Could this Work?

[StillandSilent]

I need some honest opinions here. I have recently moved out and had to leave Lilly and Radar with my parents (I coudn't financially care for 2, and they have been together for more than 10 years-not fair to seperate them). I would like a dog of my own, and have one at our shelter I love very much.
He is a 1/2 year old Cattledog/Whippet mix, and fits everything I am looking for, except one thing.
He is a confirmed chicken killer, that is how he lost his first home. This causes me great concern, as I do have a cat. However, he was brought in with another dog who we at the shelter feel was the definate ringleader of the chicken killing spree. This dog is sort of a wimp, and goes with the flow rather than making decisions for himself.
He does not show any real agression toward shelter cats and can be left loose in a room with about 45 (under my supervision, of course.). He tries to play with the house cat.
He would never be left alone with Puss for more that a few minutes, especially not in the beginning. He would be crated when I could not watch him, especially since he is not housebroken.
Can I make this arrangement work, or will I always have to live with the worry that he will go after the cat? I do not want to crate excessively, that wouldn't be fair to him.
This dog is extememly timid and his chances at adoption at the moment are not very good. So this is not a decision that must be made in the next few days or I will lose him. I think I can work on all his other isssues, but Puss was here first, and I could never put him in danger.
As he is a dog at my shelter, I could also try fostering him for several weeks to see how it works out. There are so many knowledgable people on these boards, I knows someone has had a similar situation.

 

[Sch3Dana]

Well, if you had a chicken, I would say NO. But, many dogs kill one type of animal while living peacefully with others. It sounds like cat killing is not on his mind, so I might take the risk. Still, I would never have him around Puss without a leash or muzzle on. If you can get him used to wearing a basket muzzle, that would let you give him free time with Puss where you could really observe his behavior and make sure he is not "waiting for his chance" with poor Puss. After many months of friendly interaction I would probably let my guard down. But be careful- for many predatory dogs there are very specific triggers and you need to make sure nothing triggers the guy to go after Puss.

 

[JennSLK]

Go for it. ^^what she said

 

[Renee750il]

Apples and oranges

Bear was death on groundhogs. But loved "our" cat, Gonzo. Same with Bimmer. If it's outside and it's wild, it's dinner. He goes to my mom's and washes the cat's face, lol.

 

[Paige]

Spanky and Bandit's brother is a chicken killer. He was raised with an entire littler of kittens and has never had an issue. He's been around several other types of animals and never displayed any interest in eating them except chickens. He liks to kill chickens.

 

[elegy]

I would be very very careful at first, but *shrug*. I have a dog who would (has tried to) kill a stray cat in the backyard, but she's never been a problem with the housecats. She responds totally differently to "family" vs "other". I still crate her when I'm gone, but it's not something I worry a whole lot about anymore.

 

[mrose_s]

I would be careful at first but chickens and cats are entirely different.

Harry is bird mad, but isn't to fazed about cats most of the time.

Buster loved Panda, so we thought brining Elliot home would be easy, nope. he wanted to eat him. Now Buster is Elliot's favourite dog because from the beginning we were so careful that Buster couldn't put a toe wrong in Elliot's presence. It's paid off, they now sleep in the same bed.

But both ACD's and Whippets are very high prey drive breeds so no long periods of no supervision atleast for the first long while. It's only been the last few weeks that I've allowed Buster access to Elliot during the night.

And we definetly don't allow all dogs unsupervised access to Elliot at once, 1 dog is okay, 2 dogs can be okay. 4 together is a pack and I won't deny that.

Also at first they all got a bit funny when lliot came into the backyard. In this house we decided we wanted him in the backyard mostly because there were the road is a bit busier and there are more loose dogs. They a;; completley ignore him now, a lot of time, patience and supervision is paying off. they all sleep on the back verandah every afternoon and in the loungeroom at night.

We are getting chickens soon, their pen will be steel mesh cemented into the ground and the boys will be in their own run during the day when we can't supervise. I'm going to go over the same thinsg I went over for Elliot with Buster and see if I can get him going okay with them. Seeing as birds are the oNLY animal Busetr doesn't want to eat so far I think our chances are okay with this one.