Do Bernese Mountain Dogs Get Along With Cats?

Berners are a friendly breed but do they coexist peacefully with smaller household pets, cats in particular?

Bernese Mountain Dogs get along with cats very well. Some might still chase outdoor cats, despite being friendly with cats in their household. Berners are good-natured and highly responsive to training, so any behavioral issues can be addressed.

The cat and the dog do need a proper introduction, especially if they meet each other as grown-up animals.

Take into consideration the typical characteristics of the breed but every dog is an individual. The personality of the cat is just as important for success.

TRAITS THAT MAKE BERNERS GOOD WITH CATS

Famously Friendly

Bernese Mountain Dogs are well known for their extroverted personalities and friendly disposition.

There could be some initial tension, and the adjustment period could take a few days or even weeks. The cat’s attitude is a very important factor too – a cat might not be as imposing as a Berner but cats do tend to have big personalities.

When the initial awkward period of introductions is over, Berner and the cat are likely to live in harmony. Berners are arguably among the best dog breeds for households with cats.

High Working Intelligence

For the dog and the cat to have a good orderly relationship, the dog needs to understand the rules of behavior and consistently obey commands. Needless to say, it is going to be much easier to train your dog than your kitty.

Canine working intelligence refers to the dog’s ability to understand new commands, learn new skills with a certain number of repetitions, and practice the new skill or respond to the new command consistently.

According to Stanley Coren, Bernese Mountain Dogs are in the top 25% of all breeds that have been evaluated for their working intelligence.

In practical terms, Berners are easy to train:

They master a simple command with just 5-15 repetitions

Complex commands could take a little bit of time for them to respond to but they are expected to improve with practice
Berners may respond slower to commands outdoors or in a place with many distractions, or if the trainer is standing far away
Dogs of this category are so capable that they learn well even if the trainer is inexperienced and does not have good training skills.

High obedience potential, or working intelligence, is one of the core traits that make Berners good pets for households with other friendly animals. Berners are amazing with children, too. For everyone’s safety, the dog should always obey the owner, and Bernese Mountain Dogs have a great record in this regard.

Eager To Please

Berners love their human families, and people in general, and they do their absolute best to impress the owners. They are highly responsive to rewards, including treats and any other forms of praise. That is a useful trait if you are teaching your dog to behave a certain way, around a cat, in particular.

POTENTIAL ISSUES

Strong Instincts

All the traits that are assets for working farm dogs, such as being vocal and the tendency to herd, can be quite prominent in Bernese Mountain Dogs. Some of these habits can be hard to unlearn because Bernese Mountain Dogs have strong instincts.

Barking

Your dog could bark at the cat and could be very vocal in general. Training does ameliorate this behavior but the pup could relapse occasionally.

On the other hand, some Berners are happier when they have fellow pets in the family and have fewer behavioral issues, including less barking.

Herding

Herding could also be a persistent habit. Bernese Mountain Dogs do need some supervision around cats until the dynamics between the animals are predictable.

Our half-Berner is very amicable with our cats but does bark and follow them around as if to discipline them when they run around. This behavior is very typical for Bernese Mountain Dogs, although, again, a lot depends on the cat’s and the dog’s personalities.

BEFORE INTRODUCING THE CAT AND THE DOG TO EACH OTHER

Teach Your Berner Basic Commands

Bernese Mountain Dogs are capable of learning multiple complex commands, and your pup should at least know the basic ones. Essential basic commands include short simple words, such as “sit”, “leave it”, “come” and “quiet”. They will help you redirect your Berner effectively if there is a need for an intervention.

Knowing and responding to commands will also help your dog know how to behave in most situations, which is helpful in complex social situations.

Prepare Safe Zones

Make sure the cat has a room where the dog does not go.
- Ideally, it should be an entirely separate room with a litter box, a scratching post, water, a food bowl, and toys.
- You could set up some hiding places in the room to help the cat feel safer.

Your home should have several high areas, like shelves, that your cat is allowed on so he can easily escape the dog if needed. Most likely, the cat will not need to escape and hide but cats love having the option.
Your Berner should also have a safe space where the cat does not go. Old dogs, in particular, like having a quiet area where they can rest.

INTRODUCING THE PETS TO EACH OTHER

Young Pets

If you are welcoming both pets when they are very young – a puppy and a kitten – the adjustment period should be quite easy. The animals will grow up and mature together. They will teach each other what is appropriate and what is not.

The interactions between a kitten and a puppy could be like puppy classes, except a kitten is involved.

Introducing Grown-Up Pets

If the animals are grown up, the introduction may need to be more controlled and structured. At first, you should supervise the two very closely and allow their interactions to become closer gradually.

Keep Them Separate At First

Your new pet – especially if the cat is the new one – should mostly stay in the safe room where the dog does not go for the first couple of days. Confinement allows the cat to get to know the immediate environment first and to get comfortable. Once the cat does not appear to be stressed out anymore, it can begin to venture out.

Let The Cat And The Dog Have Each Other’s Blankets

Animals like to get to know each other’s scents.

Just like it is a good idea to bring home a baby’s hat for the pet to smell before meeting the actual baby, you could let the cat and the dog have each other’s blankets for comfort. Any item the animal spends some time sleeping on would work.

If your pets become familiar with each other’s smells, it could be less stressful for them to meet each other in person.

Create Positive Associations

Give your Berner and the cat treats when they can see each other, or let them have other rewards your animals respond to well.

The idea is for them to associate each other with good, cozy, or tasty things.

Consider Feeding The Cat Before The Dog

This is something that could make sense if you are bringing an adult Bernese Mountain Dog into a home with a cat and it is advice we got from the shelter our half-Berner came from.

Since Berners are large animals, it is important, for the cat’s safety, that the dog knows that the cat is important and maybe even dominant.

When you bring the dog into your home and you begin to let the animals eat in the same room, feed the cat first. Let the dog observe and learn the pattern: the cat eats first but the dog then gets to eat too. So, the kitty is important but it is all fair in the end and everyone is fed and happy.

Let Your Pets Eat Next To Each Other

This does not necessarily work for every dyad of pets.

If you feel that at least one of your animals is defensive of its food, it may be best to let them each be in the same room but at a distance during meals. The cat’s food could even be on a table or somewhere where the dog cannot reach it.

If your pets do not show much distress during meals, you could move their bowls closer to each other over time. If the dog and the cat eat next to each other without discomfort, that is a great sign.

Allow Supervised Interactions

These are just some general guidelines to structure the first interactions but it is important to read your pets’ cues and adjust accordingly.

Let your pets meet in a neutral zone – not one of the safe rooms.
Keep your Berner on a leash and let the cat walk around freely. If the cat prefers to hide, that is fine.
Avoid restraining either pet in your arms.

Ask the dog to sit and reward him with treats for good behavior. Give your cat treats and other rewards, too.
If either animal is anxious or aggressive, calmly distract and redirect them. Return the pets to their safe areas, and try again later.

Repeat The Interactions Daily

Your pets may not need much time at all or could need weeks to start liking each other. Our half-Berner joined us from a shelter when she was well over five years old but she did great with our cats from the beginning. So, we allowed them to interact freely within a couple of days.

Save your pets’ favorite treats for the introduction sessions.
If the cat wants to leave the room, that is fine, and do not allow the dog to follow the cat.

It is very important to end each session before either the cat or the dog shows any stress or aggression.

Allow Less Structured Interactions

When your pets are more or less used to each other’s presence, allow them to freely walk around under supervision. You could keep the dog’s leash attached so you can gain control of the dog if something goes wrong.

Eventually, your pets should begin to accept each other’s presence. Some cats and dogs are very friendly with each other, others learn to tolerate each other at best.

It is going to be important to assess the dynamics between your pets to define the appropriate boundaries, based on how the dog and the cat are acting.

To Conclude

To reiterate, Bernese Mountain Dogs as a breed are extremely likely to get along with a cat and develop at least some degree of fondness for a small fellow pet. Cats can be a little more unpredictable in this sense but more often than not the cat reciprocates and does well with the dog.

It is hard to generalize because every dyad of pets should be evaluated individually. Taking just the dog’s breed into consideration, your odds of success are very high.