Do you suppose cats and dogs confuse each other since their ways of communicating contradict each other?
Friday, August 27th, 2010 at
2:12 pm
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Filed under: Cat Behavior
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Their other body language is very similar though. Lip licking, yawning, eye avoidance, I’m blanking on the others- there’s a ton more though.
So no I don’t think it gets confusing. The dog I have now ignores my cats for the most part. BeBe (cat) tries to get her to play with him, but Holly usually blows him off or snaps at him to knock it off.
Previous dog, played iwth BeBe all the time. BeBe was confused at first (he wasn’t raised around dogs and was 2yrs old at the time) but he understood chase. I used to play chase with him until we got Duke (first dog). Then Duke was all about chasing the cat lol BeBe sometimes chased him.
Dunno if it matters but Duke was a jrt mix, Holly’s a sheltie. (Dog we have now)
YOURE PROBABLY RIGHT NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT IT WOW U ARE SMART THAT MIGHT BE WHY THEY DONT GET ALONG WELL
I don’t think dogs and cats get missed communication signals alot, if the dog is growling and staring at the cat., the cat is not going to think the dog is purring, cats also growl.
I have both dogs and cats, my one cat is obsessed with my one dog and will follow him around, even annoying him with her persitance to be close…he just gets up and trys to walk away from her. My dog doesnt show any signs of being mean with showing teeth or growling, now, the same cat will not do this to my one dog as the dog does growl at her for rubbing on her.
Animal body language is more then just a tail flick, if the demenor of the cat is irratated, a dog will be able to sence that the cat means harm…and vise versa.
I think cats are generally more affraid of dogs because dogs are bigger then they are.
The same reason a dog chases a squirrel…its in their nature…sure a dog can get along with a cat if he’s grown up around it or is constantly around one…but he could get along with a squirrel too if they grew up together, same with a rabbit or ferret or any other small animal….some dogs just have a really kind nature and no other animals really bother them…but its mainly because its a prey thing…its not so much a *communication* thing.
I highly doubt it. Dogs may not be as smart as human beings, but they certainly know a cat from a dog.
My cat and dogs communicate very well. My cat is lower in the "pack" than 1 dog, but higher than another, and they follow this to a T with complete respect for each others "rank" I don’t think they could do that without excellent communication. Maybe they learned by experience how to read each other.
There is the kinda common instances where my cat will be flicking her tail in annoyance at the lower pack dog who (i say this affectionately) stupidly trying to play with her until he gets a gentle swat on the nose. Then he gives the look that I label "OOPS MY BAD" He gives this look a lot. But they read eye language great with each other, my cat and dogs, they know immediately what each other’s eye contacts mean.
Hmm well humans are much more confusing for dogs, and dogs have had to work hard to understand us for generations, I think it might be an instinct for dogs to work at understanding the body language of other species??
I swear, my dog knows exactly what I’m going to do the second I silently move an inch, she knows whether I’m going out or going to eat or whatever, different times of days don’t matter. So based on this all my guess is dogs learn fast other species body language and slightest hormone change.
All 4 of my cats wag their tails when they are having fun, enjoying something, or just hanging out. When they purr, my pup will look at them, or won’t even care. If they growl, then he will take notice, so my pup can tell the difference between a growl and a purr.
My cats and pup get along; my pup actually thinks he’s a cat because he keeps playing with their mice and he wants to play with them too when they are all playing together. He whines and whimpers because he can’t- we still have him leashed in the house because he isn’t fully housebroken.
The cats sometimes go up to him to sniff him, but then he gets excited and barks- this scares them because it is so loud to them. When he is sleeping, the cats hang out by him, watching him- sometimes they all touch noses, sometimes they all watch bugs together.
Pup tried to sniff the alpha cats tail once, my cat turned around and swatted him across the nose, so pup has learnt to stay the distance from that one cat.
I think animals know each other better then what us humans give them credit for. When cats and dogs are integrated together, it needs to be slow, so that everyone can get used to each other. I still suggest supervised play, until the dog can be fully trusted not to hurt the cat.
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DARN I can’t find the refrence! but there was a scientific study – the dogs learn to "speak cat" and visa versa at least to a limited extent. I’ve certainly seen my cat stop the dog in its tracks with a threat…..
Yes, it does happen in cases where humans don’t intervene sometimes. The biggest time it is an issue is when the two first meet. It can also be a problem when the larger of the two wants to play with the other and they don’t really understand if the other does not want to. I find that usually they learn how to negotiate each other, but in the case of a larger dog who is extremely interested in the cat (or with very small dogs) human intervention may be necessary. Basic training is usually all that is necessary, but sometimes they simply can’t be together unsupervised because they can hurt each other even when they don’t mean to.
http://www.helium.com/items/1586883-how-differences-in-body-language-can-cause-problems-between-cats-and-dogs
That I’ve seen it’s kind of a give and take thing. Especially when it comes to aggression. Most dogs I know who have grown up with cats with simply snap the air if their growling isn’t getting through. With cats they usually just smack the dog instead of using claws when tail wagging doesn’t get through.
Of course that may be those individuals and not all dogs and cats.