Our spaniel is great with our cats. No terriers. My friend once described her rescued-from-the-track greyhound as a big cat. They are very mellow but you can never walk without a leash.

Another vote for an adult dog who has lived with cats and proven itself.

If you have a home filled with kids and cats the last thing you need is a puppy. Hello, shelter.

14:14 again - male GSD's in my experience are also not aggressive, but I don't personally know any that live with cats. It's a great breed - they are also wonderful with children.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most dogs raised from puppyhood with cats do ok. We have two huge German Shepherd Dogs. They pretty much ignore the cats. If anything, they are a little afraid of them. They learned early after a couple of bops in the nose to yield the right away to the cats. If they are outdoors, they might chase the cats, but they don't ever actually catch them. Indoors, they don't mess with them.

I know German Shepherds who spend most of their time trying to herd the cats. They would never harm it, but do want all the cats in one place. It fails day after day, but they still do it.

So OP, a German Shepherd might be a good fit. They are goofy and sweet, and the ones I know wouldn't hurt a cat but might annoy it.

Again: instead of using proxies like breed, when they aren't very accurate, just click the "lives with cats" box on Petfinder and select among the dogs who have already lived safely with cats. I swear to you, it is the best way to do this.

I agree petfinder is a great way to do this! But OP wants a puppy. Female German Shepherds are not aggressive (especially if you seek out a breeder who is responsible and who knows their stuff), and will likely not harm a cat. They will herd the cats day in and day out, which may annoy Maine Coons, but the Maine Coons will also be larger than the puppy and will be able to train it. GSD's are big, goofy, and sweet. I've never met one that is mean, or aggressive. They bark loudly, but that's all I've got that's negative.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most dogs raised from puppyhood with cats do ok. We have two huge German Shepherd Dogs. They pretty much ignore the cats. If anything, they are a little afraid of them. They learned early after a couple of bops in the nose to yield the right away to the cats. If they are outdoors, they might chase the cats, but they don't ever actually catch them. Indoors, they don't mess with them.

I know German Shepherds who spend most of their time trying to herd the cats. They would never harm it, but do want all the cats in one place. It fails day after day, but they still do it.

So OP, a German Shepherd might be a good fit. They are goofy and sweet, and the ones I know wouldn't hurt a cat but might annoy it.

+1. They herd and play. But mine wouldn't harm our cats.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most dogs raised from puppyhood with cats do ok. We have two huge German Shepherd Dogs. They pretty much ignore the cats. If anything, they are a little afraid of them. They learned early after a couple of bops in the nose to yield the right away to the cats. If they are outdoors, they might chase the cats, but they don't ever actually catch them. Indoors, they don't mess with them.

I know German Shepherds who spend most of their time trying to herd the cats. They would never harm it, but do want all the cats in one place. It fails day after day, but they still do it.

So OP, a German Shepherd might be a good fit. They are goofy and sweet, and the ones I know wouldn't hurt a cat but might annoy it.

Again: instead of using proxies like breed, when they aren't very accurate, just click the "lives with cats" box on Petfinder and select among the dogs who have already lived safely with cats. I swear to you, it is the best way to do this.

Anonymous wrote:Most dogs raised from puppyhood with cats do ok. We have two huge German Shepherd Dogs. They pretty much ignore the cats. If anything, they are a little afraid of them. They learned early after a couple of bops in the nose to yield the right away to the cats. If they are outdoors, they might chase the cats, but they don't ever actually catch them. Indoors, they don't mess with them.

I know German Shepherds who spend most of their time trying to herd the cats. They would never harm it, but do want all the cats in one place. It fails day after day, but they still do it.

So OP, a German Shepherd might be a good fit. They are goofy and sweet, and the ones I know wouldn't hurt a cat but might annoy it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most dogs raised from puppyhood with cats do ok. We have two huge German Shepherd Dogs. They pretty much ignore the cats. If anything, they are a little afraid of them. They learned early after a couple of bops in the nose to yield the right away to the cats. If they are outdoors, they might chase the cats, but they don't ever actually catch them. Indoors, they don't mess with them.

Do you have statistics on this? The problem with your assertion is that most puppies who aren't good with cats usually are rehomed or given up before they get to adulthood. Your one experience does not make for a trend.

I know of a few instances where things did not turn out well when the puppy got bigger and more confident. A lot depends on temperament.

Yep. A good friend of mine got a Lab puppy that showed a few mild signs it wasn't great with cats like chasing in the yard, but nothing like an actual attack (that is a precursor, German Shepherd owner! I wouldn't trust your dogs with cats!). The Lab killed her cat when she was at work one day and tore it to pieces. She was heartsick and gave the dog away -- she couldn't bear to look at it any more knowing what it had done, even though she knew it was probably instinct. She only has cats now.

Anonymous wrote:Most dogs raised from puppyhood with cats do ok. We have two huge German Shepherd Dogs. They pretty much ignore the cats. If anything, they are a little afraid of them. They learned early after a couple of bops in the nose to yield the right away to the cats. If they are outdoors, they might chase the cats, but they don't ever actually catch them. Indoors, they don't mess with them.

Do you have statistics on this? The problem with your assertion is that most puppies who aren't good with cats usually are rehomed or given up before they get to adulthood. Your one experience does not make for a trend.

I know of a few instances where things did not turn out well when the puppy got bigger and more confident. A lot depends on temperament.

We adopted a great dane because they have a low prey drive and we already had cats and other pets. The one we got also came from a foster home that had cats, so he had already demonstrated that he could get along with them.

Anonymous wrote:9:47 -- Ahhh, yeah...with the cats box checked I also get Dobermans and Bull Terriers along w/ all the Labs...thinking not so accurate...

Those boxes are checked because those individual dogs have lived with cats. You are entirely too hung up on breed. If you don't want a Doberman or a Bull Terrier, that's fine, but that doesn't mean that those individual dogs listed on the site aren't good with cats.

Most dogs raised from puppyhood with cats do ok. We have two huge German Shepherd Dogs. They pretty much ignore the cats. If anything, they are a little afraid of them. They learned early after a couple of bops in the nose to yield the right away to the cats. If they are outdoors, they might chase the cats, but they don't ever actually catch them. Indoors, they don't mess with them.

Anonymous wrote:OP here - We were thinking of starting w/ a puppy rather than an adult, so he/she is socialized w/ the cats growing up.

Also, any general or breed differences between neutered male or spayed females.

A puppy is still risky because it's still an unknown when/if a prey drive will emerge. You can't rely enough on breed. It's really trial and error b/c it's dependent on the personality of the puppy. That's why you are better getting an adult dog who has lived for a period of time in a foster home with cats.

Anonymous wrote:Cocker spaniel

Any of the poo mixes really. Don't expect the cat to like it.

+ 1 my cocker was great with cats, I miss him.

Anonymous wrote:9:47 -- Ahhh, yeah...with the cats box checked I also get Dobermans and Bull Terriers along w/ all the Labs...thinking not so accurate...

Oy. I'm not having this conversation with you today.

Anyway, it's accurate - but you can please feel free to ignore any of the listings that you feel won't be a good fit for your family. There are hundreds of listings; hopefully in there is a dog whois to your liking.