Introducing a Havanese with a Cat

No matter the mistaken belief, a lot of dogs and cats can live together comfortably. Follow these easy to follow actions to understand how to best introduce your Havanese with a cat.

1. Make sure your Havanese understands fundamental commands like ‘sit’, ‘stay’ and ‘down’ before meeting.
2. Create a safe area for both your Havanese and cat, where the other family pet can not go into.
3. Keep them separated in the beginning, for the first couple of days. Ensure both Havanese and cat have had the required shots.
4. Feed your Havanese and your cat on opposite sides of a closed door. This helps make them associate each other’s presence with pleasurable things.
5. Once they both can eat calmly beside the door, start off having meet and greets in a common spot of your house. Keep the first few sessions short and calm with your Havanese on a leash. Award both animals for fantastic behaviour.
6. Proceed with these face to face sessions daily. Ensure to conserve your animals’ preferred treats for these sessions. If your feline wishes to leave, let them, however make sure your Havanese does not go after. Attempt ending the sessions before any family pet shows indications of stress or aggression.
7. When they look like they’re getting a long well, let them spend time in the room together. If any tension emerges, return back to the previous steps and redo them.

Why do Havaneses Hate Cats?

Not all Havaneses despise cats, some get along with them. When Havaneses do dislike cats, of the most common reason is quite simple. Like all canines, Havaneses still keep some of the hunting tendencies that they were originally reproduced for. This is why Havaneses love chasing all moving objects, whether it’s a ball, mouse, or a feline.

Considering that most felines will run away when they come across, it’s easy to see why they are known for not getting along with each other. Havaneses in fact take pleasure in chasing after cats not since they hate them, however generally because a fast running animal activates a powerful, natural impulse to chase after overcomes any training or socialisation.

How to Stop Havaneses Chasing Cats?

Teaching your Havanese to stop going after felines takes some time, training and consistency, but the reward of not needing to worry about them constantly going after is well worth it. Here are the actions of how to stop your Havanese from going after felines.

1. Keep your Havanese on a leash while loose when your feline is in the same room.
2. Whenever your cat is near to your Havanese, stop what you are doing and get your Havanese’s attention. If he pays attention, give him a reward!
3. Keep awarding your Havanese till the cat goes away. If the feline stays provide your Havanese a chew reward or toy so they remain focused on their treat.
4. Consistently repeat the above actions and you’ll see your Havanese instinctively sit and look up to you when they see the feline. Don’t forget to keep rewarding them!
5. If they are now immediately taking a look at you every time the feline is in the room, they’re ready to be utilizing a longer leash. If they still try to chase the feline at this point reel them in and go back to step 2.
6. Lastly, take the long leash off and allow your Havanese and cat in the very same area. At this point your Havanese should understand not to go after the cat, but if they do return to step 5.

How to Stop Havaneses Killing Cats?

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

If your Havanese has eliminated a feline in the past, its ideal if you keep them in an open, fenced off space. When taking them for strolls try to prevent going after sunset and before dawn since that’s when cats are very active and likely to be wandering the streets.