and heard the owner calling him or her.

It's normal, it's just the way the forum is set up....I don't know why. Personally having owned cats in the past I would be more worried about the dog.

Sounds like he just wants the cat to play with him I highly doubt he has thought it through enough to send the cat a "message"

In my experience it's usually the cat that comes out the victor...if your yorkie plays rough the cat will give him a good swipe and then Yorkie will think twice about being rough. I in general they will co-exist nicely, it just may take awhile.

I believe it was dog fancy (I get a lot of dog magazines) that said its a myth that playing tug makes a dog aggressive. We had very calm gentle nice dogs growing up and we always played tug and never had aggression problems I would just worry about pulling to hard and hurting there teeth. Most dogs are afraid of the vacuum so its very normal for them to run to a safe place. Most of what you will find stories of when you google stuff is bad things because people share the bad more then the good. A lot people here like kongs, they also make doggy puzzle toys as well as treat dispensing toys they have to roll around to get the treat out of. Bully bones rock to them busy just make sure whatever treats and bones you buy don't come from china

Yes this is what I was thinking. I would think the cat would have it all over the Yorkie.

I have never had cats but I know when Dudley and Kayla play tug a war, I was afraid she was going to break his neck. He is tiny and she out weighs him about 4lbs. I know it can be scary but if it would put your mind at ease I would seperate them when you were not home. Just close your yorkie off where the cats won't be around him until you are able to referee. I think in time they will get use to each other. It just takes time and patience. Good luck.

My Yorkies play tug of war with each other and Buddy primarily. Most cats can protect themselves unless they are in a weakened state. My Yorkies have killed small vermin - Mice and moles primarily but have never attempted to attack the cats. My Mika (about 14 years old) is the boss over all the dogs including Cozy. No one but Tallulah attempts to mess with Mika.

As mentioned before even though my dogs have never attempted to harm the cats I still give them a dog safe zone. I don't crate my dogs when I leave the house.

I have yorkies and 5 cats and the cat will let him know when hes had enough

I think your yorkie just wanted to play with the kitty.
I have two cats one 8 lbs , the other 15 lbs .
Oscar , my yorkie is 7 pounds.
I don't worry about him hurting them, besides cats
don't take any $#@%!.
They will let the dog know if he is out of line....
I wouldn't worry about it..

I have a Yorkie and a Cat, they get along very well NOW but it was all about both of them setting boundaries with each other.

Does your cat have claws? (mine does), when Sophie Kate was little I would watch her around the cat as a precaution just in case Avery (the cat) got a little rough with her. Once Sophie Kate got a little bigger I began letting them play, sometimes it got rough but never anything bad. Now they basically chase each other and then collapse together for a nap.

The shaking of the toy, I think that is typical for dogs. I never worried about that since Sophie Kate is a lot smaller than Avery (she is 8.5 lbs and he is normally around 15 lbs).

I do make sure they never eat each other food since both have special dietary needs.

Good luck and my advice is let them figure out the pecking order without hurting each other (to much).

I worry more for the Yorkie eyes and noses than the kitties. :p My kitties can jump pretty well and have really sharp claws...especially the oldest kitties...but they get along well, at least until Brody decides to 'correct' the kitty behavior or defense against them sitting on my lap. lol However, the entire time he is 'menacing' at them...lol, his entire body language is happy and playful indicating he is not serious about hurting them...it's apparently a game he likes to play. I'm not as fond of it, tho...lol...especially at 3 am. The kitties know it too and are only willing to run so far from him...then they turn and square off...that's when I snatch his little furry body up for some Mommy and me 'play rough' time and we errr at each other and play 'gingerbread man'. lol Mia just licks their faces until they're near drowning and either they put their arms around her neck and 'body slam' her to the ground and start licking her or I rescue them with a pick up. lol Both Yorkies were over a year old when I got them...Mia had been around cats before...Brody had not. Both Brody and Mia are smaller than most of the kitties.

Yorkies are fiesty...but their body language will give you a clue about their intent.

You can search for canine body language...lots of examples on the web.

Take care! :D

Gracie tends to get cold easily and has found the cats to be good heaters when she has no lap to curl up in. She will sneak up on a sleeping cat and curl her body around them or over the to get warmed up. I don't think she will kill them she needs them too much.

Awww you have got to post pictures of this