Do Poodles Get Along with Cats? Detailed!

Yes, they do! But, like many dogs, poodles can be cat-aggressive.

The cause of this is usually territorial or status-related (if you think your dog “runs the house”, it will believe that it runs the yard too). It can also result from simple dislike; some cats and dogs just don’t like each other.

How to train your poodle to get along with cats?

It’s important to remember that your poodle needs to be taught how to behave around the cat. He’ll need to learn his place in the pack and who the top dog is. Don’t worry about him becoming too “submissive” either; this isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign that he respects his place in the pack.

1. The first step is to make sure your poodle knows you are the boss and the cat is a member of your pack, not a rival pack leader. While he’s eating or doing other enjoyable things, occasionally give the “pack leader” command, such as “sit”, while telling him to “leave it”.
2. If he obeys, praise him and give him a treat. If not, repeat the command until you get compliance. In this way, your poodle will learn that submissive responses are rewarded with treats or affection while dominant behavior gets him nothing.
3. Once your poodle has learned that being submissive is positively reinforced, never forget to reward him for good behavior. Be careful not to let him become the “pack leader” or dominant over you, however.
4. At this point, it is important to keep training session’s fun for your poodle. style=”font-family: Arial, serif;”> Don’t play formal games like fetch with him unless he’s in the mood, but do make sure that most of his day is spent having fun and playing with you.
5. Also, make sure your poodle isn’t allowed to act aggressively toward the cat. Yelling at him or using an undesirable punishment like squirt bottles can actually increase his dominance and aggressive tendencies. If you keep the training fun, he’ll be more likely to think that playing with the cat is just another game.
6. Another way to prevent the aggression is to engage your poodle in games with toys. If he has physical and mental exercise, chances are that he’ll be too tired or preoccupied with hunting his prey to bother the cat.
7. It’s also a good idea to “nip any incipient aggression in the bud” by sounding very serious about telling him “no”, then giving a firm interruption, such as clapping your hands or squirting him with water sprayer.

In the end, having a cat and a poodle together requires patience, time, training, and reinforcement of good behavior. With any luck, your poodle will learn to live in peace with his feline housemate.

Which Poodle Type Fits in Best with Cats?

It’s important to remember that not all poodles are as cat-friendly as others. If you have a breed with a history of being aggressive towards cats, such as the standard or miniature varieties, your chances of keeping your poodle and cat together is rather unlikely without a lot of training and reinforcement.

Toy and miniature poodles are bred for playfulness and friendliness towards other animals.

While it is unlikely that they will “get along” with cats by themselves without training or reinforcement, if you train your poodle properly to get along with the cat he’ll be fine in the long run.

Toy Poodles:

Toy poodles are bred as playmates for children. In fact, some toy poodle breeders even claim that their dogs have been “tested” and proven to be good with cats. While this is probably not true or scientifically accurate, it does indicate a certain friendliness in the dogs towards other animals.

Toy poodles are small, which means that they are probably less likely to scare or intimidate a cat. They also don’t have the same intense hunting instincts as larger dogs, so they prefer playing with humans instead of chasing animals around the backyard.

However, it is important to remember not to let your toy poodle be too rough with your cat. Even if he doesn’t mean to hurt the cat, his playfulness might frighten or even injure the animal.

Miniature Poodles:

While most miniature poodles are friendly with cats and other pets, this does not mean that they will get along without training or reinforcement of good behavior on your part.

As with all breeds, some miniature poodles are friendlier than others. But regardless of friendliness, you should not let your miniature poodle be unsupervised with the cat until you have trained him to behave around other animals and reinforced that behavior through lots of positive reinforcement.

Standard Poodle:

Standard poodles might require a bit more work on your part to get along with cats. They are bred for hunting and agility, and therefore do have the potential of chasing or even hurting a cat.

However, if you train your standard poodle to understand that he must respect the cat’s boundaries and not chase him around the house, he’ll have no problem getting along with your cat.

Introducing a Poodle into Your Home with Cats

If you already have a cat and are thinking about getting a poodle, there are a few things that you’ll want to keep in mind.

1. First of all, even if your poodle gets along with the cat he will probably not be interested in playing with him for very long. Cats generally want to play at night or when you’re not around, while poodles are usually stimulated by the presence of their owners.
2. Make sure your poodle has lots of toys to play with when you go out or are busy. If he doesn’t have physical and mental exercise, chances are that he’ll try to find something else to do – which might be at the expense of your cat.
3. You’ll also want to keep an eye on your poodle when he is in the presence of the cat. Make sure that you are there to supervise them, and be ready to break up any squabbles before they become too serious.
4. If your cat is an older one, or has health issues, it might be safest to keep them separated until you’re sure that your poodle will not hurt the cat.

Conclusion:

We hope you enjoyed our blog post about poodles and cats, why they don’t always get along, which type of poodle is best for your home with cats, and how to train your dog if he/she doesn’t already know the rules.

If you have any questions or need help introducing a new pet into your life with other pets in residence let us know! Our team would love to be able to provide some guidance so that all animals involved can live together peacefully.