Creating a blended family of excitable dog + cats who hate dog... tips?

This is lengthly, my apologies. I want to give as much info as I can. Please ask questions if I've left anything out!

So, at the end of this month I'm moving in with Marshall. Exciting!

Finn and the ferrets are coming with me, and Marshall has two cats: Stan and Fiora (Fi). Finn has visited a number of times and we're experiencing a bit of difficulty. I think I have a good plan in place but I welcome feedback and suggestions!

Backstory: Stan is older (9 years) and Fi is young (1.5 years). Neither of them have previous dog experience. Finn is 5, and has past cat experience with two dog-savvy cats (one he lived with, one he visited frequently).

Finn is not aggressive to cats. He is very able to live with cats. Many of you remember June Bug, my ex-boyfriend's cat, and how they would get along:







That said, he is used to cats that enjoy engaging in play with him. June Bug allowed Finnegan in her face. A lot. Finn in turn would respect her if she gave him back-off signals. They grew up together, so they learned one another's signals. I allowed their play because both animals were almost always happy with it - as soon as one wasn't, I intervened.

With Stan and Fi, Finn... fixates. He is SO EXCITED to have new cats to play with that he easily goes over-threshold. He was allowed too close to the cats once, lunged out of sheer excitement, and caused the cats to defend, making Finn bleed. (This only happened once, in my defense... we wanted to see what would happen and in turn we decided not to let it happen that way again.) He is currently leashed anytime he is around the cats.

Being a border collie, the staring is a big problem. It unnerves the cats and makes them very uneasy. Finn has the calming cap which we have used at times to put everyone more at ease, and it does indeed help a good deal... but I also can't rely on it too much - the goal is to not have to use it. The end-goal is to have everyone able to be loose together comfortably, perhaps not necessarily friendly with one another, but able to respect spaces.

So, that's the current situation. I am moving in at the end of the month. Finn will be leashed to me at all times around the cats, to start. Marshall's house has doors everywhere, so Finn will have ample opportunities to be loose in areas of the house and the pets will be able to sniff one another lots. He is crate trained as well, so being out/in bed is a non-issue. I will be working with him every day towards the goal.

I think a lot of it will simply be constant exposure - once we're all moved in, the cats and dog will be dealing with each other every single day instead of periodically. I think that, combined with lots of consistent training, everyone will settle down within a month or two.

What I have been doing thus far when we go over for visits is making use of his Thundershirt and natural calming treats as a basis, and working on positive reinforcement and shaping calmness around the cats. I've been making a lot of use of the clicker, which he responds well to even in high-threshold situations. In turn, the cats are also rewarded positively for showing interest in the dog. Lots of treat-tossing when all the pets are together.

I have Control Unleashed, as well as Fired Up, Frantic and Freaked out and have been practicing exercises from each to help us prepare. Anyone else who has those books have suggestions on the best techniques from each?

This may be controversial, but Finn responds well to a moderate level of positive punishment as well, so I welcome suggestions in that regard if anyone feels it would be beneficial in the situation.

So... thoughts on the situation? Thanks guys. <3 Bonus photos for you of Stan and Fiora. I adore them.

Stan:


Fi:

It sounds like you have your bases covered on Finn's end. I would also work with the cats, teaching them to relax around him and how to leave if needed etc.

I do think the most progress will likely be made by constant exposure and it becoming the new norm.

Thanks. I think so too, I just like to make sure I'm not missing anything that might be really beneficial to us. Good call on working more with the cats too. I'm pondering a high-up cat tree for them, since they currently don't have one and it would be good for them if Finn ever gets too pesky for their liking. June had one and it was very handy.

For the cats, I would invest in plenty of cat trees, wall shelves or other cat-friendly vertical spaces. Having some dog-free zones plus an area where they can keep tabs on things should help.

I'm not sure about using a clicker since it excites when it sounds. Have you watched the kikopup video on capturing calmness? I imagine you have, but in case you haven't, give it a go.

I'd probably keep exposure to the cats minimal at first. Just work for a few minutes on captured calmness, then break it off, toss a ball outside and keep the animals separated. If you catch him staring, mark then put him in a time out. Also, I would interpret staring as an indicator that your session went on too long or you weren't aware enough during it.

I might implement a no-playing rule inside the house. Indoors is for lounging, outdoors is for excitement.

I haven't had a cat problem but have had to introduce dogs that don't quite see eye to eye. I think as long as introductions are done slowly and everyone has a way to get away from each other, it'll be good. Baby gates/xpens etc are your friends. Leashing sounds like a good idea. Enforcing some rules if the instigator is just not respecting boundaries, etc.

Great advice, and thanks for reminding me about the kikopup video - I watched it aaaaaages ago and had forgotten it existed! Just re-watched and bookmarked it. On that note, great point about the clicker - I won't use it from now on when shaping calm behaviour.

Interesting point about the no-play rule. Finn is incredibly toy-motivated, so when he and June were learning boundaries I would often teach him to re-orient to a toy and bring it to someone when he was asked off the cat - that way if he was feeling playful, he would have a re-directed outlet. I was considering doing the same with the cats.

Lots of outside time is a given - he will get lots of playtime and walks/runs outdoors - tired Finnegan is better-behaved Finnegan.

I redirect to a toy for play a lot with my children. Quke is still young enough and hyper enough to want to chase and pounce when the kids are running around and being kids. Definitely helps a ton IMO. I did it with Ivy too and she is so crazy calm around my kids now. I also use it for dogs walking by outside, people ringing the doorbell, etc.

Of course my ultimate goal is calm...but I do think sometimes we expect too much...like a 60 - 0 response when redirecting to a toy can really get that energy out in a safe way.