Introducing a dog to kitties?

I am, as usual, planning ahead. I almost hit a dog yesterday and after much back and forth with animal control (whose town is it in???), I saidf forget it, took time off work and took her to my vet.

She's old, has not been spayed, obviously had many puppies and has worn her teeth down - the vet thinks she was crated and chewed on the bars.

She walks on a lease, is house trained, knows basic commands and is so sweet, she brings tears to my eyes. I have posted on Craigslist and contacted local rescues and will post some flyers this week. In the meantime, once she's cleared, how do I go about introducing her to the cats?

They are all currently a bit confused, having never seen a dog before. The each have gone to the glass door between the living room and porch and stared at her for a few minutes. When she starts whining, they all run to the bedroom and sit at the door with quizzical looks on their faces. They are a little spooked but seem to be realizing she isn't going to get them.

Any help is appreciated ...

I would be brave,but go slow.I'd take her in a comfortable room for the kitties and have her on the leash and just sit down and see what happens.You have the control because of the leash.If yours are like mine,they may have the urge to swat,but in the end,it all worked out just fine for me.Let the cats know it's okay,and let the dog know it's okay...talk to them.I'd do this several times during the day and just see what happens.A few treats might not hurt either...food soothing the savage beast so to speak.It has been my experience that if the dog doesn't react to the cats in a violent manner from the beginning,they will eventually get along well.It just takes time.Bless your heart for giving her a chance at life

Originally Posted by lizzie

I would be brave,but go slow.I'd take her in a comfortable room for the kitties and have her on the leash and just sit down and see what happens.You have the control because of the leash.If yours are like mine,they may have the urge to swat,but in the end,it all worked out just fine for me.Let the cats know it's okay,and let the dog know it's okay...talk to them.I'd do this several times during the day and just see what happens.A few treats might not hurt either...food soothing the savage beast so to speak.It has been my experience that if the dog doesn't react to the cats in a violent manner from the beginning,they will eventually get along well.It just takes time.Bless your heart for giving her a chance at life

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Good advice. Just two things: Her teeth may be worn down from playing with tennis balls, they work like sand paper and I've seen many dogs with short teeth for that reason. The second thing is to be careful passing treats around. Some dogs will become possesive of the food and react negatively for that reason alone.

She sounds like a nice dog.

Thanks, Lizzie and Bean.

We may be in luck - a friend wants to see if she'd be good as a therapy dog. I gave her a bath tonight and she just sat and waited until I was finished, so I think she's a good candidate. When she was all dried off, she lay down with her head in my lap and just sighed.

As a cat person, I've always admired dog people, especially those who can train a dog like this one was trained. Its amazing how laid back and sweet she is. As stressed as she must be with the situation, she's so happy to see me when I come home from work. Once I put the lights out, though, she lays down and goes right to sleep.

The only thing is she's older and I'm convinced she was dumped. It just doesn't fit that whoever trained her would do it, so I'm hoping her owner isn't dead. Its just sad all around but hopefully, we'll have a good ending. Vibes please!