Pear is MEAN to my cats HELP?

[Carrosaur]

My six week old Toulouse goose Pear has gotten quite aggressive with my cats. We have two older cats, a one year-old Main Coone and two six week old kittens. Whenever Pear sees the dogs he runs away or watches them, but if a cat walks into his line of sight he's after them! He pecks and sticks out his neck and bites them and shakes his head it's scary! I don't really know how to get him to stop. I usually tap his chest hard enough to push him backwards when he is doing it or I pin him to the ground. Five minutes later he's at it again!

 

[Miss Lydia]

My six week old Toulouse goose Pear has gotten quite aggressive with my cats. We have two older cats, a one year-old Main Coone and two six week old kittens. Whenever Pear sees the dogs he runs away or watches them, but if a cat walks into his line of sight he's after them! He pecks and sticks out his neck and bites them and shakes his head it's scary! I don't really know how to get him to stop. I usually tap his chest hard enough to push him backwards when he is doing it or I pin him to the ground. Five minutes later he's at it again!

My geese do this to our dogs if I let them, I use a long bamboo pole a mop handle will work too. When ever the geese go towards one of the dogs with their necks stretched out getting ready to attack I put the pole out between them. you can use a broom too what your wanting to do is break the line of contact. distracting the goose and say no.I even do it wen my gander thinks he should try and bite me. I sometimes even give him a push with the broom part and tell him no bite. Pear is young best teach him this now, because eventually he'll come after the dogs, when my med size dog had been nipped on the bottom one to many times she grabbed my gander and thank goodness for lots of feathers because she could have seriously injured him. That's when I started using the long pole. Celtic Oaks farm mentioned it once when we were all talking about training.

 

[Carrosaur]

Okay thank you! If it happens with my dogs it could be trouble. My golden wants to eat him and my 80lb pit mix may snap and just break him. ):

 

[Miss Lydia]

Okay thank you! If it happens with my dogs it could be trouble. My golden wants to eat him and my 80lb pit mix may snap and just break him. ):

I would keep them far apart. Always.

 

[livininbrazil]

I would keep them far apart. Always.

x2. The geese aren´t likely to do anything much to a cat, I wouldn´t worry too much about it. but the dogs are certainly able to kill a goose.
And MLyd, the avatar...well, you know what I´m going to say.....

Okay thank you! If it happens with my dogs it could be trouble. My golden wants to eat him and my 80lb pit mix may snap and just break him. ):

That´s worrying. I hope they don´t manage to get access to Pear. I have 4 bigger dogs here that mix well with the geese and other poultry. My 3 small dogs are totally terrors and cannot be trusted at all.

 

[Carrosaur]

I never let them be alone together, and the golden backs up everythime I'm with Pear. Out pit mix is TERRIFIED of him because he bit her nose once.

 

[livininbrazil]

I never let them be alone together, and the golden backs up everythime I'm with Pear. Out pit mix is TERRIFIED of him because he bit her nose once.

Well that´s a good start!

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Cats are predators, birds are prey - Pear is aware of this and is reacting in a natural, instinctual way. Pear is not being "mean", Pear is being a goose. There is no, 'This cat is okay, because it is the pet cat - this cat is not okay, it is NOT our cat' thought process involved, - it is "All cats are predators" in Pear's mind -- and that is actually what you want. You WANT a bird that retains their instinctual drive to react to predatory animals, or you end up with a bird so accepting of predatory animals that he/she fails to react appropriate when the wrong animal wanders into your yard and that bird ends up paying the ultimate price.
As to your dogs being afraid of the geese - while that sounds good on the surface, there may well come a day when the dog decides, "This is the day to make my move" and accept the goose's challenge and if/when that happens it may well end badly....so it is good that you don't leave them alone together and I do hope you will maintain that approach because everything is always good, until it isn't - and that is the time when it is too late. Too often we see posts from people who have had their dogs and birds "for years and never had any problems" until the day they find their dog has reached *that* day and suddenly taken out half the flock. Not the birds' fault, not the dog's fault - just dogs being dogs and birds being birds - predators and prey, and nature taking over at the wrong time.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Cats are predators, birds are prey - Pear is aware of this and is reacting in a natural, instinctual way. Pear is not being "mean", Pear is being a goose. There is no, 'This cat is okay, because it is the pet cat - this cat is not okay, it is NOT our cat' thought process involved, - it is "All cats are predators" in Pear's mind -- and that is actually what you want. You WANT a bird that retains their instinctual drive to react to predatory animals, or you end up with a bird so accepting of predatory animals that he/she fails to react appropriate when the wrong animal wanders into your yard and that bird ends up paying the ultimate price.
As to your dogs being afraid of the geese - while that sounds good on the surface, there may well come a day when the dog decides, "This is the day to make my move" and accept the goose's challenge and if/when that happens it may well end badly....so it is good that you don't leave them alone together and I do hope you will maintain that approach because everything is always good, until it isn't - and that is the time when it is too late. Too often we see posts from people who have had their dogs and birds "for years and never had any problems" until the day they find their dog has reached *that* day and suddenly taken out half the flock. Not the birds' fault, not the dog's fault - just dogs being dogs and birds being birds - predators and prey, and nature taking over at the wrong time.

Very good point.

 

[Carrosaur]

Oh thank you I didn't really think about Pear going off instinct. I thought that since cats got used to my cockatiel and my old ducks then the goose would get used to them.

Oh my golden retriever is evil and I don't trust him at all I would NEVER leave those two alone.