This handsome red pit bull terrier dog is being fostered before rehoming. He appears to be having difficulty in find new owners. The foster carer has a cat it seems to me. The dog appears to be frightened of the cat. When the cat is sleeping the dog gingerly tiptoes around her/him to avoid waking up the cat. It looks amusing and slightly odd. The behavior is very human. Perhaps the dog is simply respecting the cat but it looks more like fear to me. There are many videos like this of dogs showing fear of the cats with whom they live. In these homes, the cat is the boss.
It seems remarkable that such a strong and capable dog can be scared of a domestic cat. It must depend on the personality of the dog and the cat. Perhaps this dog is a little timid and the cat might have a strong, confident character.
Dog lovers might be displeased to see the video – to see such a strong animal cowed by a measly cat! It will amuse cat lovers I suspect. Personally, I find the dog’s actions fascinating. The way he behaves like a person and at the end he has one paw off the ground as he looks in a very concerned way at the place (out of frame) where the cat is sleeping.
I had never seen a dog tiptoe. I actually don’t enjoy seeing fear in any animal, but it usually comes from a fearful experience, as with humans who have PTSD from traumatic experiences. Fear is a powerful emotion that can immobilize us. Living with reactive people (or cats) can initiate the act of “walking on eggshells”, as this dog demonstrates.
The dog, actually, looks like a pup to me that has learned/had experience with the cat that, probably, stalked and lunged. Perfectly normal cat behavior but unsettling to a young dog.
I’ve seen this before. We adopted our Border Collie from a family that had a grown cat. When she was a year old, we adopted a kitten. The dog was terrified of the kitten. Once the kitten adjusted to being here, they became best friends. Knowing how ruff puppies are, it’s not hard to imagine that the cat had to put them in their place on more than one occasion.
In this case, it would seem that the dog and cat were introduced as adults. From my experience, I would venture to say the dog had a nasty run in with a cat when he was a puppy. That memory carries over into adulthood and the new cat only had to hiss or swat at the dog to refresh that memory. That seems like the most sensible explanation.
Yes, once again I agree that this may be due to an early life experience. I suppose, too, that cats are very gutsy individuals who defend themselves fearlessly and with commitment. That can be a bit scary.