Naomi chats with Linlin Cao about how training her two cats helped with the integration of two dogs into their household.
In this episode we discuss:Our cast of charactersSimon: 7-year-old cat
Tiffany: 6-year-old cat
Niko the dog
Sunny the dog     
Simon was their first pet – adopted just after graduate school, thinking a cat would be an easier pet to adopt first.
Tiffany was a little stray kitten found in Chinatown, Houston. Was going to be taken to the shelter before Lin Lin’s husband fell in love with her.
Niko was supposed to only be a foster pup but ended up a permanent member of the family
Sunny, a lovable retriever is the baby of the family

Introducing Tiffany the Kitten to Simon the CatTook Simon a long while to get used to Tiffany. He was scared of her.
Back then, Lin Lin didn’t know much about animal behavior but had read that sometimes older cats can be scared of kittens.
Simon had never really interacted with other cats before
Kept them separated for about a month
Used a baby gate
Always interaction with supervision

Bringing Niko the dog into the familyNiko was a shelter dog.
Had been fostered but had very bad kennel cough so it stressed him out
Was not planned to go home with Lin Lin but one thing lead to another and he was in the car ready to go to his foster home to recover from his kennel cough
But he never left!
The introduction to the cats went very poorly
Was only 6 months old and starting to be very hyperactive
Very reactive to the cats
Digging at the door to get to the cats if they were locked away

Finding solutions to the interactions between Niko and the catsNiko was already crate trained
Installed a baby gate for double protection
Focused on management
Niko could go about his business despite knowing the cats are in the house instead of trying to get at them

Baby gates/Locking in rooms – steps to cat-dog introductionMany steps before dogs and cats can interact if there are initial issues
Even a baby gate can be too fast, too soon
Need to teach Niko to settle on his own before introducing the cats further

Using the right kind of trainingStarted off with reactive training which produced a negative result
Increased levels of stress
Had to keep increasing the correction – obviously not working
Switched to positive reinforcement training
Things got better with the cats
Lin Lin read up on body language and learned to understand his behavior much more

Behavior focusFocus on behavior helped minimize blowups
Subtleties of body language helped signpost behavior before it escalated
Body language that doesn’t look problematic can be early indicator of behavior that will cause problems
Allowing both animals to feel safe to do normal things before introducing them
Otherwise very synthetic, one-side interaction
Different animals like different things
Simon likes to be chased by the dogs. Tiffany doesn’t.
Tiffany needs high places to feel safe when the dogs are in the room

Gradual introduction between Niko and the catsControlled the interaction distance
Baby gates
Holding the cats
Keeping the space regulated but decreasing the distance gradually
Sit in place and callback training for Niko

Allowing natural behaviorNiko has prey drive
Likes the chase but not so much the catch
Training that allows him to chase in a safe way

Introducing Sunny into the householdIntroduced during a time when Niko wasn’t doing well in his sports and Lin Lin was looking for a dog to do sports with
Sunny tried to play Simon who wasn’t scared of him
Sunny has displeasure in his elbow and needed surgery – recovery didn’t go as well as hoped
Had a limp and needed more surgery
Was crate-rested until two years old
Once Sunny was able to be released, he was suddenly a lot bigger than the others were used to
Introductions need to start over
Did a lot of focused training with him
Whiplash turn
Sit on mat

Training with SimonClicker training...