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I have a question about German Shepherds and cats. I am wanting to adopt a rescued German Shepherd. The only problem is, all of the rescues that I am coming across are suggested not to be around cats because they might harm the cat. I have a cat, Alex, who is my buddy that has been with me since 2006. I would really like to adopt a rescue who needs a loving home and not buy a puppy from a breeder. Has anyone else ever found themselves in this position? What did you do?
I have always wanted a German Shepherd, and now I have the house, the property, and the means to have one, but have been looking for over a year for a rescue that isn't aggressive towards cats.
I live in East Tennessee. Does anyone have any suggestions or guidance for finding a rescued German Shepherd in this area?
Checking listings for east TN on petfinder.com, I do see several that have the no cat icon, but also some that don't. Have you been inquiring about the others? Have you contacted the GSD rescue about looking for a dog that is good with cats? Also,if you're willing to travel, you might be able to get one from a rescue farther away.
I've always had shelter dogs rather than dogs from small foster based rescues, so I haven't been through the hassle some people have experienced with them, but a dog in foster with cats would be what you are looking for. Shelters often do have some foster homes too, so don't rule out checking their listings. Good luck to you!
I have a question about German Shepherds and cats. I am wanting to adopt a rescued German Shepherd. The only problem is, all of the rescues that I am coming across are suggested not to be around cats because they might harm the cat. I have a cat, Alex, who is my buddy that has been with me since 2006. I would really like to adopt a rescue who needs a loving home and not buy a puppy from a breeder. Has anyone else ever found themselves in this position? What did you do?
I have always wanted a German Shepherd, and now I have the house, the property, and the means to have one, but have been looking for over a year for a rescue that isn't aggressive towards cats.
I live in East Tennessee. Does anyone have any suggestions or guidance for finding a rescued German Shepherd in this area?
I think it all depends on the dog no matter what kind of breed. I adopted a pair of German shepherd dogs. I don't have any cat. My best friend has two. I brought my female over. So far, she has been very afraid of cats and running away from them or hid from them. The cats stood up and my GSD would lie down. If the cat approached, my GSD would run for the door. But based on my female GSD's personality, I won't let her interact with anything without me around. She can be aggressive when she feels cornered. But I also know if properly introduced, she will be fine with my friend's cats.
Now my male GSD is just a teddy bear. He is gentle with anything. He has no problem with cats. He just sat and watched and let them approach. They are friends now.
The only advice I can give you is to talk to local or not so local rescue groups and they may have one GSD that are friendly to cats. The rescue that gave me the male (no cost associated with the adoption) was desperate to find him a home and they basically persuaded me to take him. I adopted female from them. They like the result. But I have two dogs already. Three was not in my plan and a bit overwhelming for me. But he is such a sweet heart. My neighbor kids now take turn to walk him and brush him (I pay them $5 per walk or brush with the approval from parents).
Like anything in our life, if we want to achieve something, we need to work harder or search harder. Keep the communication going. If they have one cat friendly GSD, they will be happy to know that you are available.
I have had three Shepherd, including my present one, and trust me, they hate cats.
They would kill if they could.
It is the nature of the beast.
My second Shepherd was a shelter adoption, and she had the potential to be a killer not only of cats,but dogs also.
She obviously had a terrible life before I came along.
She was of the age where re-training was not an option.
I kept her on a very tight rein.
Bob.
If the tag says, "no cats", it means, "no cats". Don't even take the chance.
As someone else suggested, you will probably have to wait until you find a younger one...and trust me, you will find younger ones. Just keep checking the site.
It is entirely possible to train these dogs to get along with cats, not all of them are anxious cat killers. It's best to start them when they are young because the cat has an advantage to teach the dog/puppy themselves with a good ol' swipe to the snout if they get out of line.
I have two hoodlums, (who were rescued by me), who are herding/retriever mixes and the boy would probably have grown up to be a cat killer had he not been trained to respect them when he was a pup, (three months old). He still likes to "herd" them so I teach him as if the cats were sheep. And if the cat has had enough, the cat will let the dog know it.
I take being marked as aggressive towards cats very VERY serious, and would never adopt a shepherd that the shelter or rescue says is aggressive towards cats.
I have owned nearly 50 German Shepherd Dogs and not one of them would harm a cat. None chased chickens, none chased sheep. All of them lived with horses, cattle, sheep, ducks, chickens, pet rabbits........
Dogs must be trained to be reliable around small critters. If you are capable of training a too smart, clever dog, who is eager to please, then your cat should be safe enough.
Don't take a dog who is a proven cat killer. Some dogs are trained to kill cats. (sad to say, that is true). Don't leave the dog and cat unattended together.
The German Shepherd is one of the easiest breeds to train, but they must be trained. They don't read minds so that they can guess what pleases you; you must explain to them what you want. (Actually, they do appear to read minds, but that was not what you were asking about)
I think Shepherds in general have a high prey drive and will generally attack a small animal or cat, but typically a cat he/she doesn't know. Most wouldn't attack members of their family. But this full-grown GSD wouldn't know your cat so it would definitely be a risk. I would get a GSD puppy, if he grows up with the cat he should be fine, but you should always provide the cat an easy escape route via baby-gate or pet door etc that the dog wont be able to access once he grows a bit.
We adopted a dog about 7 months ago who seems eager to chase the cat and are unsure if it would result in aggression so we provide separate space for the cat and have not had any major problems. Our new puppy on the other hand gives the cat her space and doesn't seem interested in chasing etc.
PS: my neighbor's cat got into a GSD's yard down the street and was killed.
I agree with the suggestion to keep looking for either a GSD that's been in a foster home with cats and proven to be stable around them, or look for a puppy.
I've had Rottweilers (also a high-prey-drive breed, also with a tendency to be animal-aggressive) for 28 years, always with cats in the house. And I have fostered dozens of dogs, including Rottweilers and quite a few pit bulls. One of my main criteria for fostering was: the dog MUST be proven OK with cats.
My current Rottweiler grew up with cats and my two indoor cats are "his." Unfortunately, I fear that introducing a new cat would be really challenging with him. He has a fierce prey drive. But he is absolutely neutral towards the two house cats, they can even walk right over his head while he's eating and he doesn't care. My previous two Rottweilers also grew up with cats and would share a dog bed or the couch with them.
Texknox, another factor is, how will your cat be with a dog in the house? That is also a huge factor in how the dog will act. A cat that is outright aggressive, or shrieks and runs at the sight of a dog, is surely going to provoke a confrontation of some sort by stimulating the dog. A cat who is neutral, or confident and bossy, tends not to trigger a response from an excitable dog. Is your cat used to dogs at all?
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