There is undoubtedly no precise answer to the question “Are Dobermans Good With Cats?” This article primarily revolves around having a Doberman and a cat in the same vicinity. It provides valuable information to dog owners with friendly advice, tips, and answers to dog-related questions.
If you see your Dobie chasing other people’s cats, you should consider taking some action. Usually, Dobermans are predatory, especially towards small animals. Still, they also have a friendly and gentle side to their personality, which can be enhanced by proper conditioning.
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Are Dobermans Good With Cats?
In a lot of cases, Dobermans are great with cats; However, due to their inherent nature, without proper socialization and training, they may not be the best dog to keep with cats.
Are Doberman Puppies Or Adults Better With Cats?
Doberman puppies are more likely to be better around cats. They can be trained from the start to be polite and gentle around small furry animals. On the other hand, introducing an adult Doberman to a cat for the very first time can be a bit dangerous. An adult Doberman is more likely not properly socialized before and has developed its feelings surrounding small furry animals.
However, an adult Doberman can still get along with cats under careful and controlled interactions of small intervals. In some cases, your Doberman might not develop a friendly relationship with cats due to its past opinions, and that is where you need to be concerned about leaving them with each other’s company.
How To Train An Adult Doberman To Like Cats?
Every dog owner understands the psyche of his/her dog. Based on this factor, you must develop a boundary limit of how slowly and cautiously you introduce your adult Doberman to a cat.
Suppose your Doberman is extremely repulsive around cats, and you want to develop a substantial change in its behavior. In that case, you should introduce them slowly with the highest caution possible.
On the other hand, if your adult Doberman is gentle around other small furry animals, you can introduce them at a faster pace.
Key steps for exposing an adult Doberman to cats include:
Expose The Doberman And Cat To Each Other’s Smell
This step is crucial if your Doberman hates being around cats. It is the slowest and least intensive step compared to a live meeting. Start by keeping your dog and cat in separate but opposite rooms where they can smell each other under the door. Practice this tactic for a few days.
Next up, place any of your t-shirts in the bed with your cat overnight. The next morning, take the same t-shirt and place it in the room with your Doberman. If he sniffs the t-shirt, praise him by giving a treat and developing a pleasant atmosphere. This step will have a significant impact on making their interaction easy.
Switch Their Rooms
Once the Doberman and cat are used to each other’s smell, switch their rooms for a couple of days. This step will further expose them to each other’s habitat and scents. While doing so, make sure to maintain a pleasant environment in the rooms by praising them and giving them treats.
Familiarize Them Through A Barrier, Such As A Dog Gate
After getting them used to each other’s scents and habitat, allow them to see each other through a barrier. Have your Doberman in a room within a see-through dog gate inside, and leave your cat outside. This step will allow them to have their first in-person meeting but through a barrier. They will be able to sniff each other and monitor each other’s activities.
During this step, make sure not to pay much attention to the cat and maintain its presence as a ‘no big deal.’ For instance, play with your dog inside the dog gate while ignoring your cat walking outside.
Tie up your Doberman by allowing for long hours of vigorous physical activity before meeting the cat in person. Typically, Dobermans are highly active and become uneasy and edgy without any physical activity.
Letting your Doberman tire up drains his energy to a considerable level. It will make the interaction of your Doberman and cat easy and controlled. Dobermans with repressed energy can make their interaction with a cat quite challenging.
Introduce Them In-person Without A Barrier
The last step is to introduce them in a room with controlled conditions to prevent any mishaps. Keep your dog constrained by a leash in case the dog gets aggressive and out of control.
Also, make sure the cat has a means of escape from any unwanted situation. Start by releasing the cat at a distance in small intervals. During their interaction, keep praising the dog.
Not all Dobermans require to go through all these steps. Some are quite gentle and get along with a cat in a day or two. Dog owners must take a Doberman with a dark background through all these steps to ensure the cat’s safety.
How To Train A Puppy Doberman To Like Cats?
The initial year in a dog’s life holds significant importance, especially in Doberman’s life. It is because this is the time when habits, feelings, and opinions are developed.
If small furry animals surround your Doberman in his early ages, it is more likely that your pets can hang out together and become close buddies. On the other hand, if your Dobie isn’t exposed to any animals in his first year of life, he will most certainly react aggressively when exposed to animals later on in his life.
It’s not as simple as that even if your Doberman has been around other animals, the meetings’ nature will play a significant role in the dogs’ temperament.
You are in the best place if you have just got a newborn Dobie. This way, you can rest assured to bring him up accordingly and have a polite adult Doberman later. The emphasis here is exposure to as many animals as possible under careful supervision.
Critical steps for exposing a puppy Doberman to cats include:
Maintain A Relaxed Environment
Before introducing your Dobie to a cat, try to stay calm and relaxed. This step has a significant influence on the dog. Expose your cat a short distance away from the puppy. Don’t pay much attention to the cat. It might infuriate the puppy and develop negative feelings in him.
Try to keep yourself as calm as possible. This way, your puppy will learn that it’s no big deal to be surrounded by a cat. Animals are sensitive towards their owners’ emotions and will pick on the cues you drop. By remaining calm, you’ll also be in the best position to monitor the situation and intervene if it becomes necessary.
They Must Have Their Means Of Escape
The cat and the puppy both must have their areas of retreat to avoid any unfavorable situation. Suppose they won’t have the means to walk away from the scenario. In that case, it’s more likely that they will develop a negative relationship.
It would cause lifelong damage to the psyche of the puppy Doberman regarding cats. That can make things difficult for their relationship in the future. It’s essential to ensure that the animals have a way out and don’t feel trapped in the situation.
Their Interaction Must Be Monitored At All Times In The Beginning
When leaving the puppy and the cat together, keeping a close eye on their activities is essential. Trust me; you don’t want to damage their developing relationship if things go wrong. For safety purposes, keep your dog on a leash to avoid any mishaps.
One of the biggest mistakes that owners make is becoming complacent with the leash. Even with the dog on the leash, owners need to remain vigilant to ensure that the dog remains under control.
Keep The Atmosphere Positive
Keep praising your dog by giving him treats on his small and cute gestures, such as sniffing around the cat or playing with a ball with the cat. It will create positive feelings and habits in the dog, which will help when he becomes an adult.
Following these steps, you will experience an extreme playful curiosity in your puppy Doberman. It is a good sign and more comfortable to deal with. The Dobie’s hyperactive behavior is its first sign of progression to like cats and get along with them. That’s why it is crucial to expose puppy Doberman to other animals at an early age.
Want To Train Your Doberman With Peace Of Mind?
If you haven’t trained your Doberman properly, then this is the perfect time to start. Whatever bad behavior your shepherd has, whether it’s barking at night or other bad behaviors, using the right training program is the key to having an obedient and happy pup.
With Brain Training For Dogs, you’ll save yourself a ton of time and effort. Instead of banging your head against the wall trying to figure out why your dog won’t listen, you’ll follow a path that has been tried, tested, and most importantly, that’s given proven results. Not to mention the fact that you’ll be able to fit the course around your schedule, not fit your schedule around a trainer or obedience class.
So instead of worrying about whether they’re going to be well-behaved or not, you’ll only have to worry about how much fun you’ll have with them!
And in most cases, it’s still going to be:
Cheaper than hiring a professional.
Cheaper than replacing everything they might break.
And definitely cheaper than a lawsuit against you, if they decide to bite someone.
Just imagine how great it will feel to finally be able to trust your Doberman completely and never worry whether they’ll be naughty or not. Instead, you’ll have the peace of mind that you have a well-behaved pup, and the boundaries you set for them will always be there, EVEN IF YOU’RE NOT.
And the best part is it also has a 60-day money-back guarantee! So there’s no reason not to give Brain Training For Dogs a try!
So if you’re tired of your dog’s bad behavior or how they react around other people and pooches, then give it a try! You’ll be amazed by the results!
(You can also check out a full review here to learn exactly what the course has to offer!)
Are Dobermans Good Guard Dogs? (And How To Train Them)
What Should You Avoid Doing?
Before trying to develop a friendly relationship between your Doberman and cat, you must be aware of the signs of aggression that your dog possesses when exposed to unfavorable conditions. This way, you stop or slow down the process of making them get along.
Step Back When You Notice Signs Of Aggression
If you notice that your Dobie is growling more than usual, has a stiffened body posture, is baring his teeth, has raised the hair on the back, or erect ears and tail, it is a sign he is aggressive. You need to change to the introduction strategy and be even more cautious.
If the signs of aggression appear on their very first ‘no barrier’ meeting, it is advised to go back to the first step of scent exposure to ensure a long-lasting healthy relationship. Remember, the key to their happy relationship is lots of praises and lots of treats.
Doberman Pinschers are loyal dogs, but they have a knowledgeable and curious personality. If their trainer isn’t confident enough, Doberman’s dominant personality can become hard to handle.
Avoid Panicking And Giving Negative Vibes
Losing your calm in the presence of your Dobie can have some significant negative impacts on the dog. It will encourage the dog to be aggressive when exposed to other animals. Animals can sense the signs of fear and worry of humans very quickly. They also tend to pick up on it and imply those habits on other animals, which of course, is something you don’t desire.
It is certainly not easy to gulp your emotions during the first few interactions, but trust me, it has a significant impact on the Dobie. Initially, the Doberman breed was used as a security dog due to their protective and loyal nature towards their owner. This trait awakens their protective instincts if they sense any stress or negative vibes in the environment.
Doberman Pinschers, by their nature, are incredibly sensitive towards emotions and will pick up stress very quickly. If anyone in the household is going through problems, the Pinscher will pick up on their feelings.
Their sensitivity can often lead them to develop negative behaviors. It’s essential to ensure that the Doberman is brought home into a stable emotional environment. Always maintain a calm attitude around your animals as they feed off of your energy!
Don’t Rush
When you get a new pet, it’s understandable to want them to get along with their other furry friends. We’ve all seen those videos on Instagram with Doberman Pinschers being adorable around cats, and it can be tempting to rush everything.
However, patience is one of the most important factors when looking to ensure a healthy relationship between your Doberman Pinscher and other pets. Always be patient with both animals and carefully evaluate how they’re reacting to one another.
Pushing the pets to interact with one another earlier than they’re ready can lead to a potentially unpleasant situation. Doberman Pinschers have a dominant gene, and that’s how they’ll come off in most encounters with other pets.
There’s nothing wrong with taking a step back and starting from scratch if you feel like the relationship isn’t developing correctly.
FAQs
Do Dobermans Kill Cats?
It’s difficult to give a generalized answer to the question as no two dogs have the same temperament. There’s no specific breed trait that makes them hate cats.
However, some dogs may be improperly trained or have gone through disturbing experiences that make them violent. They have the potential to injure seriously and, in dire circumstances, even kill cats.
When properly trained, though, no Doberman is going to pose a threat.
With thorough training, they have the potential to be among the most obedient dog breeds on the planet. A proper master pet relationship will help ensure that the dog obeys all of your kind and desists immediately.
Are Doberman Good With Other Animals?
When bringing a new pet into the house, it’s essential to see how well they get along with your existing pets. It can be heartbreaking to relocate a pet because they don’t get along with other animals.
In the case of Doberman, they can generally get along with other animals. However, they’ll never get along with other animals of the same sex. Male Doberman dogs, in particular, have an aggressive, dominant trait.
The presence of this trait can make them potentially lash out at other dogs of the same sex.
They’re also high-energy dogs. If you have another high-energy dog at home, they could potentially clash with your new Doberman.
That’s what makes it so essential to ensure that your Doberman receives the proper training. The respect training method, in particular, is very crucial towards getting the best out of your Doberman.
However, once they get over the initial meeting phase, Doberman can develop incredibly strong bonds with your other pets. They’re super emotional dogs and can get sick of people in their house who are having problems.
Do Doberman Pinschers Have A High Prey Drive?
Prey drive refers to the level of automatic inclination the carnivore has to chase and capture prey. The Doberman Pinscher has a high prey drive, and it’s incredibly important to train them properly.
Their high prey drive contributes towards their reputation as not the best pets in a multi-pet household. They’ll try to chase after small animals like cats, rabbits, or hamsters.
However, with the proper training, you can help ensure that your Doberman and cat get along well. It’s still important that you keep the dog on a leash the first time you try introducing it to your cat. There’s a high chance that the prey drive will kick in, and it could lead to a potentially unpleasant incident.
The presence of a leash will help you remain in control in all kinds of situations where your Doberman has to interact with other animals. You’ll see many owners taking their dogs for walks without a leash, but Doberman owners should always keep their dogs on a leash while going out for a walk.
Recap
If you’re a cat owner looking to get a new dog, one of the most important things to consider is what relationship your pets are going to have with one another. Doberman Pinschers are an instantly recognizable and very popular dog breed.
Their brilliant stature and intimidating looks make them an instant favorite. However, they aren’t regular brutes. Doberman Pinschers are a very intelligent and loyal breed. They do have a high prey drive that makes them more likely to chase small animals.
Introducing a puppy Doberman to a cat is significantly easier than introducing an adult dog. However, with the proper training, it’s possible to ensure that your Doberman and cat get along like best friends.
