Jealousy

Airn

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#1
How do you deal with jealousy between your animals? Gwen is extremely jealous of the cat, Charlie. If I even look at him she comes and sits in front me of. If I call his name or touch him, she comes running and noses my hand. I don't mind her being clingy, since I only have her and I'm not really a big cat person. But I am planning on getting another animal eventually and I don't know how to deal with her. Right now it's fairly harmless but I worry if I get another dog (or, hopefully not, but have a child) if she would get too rough. What do you do?
 

JessLough

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#2
Ignore it.

If I'm playing with a ferret and Rosey comes up to me, she gets put in a sit and she can watch me play with said ferret. Just because SHE wants attention, doesn't mean the ferret misses out.

ETA: It goes both ways, too. I have an extremely clingy ferret (Harley). But when I'm spending time with Rosey, that's it, I'm spending time with Rosey.
 

Airn

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#3
Good. That's what I assumed. And I'm glad you answered since we will eventually get a ferret (or two, or three.... I heard you can't have just one). I just want to be sure she isn't going to freak out and attack the cat. Even though that would be very weird for Gwen to attack anything. She's a fearful biter, not an offensive one. I guess it's jut more annoying than anything. She's definitely preparing me for kids.
 

Dog Expert

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#4
You can follow cesars methods of asserting dominance over the animal that is trying to dominate the other animals, but a ferret?

In many places these animals are banned because the are often very feral and cant easily be trained not to bite. I would be concerned for both your cat and dog! Good luck!
 

JessLough

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#5
Why would anybody follow Cesar's method for anything?

And oh, of course. My ferrets bite me all the time. They're vicious vicious horrible creatures...
 

Airn

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#6
Uhhh... Thanks 'Dog Expert' but I think I'll take advice from the resident ferret expert. Do you think a ferret is a skinny badger? Anyway, thanks for the advice, I guess. There's just so much wrong in your reply.
 

spiffy

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#7
Had the same problem with my dog too. Every time I call my brother's cat, my dog would instantly jump and come and snuggle between me and the cat. At first I ignored the jealousy thinking that it is an ordinary reaction as dogs are territorial. However, the dog's behavior worsened. Whenever he sees other animals near me he would growl, bark and manifest an aggressive stance. I was advised by an animal behaviorist to be firm and not to ignore the bad behavior. I showed the dog that I am not glad with his behavior. I make it a point to call my dog and cuddle him every time I play with the cat or when I gave my attention to other animals. Now, it appears that the jealous streak is gone.
 

skittledoo

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#8
You can follow cesars methods of asserting dominance over the animal that is trying to dominate the other animals, but a ferret?

In many places these animals are banned because the are often very feral and cant easily be trained not to bite. I would be concerned for both your cat and dog! Good luck!
Heeerrreeee trolly trolly...

On a serious note your post is a total fail and you picked the wrong forum to try and convince your bullsh*t to.
 

Shai

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#12
I treat it like resource guarding, just with myself as the resource. You get what you want when you behave appropriately. Try "guarding" me (blocking the other dogs, using eyes, whatever) and your social interaction has just calmly but abruptly ended. Behave nicely and be loved upon.

Unless we're training in which I use that jealousy to increase the watching dogs' desire to work. Both Kim and Webby took their agility up a notch after watching Mira work with her usual verve... :) *evil laugh*
 

Kimbers

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#13
I pretty much do what Shai described.
Kailey behaved the same way around Schaffer, so I taught her that whenever Schaffer is getting one-on-one attention, it's best to go to a bed or the sofa and lay down. She got cookies for going away and after a several seconds to a couple minutes, I'd call her to me and give her attention.
Or you can try Milan's way of dealing with resource guarding. Make sure the dog knows the resource is yours, and when your dog gets cheeky, (in this case, getting pushy for the attention) grab it by the snout or scruff. Make sure to scare your dog. If it bites you, you're not instilling enough fear and respect.
 

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