Advice on introducing new dog to kitties?

I haven't owned a dog in a long time. I've had pooches before and I haven't had the time to devote to one for a while. Now, I work at home so I'm here a lot, and I'm seriously considering adopting one after the snow starts to melt.

It would be great to have a doggy companion to take along on hiking trips, trail running, etc. All that stuff that a single gal sometimes thinks twice about doing alone. Plus, I live alone and I'm thinking 'safety'. Check that. I live with my two kitties.

I considered getting a puppy so that she doesn't scare the kitties too much right off the bat, but I've decided against that. I don't want to deal with housebreaking phase. I remember going through that with my last dog, and while she was the dog-love of my life for 10 years, I'd be happy to skip this step this time.

So now I'm considering adopting a 1 to 2 year old doggy (haven't identified one specifically yet). I like to have an indoor-outdoor doggy, one that spends a lot of time inside, too.

Have you had luck 'integrating' a new dog into your home that is already occupied by kitties?

I would try and get a dog that has already had contact with cats. When I got my boxer dog I got him from a family that was leaving the country and they gave me good references as of his temper and nature. He would not hurt a fly!
He did like to chase my cat but after the cat was cornered he would just bark but not bite.

Yep, as I'm having fun browsing sites on the internet, I'm noting how many dogs do or do not have 'experience' with cats.

I think that disrupting the kitties lives is the main reason that I might not get a dog. But I'm SO looking forward to trail running and hiking this spring/summer. I used to spend many a-weekend up here with the dog I had many years ago, alone, hiking and enjoying nature's therapy. You don't always want a human being along!

I think the problem with adopting from a shelter instead of from a family is that they'll say a lot of things to get you to take the pup home, or so I hear. I can understand this but if it's not a good fit, it will suck.

I'm going to keep my eyes open over the next two months. A lot of people come to Tahoe for the season, then run away when they realize what it's like to live in the snow. Maybe some will be giving up their pooches.

Yep, as I'm having fun browsing sites on the internet, I'm noting how many dogs do or do not have 'experience' with cats.

Did you look at this site yet?
http://www.sspca.org/Dogs_IntroducingDogs.html

Thanks, Faith.

Food...I didn't even think about the problems with trying to feed a dog and the kats. My pets have always had food at their disposal so kitty food is on the kitchen floor at all times. Not with a dog in the house!

*sigh* I have a small 2 bedroom duplex. I'd have to figure out how to put the kitty food up somewhere in my office.

Arrgh! Didn't even think about this issue.

My sister used to feed her cat on the washing machine, ScienceGoddess. A tray makes it easy to move when you want to wash clothes. You can also put the cat food anyplace you can put a doggie-door because the cats just jump over it, or if the cats are seniors, you can cut a whole in the doggie-door. HOWEVER, I would test the move first. I tried to move my cat's food to another location and he simply would NOT eat. After three days, I gave up.

I have 10 cats and 2 dogs....

My cats food is left out all the time.......

The dogs have dry food left ou all the time.......

Then at night the dogs get canned food......

Everyone is family........so they all share.......

Except Bebe the 13 year old minature poodle with no teeth......snarls......lol.....and they ignore her.......lol

My vet says that it doesn't hurt the dogs if they eat the cat food, it just has more protein then dog food.......

And they all share a large bowl of water........

They just all love love love each other!

love,
sora

Here you can search for a companion through the quick pet search. It should show dogs who are cat-compatible:

http://www.petfinder.org/

Oh gosh....we are going through this right now. Our German Shepherd will be an indoor/outdoor family member. The cats have taken his introduction pretty well...at first they stayed in my room all the time and would only come out at night when he was sleeping. LOL Now they cautiously snoop around and aren't hissing as much when he gets in their faces. :-)
It's an adventure.....good luck finding a doggy!!!!

Normally all dogs will eat cat food but not viceversa. Before the dog gets there, try changing food location little by little until the cats learn to eat on a raised surface.

Be very careful with any dog you adopt because a mean dog will kill a cat. It has got nothing to do with size either. My mom's dog is very small and she kills possums. :(

Wow, cool, this is why I LOVE this place. A gal can be gone all day and come back to so much wonderful input!

Patricia: I FOUND petfinder a couple of days ago, and it totally got me into dog-mode, especially since I'm looking for some kind of pit mix or similar medium/big dog. SO many doggies on that site!

Bella: I'm feeling guilty just THINKING of invading the kitties' space! Do you think they're mad at you for bringing the beast home??? :o

Sora, I'm hoping that this might be the case but lik Sheila said, not all cat will eat dog food. My place is small; not too many opportunities for putting the kitty bowls 'up' anywhere. Plus, my last dog would just get up on whatever-it-is and get to the cat food anyway. Cat food is yummier because it's higher in protein and fats.

I had my hair done last night. My hairdresser's girlfriend came in with their 13 week old boxer. He is adorable! And he both pooped and peed on the the floor while he was there. Sheesh, I'm not sure AT ALL that I want to deal with THAT.

Did anyone do that crate training method? Did it work?

Have you had luck 'integrating' a new dog into your home that is already occupied by kitties?

I did, but the dog was a puppy and my cat was an adult. Later, when I tried to introduce a different dog for a visit, it was an adult dog and my cat had a six month old kitten that she went nuts trying to protect. That poor dog was scratched all to heck.

I think if you don't have a mother cat and you get a dog that's good natured that it's possible to integrate them without too much trouble.

Thanks, Charlotte.

I have two sister kitties, almost 2 years old, that have both been fixed, so no kittens will be running around here.

I just can't decide if I want to bring home a doggy that's maybe about a year old so that I don't have to go through all the house-training, or if I want to get a puppy so that my kitties won't totally freak out over some big ol' critter.

SG . . . you really might want to consider an older dog who has been around cats. Puppies are very energetic and rambuncious (sp?) and that might make your cats nervous.

And do be careful with the breed you choose. Some breeds just inherently don't get along with smaller critters (especially the hound group). I have read tho that bulldogs (real bulldogs, not pits) get along famously with cats for some reason.

I had a pit mix and I'm not sure I would want to mix that up with cats. Pits are great dogs, but they are different . . . very different. Mine was very sweet, but I was very careful with her around even smaller dogs.

I now have a Pharoah Hound (who would be terrible with cats) and a Rott/German Shepherd mix (who is the sweetest dog I have ever seen and would probably accept anything I brought home).

Just remember that whatever you bring home, you will need to keep them separated when they are not supervised until you are certain that they will get along and not kill each other when they are left alone. That would be a real disaster for you and them.

Good Luck! :)

I dunno if it's all Dobermans. But my dog Katie (sadly, I don't have her anymore), hated cats!

SG, I adopted a stray that was hanging around in our neighborhood, about 7 months ago. She is a female doberman. I have 4 cats and was VERY reluctant to bring her inside the house. I eventually did, and they all hissed and carried on for a little while. But, interestingly enough, they got used to this big, rambunctious doggy faster than they ever got used to any new cat I introduced to the fold.

Now, 7 months later, they all get along just fine. In fact, she has become best buddies with one of them, and she gives her a daily bath. :) She kisses the others. She so badly wants to play with them, which does frighten me a little because she could accidentally hurt them while I'm not home, but so far, they are faster than her and when she gets excited and wants to play, they run and hide.

We've only had one incident which alarmed me, and it happened 2 nights ago. One of the cats was walking through the living room, and Maggie (the dog) growled at her and lunged at her. But, what I think happened was that she thought the cat was going to go towards her beloved toy. OMG, she has this awful looking bone shaped cloth dog toy that USED to have stuffing and a squeaker (she has pulled all that out). She goes crazy over it, and the only thing I can think of is that she thought the cat was going to take her toy.

As far as food goes, I had the same worries because I leave my cat food out all day. And, in the beginning, I have no doubt that she was snacking on cat food. :) But, she was also bone thin in the beginning. She was very hungry from being a stray.

Now, she doesn't touch their food. And her bowl sits very close to theirs. The cats don't bother her food either. But, they all do drink water from the same bowl.

This dog has just been amazing for us. Our last one died 5 years ago and my daughter wanted another one, but I was so reluctant to get another one because of my cats. So, we've been very lucky.

I'd recommend you check with your local animal shelter to see if they evaluate the dogs there to see how well they get along with cats. I knows our local shelter does that.

But, as far the kitties go, and feeling guilty about them, well, I find that cats are fairly adaptable. They might get ticked off for a while, but they eventually get over it. :p

Here you can search for a companion through the quick pet search. It should show dogs who are cat-compatible:

http://www.petfinder.org/


Patricia: This is a great site. It's so hard for me to even look sometimes, though. I want to take them ALL home! My dream is to have a large piece of property with, like, 5 big dogs running around!

For now, I'll settle for one.

Thanks, everyone, for your input. I agree that there are some breeds that typically get along with other animals/cats better than others. I had a pit bull for 10 years that lived with our other dogs and cats but she didn't like dogs other than the ones living at home. It occasionally limited where I could take her, not to mention that even though she was totally sweet and everyone that knew her loved her, having a pit bull out in public tends to freak people out.

Whiterose, thanks for the info about your 'new' pooch. I think that my cats will adapt, like you said. I also hope that there is a way to train a new doggy to stay away from the cat food. There just aren't any options in my little house for putting the food up high.

I'm still waffling on whether to get a puppy or a young dog. I know that most puppies will find homes faster than more mature dogs.

Will a 1-2 year old doggy become as devoted and protective as a puppy that has been raised from just a few weeks old? I've only raised dogs from babies so I've never experienced this.

Will a 1-2 year old doggy become as devoted and protective as a puppy that has been raised from just a few weeks old? I've only raised dogs from babies so I've never experienced this.


Well, in my dog's case, she definitely has. I think she is at least 2 years old. She is very devoted and protective of my daughter and me.

Crate training is an awesome way to go for a new pup...house training is swifter with steadier results.

Here is a very comprehensive site on crate training...it is the method I use, and will be using when I get my new puppies this July and September...

Crate Training (http://sonic.net/~cdlcruz/GPCC/library/crate.htm)

Here's a picture of the sire of the litter I expect a pup from in July...he puts a whole new meaning to the word "Big Daddy"...lol

http://www.angelfire.com/fl/alaturka/images/Rocky3.jpg


Good luck with whatever you decide!


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