Having a dog who gets along pretty well with other household pets, including cats, is a desire for many pet lovers. Although the general assumption is that dogs and cats are enemies by nature, this isn’t always the case.
While there are breeds that don’t see eye to with cats and other household pets, some breeds can tolerate their four-legged counterparts without creating chaos. Ever wondered whether Labrador Retrievers and cats can coexist peacefully? Let’s dig deeper.
Are Labrador Retrievers good with cats?
Labradors have a reputation for being a breed that’s friendly, loving, and tolerant; not a fighter. For this reason, it’s not unusual for a Labrador Retriever to willingly welcome a feline into their space without protest.
While a Labrador’s friendly and gentle demeanor can make them get easily used to being in the company of a cat, this breed is not ideal for households with cats for this one reason; their strong prey drive. Labradors possess a high prey drive, meaning they are more inclined to chase after pets smaller than them, such as cats.
While they may be doing this to simply satisfy their preying instincts and not necessarily harm a household cat, a Labrador’s powerful prey drive can make it harder for a feline to feel safe around the dog.
It takes a lot of dedication in training to make a Labrador treat a household cat as a fellow pet, not prey. Through training, a Labrador Retriever can eventually learn that chasing after the household cats is unacceptable.
Moreover, proper training makes it possible for a Labrador to learn how to channel their prey drive elsewhere instead of terrorizing the household cat.
Are Labrador Retrievers good with other animals and pets?
Generally speaking, a Labrador’s high prey drive makes it harder for them to co-exist peacefully with smaller pet animals such as hamsters and teacup dog breeds.
