The Dog Puts the Cat's Head In His MOUTH!

As scary as some of our pets interactions are, they might not always be as bad as they look! A lot of the time, until we get enough data to really understand what's going on, trying to come up with a solution can be a bit difficult.⁠
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I had a Dog and Cat Chat with Josie about her adolescent dog Kinai and his wildly different interactions with her two cats - including staying far away from one and putting the other's entire head in his mouth! How much of this behavior can be attributed to general environmental stress or something else entirely? We talked on ways to gather enough information to see what the next steps forward are.⁠

If you'd like to listen to the episode, press play below

Key Moments

[00:31] Introduction

[01:13] The cast of characters: the dogs (Nimeria and Kinai) and the cats (Anya and Prudence)

[02:48] Background of reactive interactions between Kinai and Anya

[04:30] Kinai inconsistently redirecting reactive behavior onto Prudence

[05:47] Why saying a dog is “good with cats” or vice versa is misleading

[06:40] Current history of Kinai’s reactivity to environmental contrasts and changes, surprises and strange animals

[08:22] Changes in behavior after neutering/during adolescence

[10:10] Trigger stacking effects on reactivity and stressors that can affect behavior indirectly

[14:30] Developing a plan for Kinai’s reactivity to stressors

[15:36] Developing a plan for Kinai’s anxiety with Anya

[16:22] Developing a plan for Kinai’s interactions with Prudence

[17:41] Some behaviors aren’t as scary as they look

[18:38] Record what the difference in behavior when humans are present and not

[23:02] Working on Kinai’s redirection cues

[24:37] The importance of video footage of behaviors

[25:37] Adjusting your environment

[29:06] Benefits of relaxation protocols/training

Does your pets have really different behaviors among themselves? Are you a bit stuck on gathering info? Comment below!⁠