The Guild of Dog Trainers

Billie & Millie Being Silly!

By Ross McCarthy and Colin Tennant. Feline Behaviour Practitioners

We received a telephone call at the behaviour centre from Mrs Miller who was having trouble with her two cats since the arrival of Billie, a Jack Russell type Terrier whom she obtained as an eight week old puppy seven months ago. Mr and Mrs Miller had always had dogs and cats living together in their home and were most disturbed by the huge upheaval that they were suffering from with their current ‘family’. The two cats Figaro and Millie had moved to the upstairs areas of the house, refusing to come down until Billie was out of the way. Billie was enjoying all of the attention lavished on him during the day whilst the cats were nowhere to be seen. He also enjoyed barking at the cats should he see them through the stair banister, and Mrs Miller was sure that the cats enjoyed every moment of taunting Billie from a safe distance.

Although both of the cats were used to living with dogs, and indeed affectionately rubbed up against some visiting dogs their behaviour had changed a great deal with the presence of Billie. They now seemed, understandably, unhappy with their new routine dictated by the dog. They spent most of their time up on the beds and on occasion ran the gauntlet of sneaking downstairs past Billie to the great outdoors. This became the highlight of Billie’s day. On sight of Figaro or Millie he would give chase instantly, barking. He even quickly mastered the use of the cat flap at top speed, the only thing he hadn’t managed to master was the fence climbing bit, much to the delight of the cats!

David and Barbara Miller came to the centre for a consultation in company with Millie and Billie (safely kept apart for the duration of the journey!) We discussed further with the Hart’s the problem and it was clear that this situation was extremely stressful and had been going on for the last seven months and they simply could not continue like this for the safety and sanity of all involved. Barbara kept referring to a comment made by a well meaning friend “Jack Russell’s kill cats” This was the main fear and the reason why the cats and the dog had never been introduced when the dog was a young puppy.

Billie appeared a friendly, sociable little dog and Millie a very friendly and confident cat. Millie remained in her cat basket for the first part of our consultation and Billie secured on his lead. As Billie was uncontrollable and time was of the essence because the cats may have left home for good, Billie was conditioned to the sound of some Mikki dog training discs and their meaning of ‘NO’ whilst the cat was in another room.

We then needed to go about testing the dog and the cat to see what the intent was and to interrupt the pursuit behaviour of Billie. Barbara released Billie from his lead whilst Millie was still secure in her basket. Billie went straight up to the basket in a very excited and inquisitive manner. Barbara used the training discs and commanded the dog away from the cat. Billie responded and returned to her side.

Barbara was then asked to open the door on the cat basket and Billie quickly went over to dominate & investigate. He sniffed at the basket and as he attempted to go in Barbara again used the discs and called Billie away. Millie the cat was then brought out of the basket and placed on the floor in the consulting room. Billie continued to sit underneath the chair of Barbara.

Something strange then happened. The cat approached the dog; much to the confusion of the dog. Billie had become so used to the chase behaviour and the pursuit of the cats that this situation was unusual to say the least and he was quite unsure of what to do next. Millie then confidently approached Billie and rubbed herself around him constantly, back and forth purring. The confusion and discomfort on the dogs face was very obvious, moreover the trepidation that David, Barbara, Colin and myself all felt was equal to Billie’s. This was one of the tense moments in pet behaviour; chance and reality combined.

We continued this socialisation for some time with Billie accepting the cats close proximity. They then moved around the office slowly. As Millie moved away from Billie, he then saw his chance and made a slight nip towards the cat. Millie then responded to this with a bunch of fives around the dogs face. Her timing was excellent. There were no claws, just a couple of hard pats to Billie’s cheek. Nobody was left wondering who the boss in this relationship was going to be. After his stern lesson from the cat, this young Jack Russell began to enjoy the interaction with the cat, although still a little puzzled looking at the broken routine of you run and I’ll chase. Each time Billie got a little too big for his boots, Millie would soon reinforce the rules as the feline empire struck back.

After about half an hour or so, Billie and Millie were happy to ignore each other and settle down.

Barbara and David were amazed and extremely pleased to have all of their pets in their company and the thought that they have hope of creating a calm, happy home once more. This was the first time that Billie had been anywhere near the cats without giving chase.

We then spoke at length with David and Barbara with regard to continuing at home with the controlled interaction and not allowing Billie to persist with his learnt routine. We imparted programmes and advice that should be followed to ensure smooth introduction with Figaro the other cat and indeed both cats at one time.

Three weeks after the consultation we received a letter from David and Barbara detailing their progress. Billie and both of the cats now have a very calm relationship and share at least one ‘kiss’ per day. The cats have returned to their happy selves and join the family downstairs in the evening for their nightly cuddles. They also eat downstairs again happily and the tiresome routine of keeping cats and dogs separate is a thing of the past. Barbara wrote that in her view it is mission completed.