Hi everyone! I’ve got a 9-month-old female Akita Inu who, for the time being, is very well-socialised (she plays with and accepts other dogs, cats and even ferrets). She’s very calm and a total sweetheart.
Two months ago, we found a litter of four kittens that had been dumped (they were asking for cuddles even though they didn't know us, didn't try to run away, ate dry food and were litter trained without us even showing them what to do... Plus, there had been a storm the night before but the kittens were bone dry...) they were well hidden behind a huge bush. If it hadn't been for their meowing, we would never have seen them.
We took them in and had them treated and vaccinated (as they were covered in fleas and worms, with scabs and red bumps everywhere). We managed to rehome two of them but not the third, and we'd already decided we wanted to keep one ourselves.
So, we’ve now got two kittens and an Akita Inu! Both kittens are males. We got so attached to them both that when someone offered to take the third one, we said no and kept him by choice. We introduced the kittens gradually (they were shut in a separate room when we weren’t in, just for safety, even though my dog is brilliant with them).
My dog has been much more relaxed when we’re out since the kittens arrived (before, she wouldn’t touch her food bowl if we weren’t there, but now she eats without any trouble). They sleep together, groom each other, and there’s always a cuddle session in the evening before bed with the two kittens and my dog. They share toys, treats and the water bowl.
However, when they’re playing, it happens quite regularly that my dog—after running around the flat with the kittens—ends up putting their heads in her mouth. At first, the kittens don't mind, but then they eventually start meowing quite loudly and will end up hissing if we don’t step in.
How should I interpret my dog's behaviour? I intervene because they aren't the same size at all (my dog is 30kg—about 4 stone 10lbs—while the kittens are barely 3kg—around 6.5 lbs) but is that actually a good idea? We’ve taught her 'Drop it', so she does let go, but having to tell her to drop it every single day is getting a bit wearing...
What do you suggest? Thanks for your replies! 😉
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I’m already doing some impulse control exercises: staying calm to get treats, being calm for his food bowl, staying calm to get the toy I’m holding or a chew, staying calm before going to see another dog, and so on. But I think working on calmness while the kittens are tearing about is a brilliant idea!
Hi everyone,
At first, the kittens find it funny because my dog zooms all over the place (I’m slightly less amused when she’s shifting the furniture about, mind you! xD). They love perching up high to play with her curled tail or batting at her head—without their claws out, of course. Usually, once they’ve got her attention, they tear around and then come back for more if she doesn’t chase after them.
I’m lucky that I have an Akita who’s very good with verbal commands; I only have to tell her to ‘leave it’ and she lets go of the kitten immediately.
Just a bit ago, the kittens got back up on the top of the sofa and were swiping at her head and tail. I told my girl to come into the kitchen with me, and now everyone is fast asleep in the corner (wherever I go, my dog and the kittens follow me…).
I’m going to try working more on impulse control exercises with her, as I know that once she hits a certain excitement threshold, she finds it hard to settle back down. She’ll always obey my commands but stays wound up, jumping all over the place, unless I tell her to lie down—that usually calms her. She’s not really into balls, but I’ll give it a go anyway and praise her whenever she plays with the kittens without trying to fit their heads in her mouth.
My dog is 9 months old and the kittens are about four and a half months, according to the vet. Since they were rescues, we don’t have an exact date.
I taught my dog not to bite, and she’s actually taught the kittens not to bite either (they’re just like her: they let us put our fingers near their mouths without trying to bite or nip). 😌
So, is it best to just let them sort it out themselves, under supervision so I can step in if the kittens start hissing? Or are the kittens still a bit too small for that?
Dundeemaya,
That’s why I started by saying "with all due sympathy", because knowing you, I suspected it was just a figure of speech! 😁 But I thought you were replying to the previous poster, which gave the start of your post a completely different meaning...
Alysszen,
Hearing it described like that, it definitely seems like play. It’s a bit like when I play with my kittens by sometimes covering their faces with my hand and then taking it away—they don’t always enjoy it... I don’t think your dog has any more desire to hurt your kittens than I do mine.
But because you mentioned in your first post that "after running around the flat with the kittens, they end up putting their heads in his mouth", I was imagining the scene quite differently.
I don't know how old your kittens are, but I think they had a form of "consented submission" when they were very small, and as they grow, they’re becoming a bit less submissive.
Personally, I see this as a great opportunity for the kittens (and for you too), because I reckon a dog can do a better job than a human at finishing the education of motherless kittens—at least when it comes to bite inhibition, which is a real godsend.
So, as long as you keep a close eye on them, I think we can rule out the risk of an accident or your dog suddenly snapping. If I were in your shoes, I’d let the kittens test themselves through play with your dog; it’s almost a necessity for them and a matter of safety for the future.
It’s only if the kittens start hissing that it’s better to separate them—even for the dog’s sake, as a sharp claw to the nose can happen in a flash. But overall, with you there to guarantee their safety, I’d let the animals find their own feet together.
It’s all done through lots of little exercises, like getting them to look at you before they get what they want, not opening the car or house door immediately, and not putting the food bowl down if the dog is already raring to go, etc. Generally, you need to wait for a state of calm acceptance before rewarding them by giving them what they’re after (freedom, food, etc.).
This goes right up to a "stay" in front of a strong stimulus, like a ball...
All these exercises will make the dog more thoughtful and improve their self-control – basically learning that they can't have everything right this second.
As for settling her down, if you see your dog is "in the zone" with the kittens, it means she’s already too over-excited. At that point, you need to switch to a different, calmer activity and interrupt the play before they fall into a prey drive pattern and start chasing each other.
To help with this, try to get and keep her attention when the kittens are running around nearby, reinforcing the fact that she isn't chasing them by giving out some treats.
The fact that you "only" have to step in verbally to stop your dog shows that she’s still grounded; we’re not looking at full-blown prey drive here. Following what you've said, I think it’ll all work out, especially as you described a really close bond in your original post.
You just need a little more patience; your dog will gain maturity and control, and the cats will also gradually start standing up for themselves to show they're not happy. It’ll all iron itself out over time.
How old are they, by the way?
At home, we work on this using balls. Since she's desperate to catch them, the aim is to get her to wait and stay calm while I shake the ball, throw it, or roll it right past her. I like to work with her in a "lie down" position so she really understands she needs to stay grounded despite the urge to lunge.
You can start off slowly, just by showing her the ball or rolling it gently right in front of her.
There are plenty of other impulse control exercises out there, and I’m sure other members will have some to share with you. (Actually, I’ll keep an eye on this thread too, in case any lesser-known exercises pop up!)
"If they survive" – things aren't looking good. I would advise you to rehome them if you can't put an absolute stop to the dog's behaviour. Even now, if they are hissing, it means they are distressed, and the outcome once they are adults could be catastrophic.
Hi there,
My goal is exactly that – to quickly teach her to stop behaving this way. One of the kittens has only hissed once; the rest of the time, I tell her to "leave it" and she lets go and leaves them alone, as playtime is always supervised. That doesn't stop the kittens from coming back for more, but I’d like to teach her how to play with them in a different way.
Hi there, my dog used to do the exact same thing with one of my two cats. Unless they were playing together, I’d step in, but definitely not by shouting or anything (since the cat’s already in the dog’s mouth, it would be counterproductive to ramp up the excitement by shouting). I'd just call my dog away to focus on something else (making sure it wasn't another high-energy game right then). She still does it now and then, but it’s rare and only during play; the cat lets her know if she’s nipping too hard with a meow, otherwise he holds his own just fine. The difference is that when we got the cat, she was already over a year old, whereas your Akita is still young—if that excitement isn't managed properly, things can get out of hand pretty quickly. The issue might be that because you’re intervening every single time, the dog might not actually realise if she’s causing pain, so we don't know if she’s capable of stopping on her own. If your cats can put up with it for now, things should settle down once she reaches maturity. In the meantime, I’d focus heavily on impulse control and calming exercises so she learns how to switch off by herself.
Hi, how would you go about working on impulse control and lowering excitement levels?
🙂 I mean this nicely, but a kitten is quite delicate—and more importantly, it’s a living creature. A fine china set is fragile too, but if someone lets their dog play with that, I’d just say "tough luck" if it gets smashed! But if they let their dog play with a kitten, that’s a completely different story.
I mean, they’re living beings and far more vulnerable than an adult cat, honestly! I let my dog play with my lovely big adult cat because he’s a big lad who knows how to handle himself and "hold his own".
A kitten can’t really do that; they’re much more "fragile" because they are LIVING things 😝
I'd like to clarify a few things: my dog doesn't use any force when she does this, she stays lying on the ground, and the kittens can pull their heads away whenever they want. What they don't like is that when they do pull away, she just does it again, and after a while that must get on their nerves. They're fine with it for a couple of seconds because they're used to grooming each other, so they let her do it at first — but then they start getting fed up. I should also mention that when I tell her to stop, she does, and I always step in before the kittens start hissing. The interactions are supervised at all times.
She could have hurt them whenever she wanted: she knows how to open doors and could easily have let herself in to get to them when we're not home — but she's never once opened that door in our absence. And when I check the little ones over, apart from a bit of dog slobber, there's nothing to worry about.
On top of that, it's always the kittens who initiate play with my dog, so I think if they were genuinely distressed, they wouldn't be seeking her out, grooming her, or curling up to sleep with her.
That said, I completely agree that accidents can happen very quickly and you have to be careful. The whole reason I posted here was to get some tips on how to teach my dog to stop "playing" with them in that way. They do have hiding spots and high-up places to retreat to if they don't want her near them — but as I said, it's usually them chasing the contact, so they rarely bother.
I'm going to give the distraction technique a go — my aim is to get her to drop this habit as quickly as possible. Thanks for the advice, I hope it works!
