Cats? Dogs? How about both?
Before the Introduction
You will have better chance of success if your dog is a puppy. A puppy who grows up with a cat is likely to see the cat as part of the pack.
You will have less chance of success if:
- Your dog has an aggressive or predatory nature. An aggressive dog can seriously injure or kill a cat.
- Your cat is a small kitten, or is declawed, handicapped, or elderly. A kitten can be injured by an overly playful dog. Declawed, older, or handicapped cats are less equipped to defend themselves.
Best Friends photos for this article provided by our friends on Face Book
The Introduction
- Beforehand, exercise your dog and feed him a nice meal; put him in a relaxed mood. Put your dog on a short leash or in his crate.
- Put your cat in her carrier if she's a scaredy-cat by nature; otherwise let her walk around. Be armed with lots of treats for good behavior.
- Let dog and cat check each other out at a distance. Pet and talk to your dog soothingly. It's not time for dog to approach cat just yet. Give your dog and cat some treats and praise as rewards.
- If your dog bolts toward your cat, correct him with the leash. If he shows any signs of excessive excitability, calm him. If this doesn't do the trick, cut the visit short and try again later.
Although there are many techniques to introducing a new dog the one that seems to work the safest with less stress for your established dog as well and your new foster or adopted dog is for the introduction to be slow…..
It is hard sometimes not to rush things, It is very important to both dogs and for you. “It takes longer to undo something done wrong than to do it right the first time.
Successful dog training is not only about getting your dog to understand you—it’s about how much you understanding your dog. Dog training will improve the relationship and interaction between you and the dog, once your dog was well trained, you will have fun with the dog.
“We are fostering a troubled Boston through a rescue group but please let me say.. phew!! what hard work. “
“Having a second, very well behaved, older dog to show the new little trouble-doggie what is up is Key. This has been an adventure”.
Many dogs and cats get along very well. Dogs who are gentle and friendly and aren’t squirrel-chasing, predatory types can be great housemates with cats. Even dogs who do chase small prey outdoors can often learn not to chase or harm cats indoors once they’ve grown accustomed to their household cats as family members.
Although you should carefully prepare and supervise your new dog, you should have little trouble integrating him into your household if he’s lived peacefully with a cat before or if your cat has lived with a dog. But keep in mind that dogs and cats, like people, need time to get to know each other. If they’ve never seen each other before, they probably won’t be instant friends.
Since cats take awhile to accept new cats, your cat might not accept a new dog as quickly as you’d like. It might take years for a trusting, mutually agreeable relationship to develop between a cat and dog who live together. The younger, more energetic and more tolerant your cat is and the smaller, calmer and more 
obedient your new dog is, the more likely it is that your cat will accept living with a canine companion.
Want to read more? How about this article Written by Christy Heaton
Cats? Dogs? …… How about both! Why can’t we be friends?
Want to see more? How about this video produced by Carly Reichert Blake
How Cats and Dogs Live in Harmony
Photos from our friends on Social media.