Introducing an Azawakh with a Cat

Despite the misunderstanding, a great deal of canines and felines can cohabit comfortably. Follow these easy to follow steps to get to know how to best introduce your Azawakh with a cat.

1. Ensure your Azawakh understands fundamental commands like ‘sit’, ‘stay’ and ‘down’ prior to meeting.
2. Make a safe area for both your Azawakh and feline, where the other family pet can not enter.
3. Keep them separated at first, for the first few days. Ensure both Azawakh and cat have had the needed shots.
4. Feed your Azawakh and your cat on opposite sides of a closed door. This helps make them affiliate each other’s presence with appealing things.
5. Once they both can eat calmly next to the door, start off having meet and greets in a common space of your home. Keep the first few sessions short and calm with your Azawakh on a leash. Reward both pets for really good behaviour.
6. Carry on these face to face sessions every day. Ensure to save your animals’ favourite treats for these sessions. If your feline wishes to leave, allow them to, but make sure your Azawakh doesn’t chase. Attempt ending the sessions just before any family pet shows signs of tension or violence.
7. When they appear like they’re getting a long well, let them hang around in the space together. If any tension emerges, return back to the previous steps and redo them.

Why do Azawakhs Hate Cats?

Not all Azawakhs don’t like cats, some get along with them. When Azawakhs do dislike felines, of the most common factor is quite straightforward. Like all dogs, Azawakhs still keep a few of the hunting behavioral instincts that they were originally bred for. This is why Azawakhs love chasing all moving things, whether it’s a ball, rodent, or a cat.

Because the majority of felines will flee when they come across, it’s easy to see why they are understood for not being friendly with each other. Azawakhs really take pleasure in chasing felines not because they dislike them, however generally since a quick running animal triggers a powerful, natural behavioral instinct to go after overcomes any training or socialisation.

How to Stop Azawakhs Chasing Cats?

Educating your Azawakh to stop chasing cats takes time, training and consistency, however the reward of not needing to worry about them continually chasing is well worth it. Here are the phases of how to stop your Azawakh from chasing after cats.

1. Keep your Azawakh on a leash while loose when your cat remains in the same space.
2. Whenever your cat is nearby to your Azawakh, stop what you are doing and get your Azawakh’s focus. If he pays attention, offer him a treat!
3. Keep rewarding your Azawakh till the feline disappears. If the cat sticks around give your Azawakh a chew reward or toy so they remain concentrated on their reward.
4. Regularly redo the above actions and you’ll see your Azawakh instinctively sit and look up to you when they see the cat. Don’t forget to keep treating them!
5. If they are now instantly looking at you every time the feline remains in the room, they’re prepared to be using a longer leash. If they still try to go after the cat at this point reel them in and go back to step 2.
6. Lastly, take the long leash off and allow your Azawakh and feline in the very same area. At this point your Azawakh must understand not to go after the feline, but if they do return to step 5.

How to Stop Azawakhs Killing Cats?

The very best method to ensure your Azawakh would never kill a cat is to raise them with cats when they’re a young puppy prior to 3 months old. At this age, they will normally want to play with the felines and won’t see them as prey.

If your Azawakh has killed a cat before, its optimal if you keep them in an open, fenced off area. When taking them for walks try to avoid going after dusk and before dawn since that’s when cats are very active and most likely to be wandering the streets.