Introducing an Otterhound with a Cat

No matter the mistaken belief, a lot of pet dogs and felines can live together in harmony. Follow these easy to follow steps to get to know how to best introduce your Otterhound with a feline.

1. Ensure your Otterhound understands fundamental commands like ‘sit’, ‘stay’ and ‘down’ before meeting.
2. Create a safe space for both your Otterhound and feline, where the other pet can not go into.
3. Keep them separated initially, for the very first couple of days. Ensure both Otterhound and cat have had the required shots.
4. Feed your Otterhound and your cat on opposite sides of a closed door. This makes them affiliate each other’s existence with appealing things.
5. Once they both can ingest calmly next to the door, start having meet and greets in a common area of your house. Keep the first couple of sessions brief and calm with your Otterhound on a leash. Award both pets for very good behaviour.
6. Proceed these face to face sessions every day. Make certain to save your pets’ favourite treats for these sessions. If your feline wishes to leave, allow them to, but make sure your Otterhound does not chase after. Attempt ending the sessions just before any pet shows indications of tension or aggression.
7. When they look like they’re getting a long well, allow them to spend time in the space together. If any stress emerges, return back to the previous actions and repeat them.

Why do Otterhounds Hate Cats?

Not all Otterhounds hate felines, some get along with them. When Otterhounds do hate cats, of the most typical reason is quite straightforward. Like all dogs, Otterhounds still keep some of the hunting tendencies that they were initially reproduced for. This is why Otterhounds like chasing all moving objects, whether it’s a toy, mouse, or a cat.

Since most felines will escape when they encounter, it’s easy to see why they are known for not being friendly with each other. Otterhounds really delight in chasing after felines not since they dislike them, however mainly since a fast running animal activates a powerful, natural behavioral instinct to go after overcomes any training or socialisation.

How to Stop Otterhounds Chasing Cats?

Training your Otterhound to quit chasing cats takes some time, training and consistency, however the benefit of not having to stress over them constantly going after is well worth it. Here are the steps of how to stop your Otterhound from chasing cats.

1. Keep your Otterhound on a leash while loose when your cat remains in the same room.
2. Whenever your feline is near to your Otterhound, stop what you are doing and get your Otterhound’s attention. If he pays attention, offer him a treat!
3. Keep rewarding your Otterhound up until the cat disappears. If the cat sticks around provide your Otterhound a chew treat or toy so they remain concentrated on their reward.
4. Regularly redo the above steps and you’ll see your Otterhound instinctively sit and look up to you when they see the feline. Do not forget to keep rewarding them!
5. If they are now automatically looking at you each time the cat remains in the space, they’re all set to be using a longer leash. If they still attempt to go after the cat at this point reel them in and go back to step 2.
6. Last but not least, take the long leash off and permit your Otterhound and feline in the same space. At this point your Otterhound need to understand not to chase after the cat, but if they do return to step 5.

How to Stop Otterhounds Killing Cats?

The very best approach to guarantee your Otterhound would never kill a feline is to raise them with cats when they’re a young puppy prior to 3 months old. At this age, they will usually want to play with the felines and will not see them as prey.

If your Otterhound has killed a feline previously, its best if you keep them in an open, enclosed area. When taking them for walks try to stop going after sunset and prior to dawn since that’s when cats are very active and likely to be roaming the streets.