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My new dog attacked my cat. Can she learn to live safely with cats?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Cardigan Welsh Corgi | Female | spayed | 1 year and 6 months old | 32 lbs

Ellie is recently adopted. Profile said she was good with cats. She's not. She got ahold of my older kitty last night and started flopping her around violently, trying to kill her. My kitty is fine because i jumped in immediately to rescue her. Didnt break skin. Is this a salvageable situation with strict training? Should i return her? Would a shock collar work (yikes)? Need a crate? I have 3 kids and 4 cats in the house. She's in a separate room now. If she's out, she's on a leash.

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Heidi DVM, CVA, CCRT, CVTP, CVSMT, CVCH

Veterinarian, Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist, Certified Canine Rehabilitation Practitioner

Published on March 14th, 2018

I'm so sorry you experienced something so scary last night. I'm glad your older kitty is doing OK. I certainly can't tell you that Ellie will ever be safe around cats. Often dogs that attack and shake cats in the way you described have a strong prey drive and will always be a risk to be around cats. If you are interested in keeping Ellie, I would recommend consulting with you veterinarian and consider consulting with a veterinary behaviorist ASAP. A veterinary behaviorist is a veterinarian who has additional years of training in behavior. They can also prescribe medications if needed. Hopefully you can find one near you here. http://www.dacvb.org/about/member-directory/ In the meantime, be sure that every member of the household (including your children) are committed to keeping Ellie away from the cats. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

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