How to introduce kitten to a dog

[lizk729]

Hello everyone!!
We have had Stormy for just over a week now and our dog Daisy, who is a beagle, still goes NUTS over her.

We have a gate up between them. Stormy has run of the house and Daisy lives in our kitchen/basement. Daisy has not had run of the house yet as she is 10 months old. They both smell and talk to each other through the gate and we have held the kitten so that Daisy can smell her but tonight I decided to try setting Stormy on the kitchen floor and Daisy is just way to rough.

She get so excited and will paw her to death.....so out Stormy came. How long should I expect it to take until Daisy learns to be gentle and how will she learn if I cant put them together? lol Do I just keep doing what Im doing or is there something else I can/should be doing?
Thanks!!!

 

[tuxedokitties]

Introducing Cats to Dogs article (click here)

 

[arlyn]

If you have a baby gate keeping your puppy secluded, you could try raising it just enough so that your kitten can retreat if she needs to.
I have a 90 pound dog, he also can get a bit rough.
When the young ones were too small to retreat to high places, I had a baby gate in the door of the spare room, just high enough for the kitties to squeeze under.
Works really well.

 

[ashleynicole]

I just recently got a kitten. Right now my dog Maggie lives with my parents b/c my apartment here at school only allows cats, but I will puppysit her when they go out of town. What I did to try and let them get closer is put Maggies harness and leash on, and bring them both in my bedroom (or other room where you can close the door). I set Marlee (kitty) down and held maggie with her leash where they were just barely close enough to touch. Let them sniff, lick, etc. After that things went pretty well, but I never left them alone cause Marlee is so little I was afraid Maggie would hurt her on accident! Good luck!

 

[conor]

I introduced my kitten to a puppy through a sliding glass door. I let them get comfortable with each other and when they seemed ready i moved them into kennels. Let them get to know each other from inside carriers and then finally let them meet face to face. They almost seemed like old friends when I finally let them close to each other w/o something between them. Good luck!

 

[plebayo]

So has your dog gotten too playful for the kitten, or is she what YOU feel is too playful?

My dog is very obedient, she's a terrier mix, and she chases cats from the yard, however, she knows Napolean [my kitty] belongs to her, so she doesn't chase him. It's mostly a matter of them learning to coexist together. They get along well, and she is careful not to step on him when she plays with him. However, my friend has a lab cross who paws at him, and he gets upset and will hiss and get really nasty with her because he doesn't like playing rough. If your kitten is playing along, that's great and I wouldn't really worry, just be sure to supervise them, if it is making your kitten unhappy. I would put your dog on a leash and teach her the word "gentle" and try keeping her calm when she's around the kitten. This is a new expirience for her, so she probably just needs a firm hand. You supervising the interactions and pulling her back when she's being rough will probably help alot, because it allows your kitten to either come up and initiate more play, or back off without your dog being able to go back after your kitty.

When I brought my kitty home I just let my dog say hi while telling her to be nice, and keeping her in check, although she knew from the get go she'd be in trouble if she went after the cat. But I don't know you and your dog's relationship, she may just be too excited to listen to you.

 

[lizk729]

Thanks everyone!!! Ill let you know how it all goes.

 

[potty dotty]

well ive got a jack russell with my to cats and she has been very good with the both of then when they were little cause my dotty is only 12 months old and has 2 litters by accident but the dog has been good with all the cats and kittens ive ever had in the house