# Does your GSD get along with cats?



## RileyandSadie (Dec 26, 2014)

Does your GSD get along with cats?

When we bought our land we knew we wanted to get a GSD but every time we went to a shelter or looked up a rescue, we kept running across ones that weren't good with cats. I breed/show cats so that was a deal breaker for me, so even though we didn't really want to go through the puppy phase... We figured that would be the best option to have a GSD we could trust around the cats. Even still though, we don't let the dogs around the cats without supervision, but they don't seem to care about them.

So I'm just curious about other GSD that are good around cats & if it was cause they grew up around them?


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## Tattersail (Feb 5, 2014)

We had the same problems as you trying to find a rescue GSD that was good with cats (as we have a 16y/o at home) but no luck. We ended up getting a Shiloh Shepherd pup, but growing up with that cat and being taught the rules right from the start helped immensely. Now they can be caught snuggling on the dog bed or couch . At 12 months she still needs to be reminded every so often to leave the cat alone, but often that's also a reminder for me that I need to get her out to PLAY!


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## JeanKBBMMMAAN (May 11, 2005)

My German Shepherd is wonderful with cats - that is why I got her! I had tried to adopt a different dog from a rescue, and oh my gosh, it was awful - in 3 days my cat stayed upstairs, in the back of a closet, and that dog tried to climb the bannister to get her. This is a more dog than cat kind of dog, who has never had a problem with any dog before or since - she knew. So back to the rescue and the foster ended up adopting her. 

When the foster brought Bella to visit, my cat came right down to see her and rubbed against her, and Bella just sat quietly. Bella had a lot of other issues with fear, but I would rather have those than to worry about my cat's life. 

Bella also won't herd sheep, so there is a trade off perhaps in some drives  but I am fine with having a mellow girl. A rescue that has foster homes with cats will be your best bet. My fosters were always yes to cats, no to kids, many thanks to my cat helping to teach them cat manners. 

What kind of cats?


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## Augustine (Nov 22, 2014)

That's exactly why I wanted to get a puppy, too. It was hard enough finding GSDs that were safe around cats (most would either kill or chase them), but most of the shelters were also quite busy and never got back to us.

We're really lucky that we ended up with a pup that was younger than we had first heard, because from what I can see she DEFINITELY has a fairly high prey drive and I am 99% sure that she would act predatory around cats if she hadn't been raised with ours from such a young age.

Butters is great with our cats; loves playing with them, snuggling with them, and is SUPER respectful of our elder cat (who doesn't really like dogs). The only problem is she is a neck-biter, but she does that with everyone, animal and human, so we're making sure to teach her not to to ensure that she doesn't accidentally hurt one of them.

She's actually BFFs with our male kitten, Robin, too.  She treats him like a litter mate, always wanting to play with him, licking his mouth, grooming him, wanting to lay with him, etc. 

Ideally, you'll want to try and find a dog/puppy with a lower prey drive than Butters because in any situation other than my own, I'd never trust a high prey drive dog around my kitties. It might take some time to find one, but they're definitely out there.


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## RileyandSadie (Dec 26, 2014)

JeanKBBMMMAAN said:


> My German Shepherd is wonderful with cats - that is why I got her! I had tried to adopt a different dog from a rescue, and oh my gosh, it was awful - in 3 days my cat stayed upstairs, in the back of a closet, and that dog tried to climb the bannister to get her. This is a more dog than cat kind of dog, who has never had a problem with any dog before or since - she knew. So back to the rescue and the foster ended up adopting her.
> 
> When the foster brought Bella to visit, my cat came right down to see her and rubbed against her, and Bella just sat quietly. Bella had a lot of other issues with fear, but I would rather have those than to worry about my cat's life.
> 
> ...


Birmans

Yeah, our two seem pretty mellow so far but in our situation it's probably best. I figure the dogs keep the cat socialized too  Our oldest cat is curious but won't have anything to do with the dogs, I only have one cat willing to let the dogs get close so he's been really good at teaching them manners. My other cats are curious but that is mostly just checking out the dog crates when they aren't in them


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## Kyleigh (Oct 16, 2012)

Kyleigh doesn't really get along with cats. She was a brat with my last cat (he was 18 years old she was a puppy ... so no small surprise there.)

She also has very high prey drive and LOVES LOVES LOVES to chase.

I worked SUPER HARD on impulse control and a BOMB PROOF down and place command before I brought another cat into the house (1.5 years later). 

Raylan is 1/2 himalayan and 1/2 siamese and a total brat to the dog. He's not a kitten though, he's about 4 years old. He hisses at her almost every time he walks by, and Ky's not doing anything, simply in a down / place command and minding her own business. 

I've had the cat about 3 months now and the hissing has dropped to about once or twice a day instead of 30 times a day. 

The only reason that cat is still alive? ME training the dog that she CANNOT move under any circumstances while she is in place or down. 

And MAJOR training with impulse control. 

I would NEVER leave them out unsupervised ... mainly because I don't trust the cat to leave her alone LOL

So, in my opinion, you CAN get pretty much any GSD to co-exist with a cat ... but it won't necessarily be blissful!

I can sit on the couch and kyleigh laying on her bed, and the cat can walk all over the place, run, play with his toy, and Ky won't do anything ... but that took major work!


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## Kaimeju (Feb 2, 2013)

My dog is a rescue and is good with our cat. She will chase strange cats she sees outside, though. We introduced them slowly and made sure they each had their own "space" and were never left unsupervised for several months. She is extremely tolerant of the cat now. Like Jean's dog, she is mellow and not drivey at all. The cat often rubs against her and tries to play with her. The only thing we have to watch is food guarding tendencies, but honestly the cat has never been in danger with her. I do think when it's a new dog you have to be really vigilant. It took a while to see how she would react to all of the cat's ...uh... rainbow of behaviors.


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## trcy (Mar 1, 2013)

My GSD was raised with my cat. He is fine with her. My cat is 20 years old and does not move fast. So, there is nothing fun to chase about her. She is also deaf. So, she can't hear him barking trying to get her to play. She does love when he nibbles at her neck though. She pushes up into him and purrs. 

My mother has young agile cats. They do run from him and he would love to give chase, but he stops at the correction.


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## Cheyanna (Aug 18, 2012)

Fiona was raised with a cat at her breeder's. She chased the cat, and the cat would just get on the other side of the fence and stare at her. So no cats when I brought Fiona home.


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## warpwr (Jan 13, 2011)

I like this picture, not mine but one of my favorites.

Our shepherds have always loved our cats too though.
Miss Molly with Foxy and Graphite...


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## car2ner (Apr 9, 2014)

We brought our pup home at 8 weeks and have raised him with the cat. We cannot leave them alone together and live almost completely separate lives. No matter how much we tried to teach Patton that he was to leave the cat alone he still wants to chase her. Now if only we could teach our cat to be boring around the dog all would be well. If the cat would just sit there and not hiss, Patton gets bored and moves on to something else.


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## JeanKBBMMMAAN (May 11, 2005)

I think puppies are more of a potential risk than a rescue fostered in a home with cats for sure, though often rescue foster home cats are more cat than dog! 

I have a Birman! I got him from rescue, he'd been taken off the adoption floor for aggression in a busy shelter in OH. They had not seen any aggression from him while in rescue, and my other cat can be very aggressive to people, so I really didn't care. He was great at the home visit, but then was dog aggressive, which was really interesting. So the GSD in my first post and I worked on desensitizing him, her at long distances in a down, him getting treats, working up proximity. Never thought I'd be doing that with a cat, but now he is outstanding with the dogs! They are gorgeous cats and so sweet.


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## RileyandSadie (Dec 26, 2014)

JeanKBBMMMAAN said:


> I think puppies are more of a potential risk than a rescue fostered in a home with cats for sure, though often rescue foster home cats are more cat than dog!
> 
> I have a Birman! I got him from rescue, he'd been taken off the adoption floor for aggression in a busy shelter in OH. They had not seen any aggression from him while in rescue, and my other cat can be very aggressive to people, so I really didn't care. He was great at the home visit, but then was dog aggressive, which was really interesting. So the GSD in my first post and I worked on desensitizing him, her at long distances in a down, him getting treats, working up proximity. Never thought I'd be doing that with a cat, but now he is outstanding with the dogs! They are gorgeous cats and so sweet.


One of the reasons we liked Birmans is because they are dog like. I had to start learning to leave the toilet lid down otherwise he'd try to drink out of it and the kids learned to put up their important stuff after having to tell the teacher the cat ate their homework. But they will greet me at the door and I love it. My husband, he even taught the cat to play tag. It's funny cause when I tell people that I breed/show cats people peg me for a "crazy cat lady" which to an extent I am.... But really, I'm a Birman and big dog type of person. ?


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## igottabecrazy (May 24, 2013)

Indie (22 months) still chases the cats (4 years old). The cats were already here when we got Indie. The cats are not at all afraid of her. The seek her out, taunt her, then run. The dog had never shown any aggression toward them, although about a year ago, she body pinned one and peed on him. When she does corner them, she gives them a good "bath". 

The chasing was very bad in the beginning. The cats have learned to mostly move slowly around her and Indie has matured (a little). 

Funny part is that she pays very little attention to cats when we are out walking. 

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## dogfaeries (Feb 22, 2010)

I wish my GSDs and Siamese cats could all be in the same room, but it's just not happening. One on one is possible, if I'm right there supervising. But 3 GSDs and 2 Siamese together? No way.

If the meezers had a different (tougher) personality it would be easier, but these silly Siamese won't stand up to the dogs at all. No hissing, no slapping, no biting. They sort of want to play with the dogs, but have no clue. The cats aren't afraid, but want to run, which sets everyone off. 

So the Siamese have their own room, with a cute retro loveseat, a little HD TV (hooked up to an Apple TV  ), a vintage floor lamp, big cat climbing tree, and a window to look out on the backyard. It's been named "The Kitty Lounge". I hang out in there and watch Netflix with them, lol. They do get to go in the rest of the house too. Dogs outside. Cats free. Dogs inside. Cats in their room. Not ideal, but it works.

I confess it was much easier when I had Dobermans with cats. None of the three Dobes ever gave my cats a hard time. Odd...


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## Dainerra (Nov 14, 2003)

Coda hoping no one sees him hanging out with a dog


Singe just belched in Coda's face

Now, it was a huge ?? whether they would ever get along. 
Singe was in a house with cats until 9 weeks old but hadn't seen a cat since.
Coda was a gangling stray kitten that showed up on our porch.

At first, Singe was just friendly curiosity. Then Coda tore his nose open for getting too close. So Singe decided that this fuzzy interloper needed to die RIGHT NOW.
Coda ran; Singe chased. Coda got his claw stuck inside Singe's nostril. 

blood every where and screaming cat and howling dog. and they've been friends ever since.

Not an introduction method that I would recommend.


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## Daisy (Jan 4, 2009)

Female, no issues with my 4 cats. Male, cats are not happening. They stay separated and only one is brave enough to venture out. I will put the male in his kennel so the cats can have free time. He isn't purposefully mean, but becomes fixated and can't leave them alone. Also, if swatted at by a cat, he won't retreat, but will defend himself.


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## GSDhistorian (Aug 30, 2014)

To be honest, my female German shepherd likes cats better then other dogs. She is a dominant alpha female that really does not like other dogs, but is super sweet and gentle with cats.


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## Shade (Feb 20, 2012)

Delgado's breeder also bred cats, there was one cat who was notorious for hopping over the fence into the puppy pen and curling up with them. I have a photo somewhere of it and it's really cute. Koda is great around dogs, he either ignores or stands right up to them. Zazu runs if he gets scared or nervous which prompts a chase, Jazzy was taught to chase by my previous roommates dog but thankfully grew out of that. Delgado still loves to chase but a sharp 'leave it' has him backing off right away. 

I don't believe he'd ever deliberately hurt a cat, Koda will lie on Delgado's front paws and bat at his face and Delgado just lies there. He's very gentle and has never bitten or nipped them, he just loves to chase - he thinks they're trying to initiate a game. I've left him unsupervised for short periods of time but not for more than a hour yet just to be safe


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## Galathiel (Nov 30, 2012)

I have a 20 month old male GSD. While I wouldn't call their relationship "great", I see the potential for it to get there eventually when he matures a bit more. He has good impulse control and doesn't give chase when she gets the crazies and tears off, although he will whine about it. Our Persian is the single thing he gets in trouble the most for ... he is just too into her business and she finds it quite offensive (as any self respecting cat would .. SHE is supposed to make all overtures).

If he is lying quietly, she'll come and rub against his face. Of course, then she gets mad if he sniffs her in return.

Cats.


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

Gryffon is wonderful with my cats! I got him at six months old, and being good with cats was an important requirement I had for the breeder. The cats just love him too! They play sweetly and curl up and nap together. He is also the self-appointed cat nurse, cleaning and licking their wounds until they are healed up if they got into a cat fight with a neighborhood cat or with some other critter. I didn't have to teach how to behave with the cats, he just is good and sweet with them by nature. Even my Spawn of Satan Evil Alien Psycho cat who hates everybody and everything likes Gryff, and vice versa. I mean, this cat will actually sniff noses with him without trying to take his eye out! Amazing! 

These are of Voodoo and Pisces - the nice normal cats, enjoying their cuddle time with him. 







.


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## dogfaeries (Feb 22, 2010)

This is as relaxed as it gets at our house, with cats and dogs together...


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## dogfaeries (Feb 22, 2010)

Castlemaid said:


> These are of Voodoo and Pisces - the nice normal cats, enjoying their cuddle time with him.



I'm jealous!!!


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## Chicagocanine (Aug 7, 2008)

My GSD Bianca was great with my cats. I got her when she was 4 years old, but she had been raised with cats in her previous home. That was one big requirement I had since between my brother and I we had 7 cats when I got Bianca! 
I am still working on getting my new Beauceron puppy to behave around the cats. I got him at ~7 months and he hadn't been around cats since he was 8 weeks old. He's not aggressive with them, he just gets really excited and plays too rough.

Here are a few pics of Bianca and my cats:


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## Jayfeather (Dec 28, 2014)

Koda has known cats all his life. The breeder had cats, and we also have two. We thought that it wouldn't be so bad because of this, and because our Persian is the sweetest, mellowest kitty you could imagine, and the other is the big mean scary one that chased two big dogs out of our garden once. However, when we brought Koda home from the breeder, he turned out to really like cats. He would pounce on them and chase them, not to be mean but because he wanted to play. So the cats retreated upstairs and have stayed there for the past 8 months. The Persian finally dared to come down a couple weeks ago, and Koda is doing a lot better with not chasing them.


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## flyfisher22 (Feb 28, 2011)

I raised a GSD (high prey drive) from 8 weeks old with my cats and it was always an uptight situation, she never attacked but would always chase/play too rough. They could never be left alone. I now have a female that I adopted at 3 years old and she is absolutely perfect with my cats. Nice to see them get some freedom back in the house.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

I've had cats and GSDs for 28 years, and I've never NOT had to work at it pretty hard to make sure my kitties stayed safe. It was a long, slow process, but they do get along. My first GSD Sneaker used to play with my kitty Punkin, who would wrap herself around Sneaker's legs and bite at her. 

Cassidy was the most difficult because she was 20 weeks old when we got her, she had no training or manners, and was only around Punkin for a few months. After Punkin died I didn't have a cat for 6 months. When I got Elvis as a kitten he lived in the cat room for the first 4 months, and I did daily supervised visits with Cassidy. I got Emmy a little less than a year later. They learned when she was likely to try and chase them, and when they could come up and rub against her face. They knew all the escape routes, and that simply jumping up on a table would turn off her prey drive and make them equals vs being at floor level. 

I lost Elvis a year ago, but still have Emmy, so she's grown up with dogs virtually her whole life, which really helps. Having a dog savvy cat and adding a puppy is much easier than trying to add a cat to a dog that has never been around them before. I do not leave mine alone when we're not home, and the cat room has a baby gate so Emmy can eat and use her litterbox in peace.


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## Girl_Loves_Hydraulics (Apr 13, 2014)

Lena yes, Della still working on it. They both are very interested in the cats. Lena though is a pro at "Leave It" and does this most of the time. Della, on the other hand, is excitable. She never tries to hurt the cats, but she does try to sniff their butts like it's going out of style. This then excites her and she tries to engage in play/chase behavior. But of course the cats have no idea what is going on. That is why I gave my cats TONS of vertical space. Shelves on the walls and lots of cat towers. Plus, they have exclusive access to the 2nd story of my house. That way, if Della is just being a bug that day, they can go elsewhere. I have a private trainer coming over in the next 2 weeks though, to sort of "help" me along with this. What's funny is Lena tries to correct Della when she does not "Leave It". She will scruff Della at the back (never hard actually pretty gentle) and then releases when Della does as she wants. My male cat tends to be a little better with the dogs due to his size, and even likes to sneak up on them and scare them on occasion. My female though is very petite and is much more recluse.


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## car2ner (Apr 9, 2014)

Sometimes our cat hangs out in our dog's crate. I think she might just be trying to physic him out. (grin) 

Yesterday she as in there when the dog came bouncing into the room. OOPS! They were face to face and thank God the cat froze. We pulled our dog away and the cat took refuge under our bed.


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## Pawsed (May 24, 2014)

We have almost always had GSD's and cats. They always got along amazingly well.

The best relationship, though, was with our first GSD, many years ago. When she was 2 or 3 years old, we got a Siamese kitten. She immediately adopted the kitten as her "pup". She was spayed and had never had a litter, but she actually nursed this kitten every night when we went to bed. She carried her kitten everywhere, by putting it's entire head in her mouth. That was pretty disturbing to our friends at first, and the poor cat had a totally slimey head until the dog decided she was too big for that.

Being raised by a dog, I think the cat thought it was a dog, too. We all went camping and hiking together, the dog following us, the cat following her. They were truly a special pair.


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## WateryTart (Sep 25, 2013)

RileyandSadie said:


> Does your GSD get along with cats?
> 
> When we bought our land we knew we wanted to get a GSD but every time we went to a shelter or looked up a rescue, we kept running across ones that weren't good with cats. I breed/show cats so that was a deal breaker for me, so even though we didn't really want to go through the puppy phase... We figured that would be the best option to have a GSD we could trust around the cats. Even still though, we don't let the dogs around the cats without supervision, but they don't seem to care about them.
> 
> So I'm just curious about other GSD that are good around cats & if it was cause they grew up around them?


Define "getting along"...

My puppy loves our cats. One of them varies from indifferent to taunting to curiosity. The other two hate the puppy. She would love to be friends and play, but they don't speak dog and find play bows and puppy woofs alarming. She chases, but it's not to harm, it's to investigate and play. Needless to say, though, we put a stop to this for the cats' sake.

We've watched her on several occasions interacting with cats who do like dogs, and she's behaved perfectly: playful but calm and nonaggressive. I once watched her lie down next to a crate to allow the kitten inside to lick her ear. So I don't think the GSD is the problem, it's our particular cats.

My husband's stipulation for a GSD was a puppy, because of the cats. For what that's worth. It hasn't worked out where they're all friends, but I don't worry about her chasing them down and harming them.


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## gsdlover91 (Jul 21, 2012)

Nope. Mines not. He was raised around them and everything. Things were good until he was about 6 months and his prey drive got triggered or something. He does fine with cats that hold their ground and don't run, but if they run, he chases after them a bit too intensely for my liking.


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## Gharrissc (May 19, 2012)

Yes, it is non negotiable here.


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## kelliewilson (Jan 1, 2015)

mine is the same way, one cat is loud and will hiss and scratch him. he will run from that one, other will run and its a mess


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## LynneLittlefield (Nov 30, 2012)

️Luna loves her kitten


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## LynneLittlefield (Nov 30, 2012)

A few more


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## andrea04 (Feb 2, 2014)

Our 2 older cats are set in their ways and want nothing to do with Lucie. But our 8 mo old siamese and Lucie are best pals


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

First dog we adopted was a 5 month old GSD mix. He learned quickly he had to be nice to the cats. The most he would do after a point was chase and make a whole lot of noise to make them stay away from him. 

Second dog we adopted was Zena, PB GSD. She was and is excellent with cats. She actually raised two kittens for us. She was never cat tested. She's perfect with kids and cats. Tolerates other dogs as long as she still gets to be the boss. 

My current female GSD is very laid back and after one of the cats attached themselves to her face when she was about 4 months old, she's been extremely respectful of the cats. She's not an issue. She just gets this horrified look on her face when they rub up on her or cuddle with her now lol. 

Dax is more energetic and prey driven but he's also respectful of the cats. He has pretty solid self control most of the time. He wants to play with them more than anything but he hasn't really connected that he needs to be easier on them than he is when he and Shasta wrestle. The most he's done with the cats is chase them when they run and bat at them with his paw trying to convince them to play. 

Both of my current dogs sleep out in our room at night and the cats come and go. Never an issue. 

I've had cats my whole life and that's not going to change because a dog comes in who can't mind their manners with the cats. I won't keep animals in the house who can't get along. It causes more stress to keep everyone out of trouble than it does for everyone to live together nicely.


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## ofl52 (Apr 11, 2013)

That was one of the reasons I needed a puppy and not a grown dog...My cats and even if the dog was okay with cats the cats might not have been okay with the dog and so it was important for me to start out with a young puppy. All my cats (22 all spay/neutered) are rescue and mostly live outside since some are feral. I needed a dog to help me protect them as well due to the coyote problems we have around here. I have a fenced yard to keep the coyotes out more than anything else-along with protection in the hay barns.

I got my GSD at 8weeks, he will be 2yrs in Feb, he grew up with my cats and protect them and he has bonded with them. A few of the cats have bonded with him in weird ways-kinda funny to watch the interaction-especially when one of them latches on a nipple-oddly enough he lets him for a second or two.
It is a blast to watch Skipper'D try to get the cats to chase him-he loves to be chased and to watch him play tug-O-war with a toy with one of the cats. A lot of the cats will go with us when we go on hikes and both the dog/cats act like a pack to some degree.

He does protect them, however, he will chase them on occasion if they run and he does go after a couple of the strays that show up-he doesn't like them around-as well as break up cat fights.

Overall, I am happy with how he interacts and have never seen him get aggressive with any of them-even when a cat hurt him when they get too rough-He does have some food aggression with the other dog-but not with the cats-he lets them eat out of his food bowl.


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## gsdsar (May 21, 2002)

I have had puppies and young adults integrate fine with my cats. Though the hardest has been my girl Lena. She really wants to chase them. But nothing unmanageable, and I don't fear for my cats safety. 

I have had a few fosters that I designated "can get along with cats in an experienced home" and about 2 that I have flat said " heck no to cats". 

But for the most part, it's a lot if training and work. 

But here is my boy, with his bestest friend.


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

Robyn disappears every now and then upstairs...





Or they come down to visit...


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