introducing my kitten to a rotteviler

Hi all

I have read the article about introducing cats and dogs and will try some advice given.

We took Sammi outside and put on the grass and then brought the rottie, the dog was alright with her but we had to hold the dog back and he was shaking. The dog seems to be okay when the kitten is on the floor but on Thursday while i was at work sammi was running around in the lounge and the dog hit the sliding door which opened and he wanted to attack the kitten we now lock the door and close the curtain when she is in the lunge, she was not alone my boyfriend and his brother were at home. They try introducing the dog and kitten everyday. Today was much better but I can't be there while its happens because I get stressed. What else can we do beside introducing them everyday. By the way the rottie has not snapped again since Thursday and sammi is better to.

How long do you think it would take, especially consisting sammi is only 6 weeks and so small could that be why she and dog it so stressed?

have you put the dog in a crate and let the cat sniff, and vice versa? Smell is key to a dog and cats mind. Give treats to the dog for calm behavior around the cat. When he is looking at the cat use a treat and the command "look" or "see me" or whatever you want and make him look at you by bringing the treat from his nose to your face. Give him the treat as soon as his eyes meet yours. Do this over and over until he learns the command. Then you will always be able to get his attention when he is looking to interested in the cat. Try these and tell me how it goes. The dog may want to chase the cat and not attack. The dog must never be allowed to chase, so he must always be leashed, it is best if the cat does not run near the dog since that will trigger his prey drive. Put the cat in a room and put a baby gate up. Have the dog on the other side out of the room. Don't hold his leash tight but hold it in case he can jump the gate. If the cat is comfortable he can come and thay can sniff through the gate. If the dog becomes bored with the cat and looks away or looks at you give him a treat.

Good Luck!

Thank you so much for the advice, Maxy24 I hope things will get better with each passing day. I will keep everyone up to date on the improvement with the kitten and dog.

I just wanted to update all on the progress of sammi and the rottie. Things are still very slow but what we are doing now is put sammi in her carrier and then taking her outside so that the dog can smell her and check her out. She doesn't hiss or spit anymore and the dog just lies there at watches her intensely. The lying down is a improvement I think.

Holding thumbs that it will get better everyday. I want to do the introductions 2 to 4 times a day. What do you think?

Wow, well firstly I think what a brave Kitty, lol
I learnt some thing here, thanks for your question and the posts that have been made.
I know now how to do an intro for my kitty to our dogs. (thankfully they are poodles..lol) I think the task would be easier now.
sharon

I'm glad things are progressing, make sure you are giving the dog treats for his good behavior!

you can also try baby gating a room (bedroom sized) and putting the cat in it. Have the dog on the other side on a leash but have slack so it is not tight. The purpose of the leash is if he goes to jump the gate you can stop him, you may even want to stack gates so it can't happen. Do this with a room that has a door that when the gate is up you can still close the door, put all the cats stuff in this room (litter box, food, some toys). The purpose of this is so the dog can get used to the cats normal movements and they will not trigger his prey drive or interest once he gets used to them. They can sniff through the gate but if the dog snaps or seems to be getting aggressive close the door. If he stays calm give him the treat (something yummy like cooked hot dog) and tell him he is very good. Try to make sure the cat does not jump the gate since that could be very dangerous (the stacked gate thing should prevent that too, you may want someone in the room with the cat to to grab him if he trys to jump it, make sure you can control the big ol' rottie very well). do not scold the dog EVER during he intros even if he is not being so nice or cooperative, he needs to associate the cat with good things not punishment. Same with the cat, don't startle him during the intros (at least try not to). If you are VERY worried about the dog attacking the cat you can put a muzzle on him, but I highly suggest you don't as most dogs dislike them very much, if you must put one on use a basket type (the ones that allow panting and are made of plastic)so he can still sniff the cat well and have a bit more freedom with his jaw.

ok so let him watch through the baby gate, never scold but only praise when he is calm and let them sniff through the gate on the cat's terms. While they are sniffing the dog may get all excited and you can let him do that. If he starts barking close that door so he can't see the cat. When he calms down open the door again. the barking is probably not aggressive it's more excitement but it will startle the cat so it should be stopped as quickly as possible. Thanks for the update and tell me how this goes, good luck!

does the dog live inside or outside? It concerns me that you are taking such a young kitten outside, where it could contract god knows what? If the dog lives outside (which I don't believe in, but thats a whole other thread), why does it really matter if they get introduced? If the dog lives inside, I think introductions should be done inside. A 6 week old cat is much too young to be outside (again, I don't think cats belong outside period, but thats a whole other thread too).