New Dog

Luke has bee very good the last couple of nights, i have taken him out after he has eaten and he has his poos then, so that is good, still a puddle this morning, but took him out at about 6-30 as he was barking ,but fed him first, and did his poo again so i think that is the key
The cats have come down a couple of times, but i have a glass panelled living room door and as soon as he sees them goes mad barking and clambering at the door so then they dash back upstairs
I am only worried because some dogs are good with cats they are brought up with but not with any they don't know

By the way i'm sorry if i didn't make it clear,i did get Luke from a private home ,but i did pay for him, i tried a lot of rescues and couldn't find a small dog who was used to cats,in fact there were hardly any small rescue dogs, except Jack Russels
A Bihon rescue somewhere a long way away from me, but mostly ex breeding dogs, [about 50] but i know someone who got one of these dogs and it is really aggressive
I met this lady with this dog on a walk with Lola, and her dog grabbed Lola by the throat, she explained he was an ex breeder from puppy farm, from this rescue,so i wouldn't even go there,poor dogs i know but they are not used to people or being handled
Luke was being rehomed because the husband wa working nights and the wife was ill, suffering from social anxiety and other problems so Luke didn't get the attention he needed
I keep calling him Lola, because they are both Ls

Bichon!

Things will settle down. With regards to the jumping, ignore him until all 4 paws are in the floor. Clicker training is really useful. Will keep you both busy too. Have a look on YouTube for some demos. Once he used to the clicker, reward him when he ignores the cats. Worth trying.

he is gorgeous just needs retrained, to go outside for poo and wees, just patience, treats and you will get there,

Treat a new dog like a puppy, taking him out often and praising for every wee or poo. He doesn’t know he shouldn’t poo in your house, dogs don’t generalise (do the same thing somewhere else after being taught it in a different place)
Neutering him won’t make him “calm down”, he’s very young and an extremely high- energy breed. I have a terrier cross and, at nearly 2, she’s manic.

I have no problem really bout retraining him, i have been taking him out after he hs eaten and he does his business, so that is one problem solved,
I am more bothered by the fact my cats are scared of him,
One of them came downstairs this morning and they met face to face,as soon as the cat moved Luke chased after him, my heart was in my mouth, as he ran upstairs after the cat,
This is what worries me,
He might be used to the cats he was brought up with but not like other cats
The poor cat wet himself,and managed to run under the bed, Luke tried to follow but couldn't get under
Otherwise he is lovely
Taking him to the vets this morning for a health check,
Will ask vets advice

You MUST insist he doesn’t chase your cats. Keep him on a lead around your cats at first and check him if he starts towards them. And use treats to distract him when they are around. Praise him when he ignores them.

I agree Yehbutnobut, exactly the way to go. It will take some time for them to get used to each other.
What is wrong with Jack Russells blondenana

What’s wrong with Jack Russells? My dog is only half JR but I bitterly regret that half. She’s the noisiest dog in the world and I’ve been battling to control the barking for over a year.
This hyper-active, 1000 decibel whirlwind dominates every aspect of my life and I can never have a day off because nobody else would put up with her.

Yes they are bossy, noisy, domineering if allowed to be so. They are also lovable, loyal and great characters. They do need to learn who is in charge from an early age. Our JR is 14 now and we have had so much love and fun with him.

My Mum had a JR and he kept her going , for walks etc, in her last years.
She once took him with her to visit someone who had a 'gentle' labrador, which nearly killed poor Patch - picked him up by the scruff of the neck and shook him, breaking his neck.
Patch did recover, but didn't last long after that.

Poor Patch, must have been a shock all round, sorry Fennel.

OMG fennel how dreadful.

Some of you may have seen my other post in which my daughter adopted a pup from Romania? She is absolutely gorgeous but is simply NOT getting the toilet training at all. Not only that but our 5 year old Cockapoo last night decided to poop on HER training mat!!! The look on his face when we saw it was priceless...almost like he was saying "nothing to do with me"....clearly was!!! SO...more work to be done there then as well.

This new one definitely looks like she has some Jack Russell in her and is so small I worry all the time when I go out with her that some big 'thug' might attack her! Never worried previously with our good old solid Cockapoo even though he has been attacked twice...but he is big enough to stand his ground! Your post Fennel has made me even more worried! Not enjoying walking her at the moment.

Sorry meant to address blondenana's problem of Luke chasing the cats. I know you will be upset for the cats Blondenna.

It just takes time and patience. As you say even though he was used to cats previously, these are new and exciting to him at the moment and he will want to get up close and personal to see what these creatures are about. Cats will freak out!

Keep chastising him, make sure he knows you mean it. Walk him round them downstairs - keep pulling him back. We had same situ with chickens (with Cockapoo not sure about the new one yet) but eventually he got the message.... no chasing! As your Luke has been used to cats I am sure he will get the message also but not overnight.

Are we insane loving animals so much, putting up with so much.... a big resounding NO! Because...they are worth it

Maybe an Adaptil diffuser downstairs for the dog and the feline equivalent upstairs for the cats might help. I'm a great believer in dap diffusers. Also baby gates between doors so the cats always have a means of escape but they can all see each other.

He is a cutie, and will bring you joy. It sounds like he is starting to adjust to your house. I agree with a gate to keep the dog downstairs and the cats can come and go as they like.

Perhaps you could put him on a leash attached to a doorknob or table leg and allow one of the cats down to sit on your lap for a bit. They will be able to be in the same room but not be able to reach one another.

We had a beagle which instead of crating at night we had an 8' leash attached to the wall behind her basket. She knew bedtime after her last outing was a clip to the leash and a treat. As she aged she knew to stay in her basket overnight and would not need to be clipped to the leash.

With our current Aussie shepherd we did crate her while she was a pup, but now she sleeps on a pillow beside our bed.

Watermeadow there is nothing wrong with Jack Russels, but not with cats, my son has a JR who is lovely but got near one of the cats and as i picked her up grabbed her leg and had to take her to the vet
It wouldn't be any good sitting one of the cats on my knee ,, they wont come near the room he is in,poor things are still upstairs hiding ,
It was quite funny tonight when the evening bews showed a photo of the London terrorist,he went absolutely mad.barking at the TV i had to change channels,and he quietened down straight away
He has stopped pulling so much, so that's good,as he was taking me for a walk, rather than me taking him,he is quite strong too

Well hopefully a breakthrough re;cats and Luke
I have taken him upstairs a coule of times just so he gets used to the cats scent and they his
I took him up this morning on his lead, one cat]/[male] was on y bed, Luke just looked at him and the cat looked back t Luke, no one moved
Then took him into the second bedroom with 2 females on the bed, Luke again stood up and looked at them, they didn't move but hissed at him,
Soo hopefully it will get better before long,it's any movement that sets him off, but hopefully the cats will realise he doesn't mean them any harm

Have you heard of a hands-free lead? You attach it to the dog (preferably to his harness) and one end goes around your waist. In between is a lead, usually a bungee clear.

I used this when we had a puppy staying with us for a week. I used it to stop my own dog being aggressive towards the puppy as he’s old and a tad grumpy.

It worked a treat and soon he was ignoring pup, and I could take it off him and me.

Amazon about £10

Bungee clear?

Bungee lead it should say?

Yes; I've got a halti that you can tie round your waist. It's also good for when you have to poo pick and you can attach it to styles [stiles?] if you're climbing over one. Also when she was a puppy the trainer said it was a good way to get her used to walking next to you and recommended using it around the house. I also find she's a different dog when she has a collar and lead on; almost as if she realises she has to behave.

When we had dogs I had a home-made waist leash, it's easy enough to make, with a few metres of wide elastic attached to the normal leash.
Most of the time I didn't need it though, we lived in a rural area where they could run as they pleased. Bliss for them and us.

Never heard of a hands free lead, but i will have a look on Amazon,thank you, i do use a retracting lead but only on large grassy areas,he has no road sense and would run into the road without even thinking about it
I do feel much happier now,i was so worried that he would frighten the cats,they stay upstairs a lot of time in the day,but always downstairs at night with me

I have a little Jack Russell now but our previous dog was a 4 year old rescue. He was a huge Great Dane X German Shepherd and took quite a while to settle in. He'd been kept outside as a guard dog and had no idea how to behave in a house. (Nobody mentioned that to me.)

He refused to go in the garden unless I went with him (and stayed with him) for several months. He towed me along on walks, going where he wanted to. He would lay on garden plants, furniture, beds etc. and could open doors, cupboards and the fridge - and reach all but the highest shelves.

He stole food, books, socks, shoes and toys to bury in the garden. He'd sit between me and visitors, guard the door and the kids - and chase the cat.

It took us a year to rehabilitate him (somewhat) but he always seemed to be on the settee. The kids sat on the floor but didn't mind. He was soon best friends with the cat and they slept next to each other!

Luke climbed onto my knee last night to watcg Paul O Grady . and again this morning,
He still left a puddle this morning and while i was cleaning it,went and had a poo in less than a minute,only just turned my back
I had just fed him and usually take him out straight after , but it was too late
I do have a clicker somewhere that i trained my cats with ,must try to find it or get another ,
I know they work