Introducing the dog!

[chasetheblue]

One of my very good friends is going to be going through a breakup soon, and it will leave her with nowhere to live until her contract is up at her job in June (at which point she will move back to her hometown ) so I said that she could live with me for those few months. I have a one bedroom apartment but we're going to rig up a space for her that will be kinda like a room (but won't actually have walls and a door). 

I have two kittens that will be 4 months old when she moves in. She has a dog who has lived with a kitten before with no major issues, but does have a history of aggression towards other animals and people (never to me, he adores me). We are planning on having him crated when no one is home (he is well crate trained and likes being in his crate) or I will bring him to work with me, since I work on a horse farm and he loves to go out with me. 

Any tips for safe introductions? There are lots of small spaces that the kitties can hide under (couch, ottoman, etc) that he wouldn't be able to get at them from, and I know he can be a good boy when he knows what to do and not do, because he lived with a cat before without any problems, but these are my babies and I would be devastated if I let anything happen to them. I'm going to re-arrange my house in general a little better to facilitate safe kitty space that is away from doggy space, more worried about the initial introductions. 

(I'm not overly worried, if I was I wouldn't be risking it, I'm confident we'll be able to keep everyone safe and happy, but would love any tips from people who have dealt with this )

 

[MoochNNoodles]

It's good to be prepared!  It's been a while for me; but we've done kittens and dogs.  We actually keep our kittens crated when we are not home till they are bigger too.  I pretty much did things as they are listed in this article: http://www.thecatsite.com/a/introducing-cats-to-dogs.  We supervised and took it slow.  One of our dogs was a bit older when we brought 2 new cats home (one was 2/3 the other a tiny kitten).  The kitten and the younger dog are still friends.  Back then he'd wrestle with the dog's tail.  He still grooms him. 

 

[smallbigtown]

I have two dogs, both about six years old.  They are mutts... one is a heeler-mix and the other is either a husky-mix or a malamute-mix.  The latter is the alpha dog.  But both dogs see me as the pack leader.  I don't know their history with cats, as I adopted them both as adults.  

I introduced a six-week old kitten to them.  I cupped the kitten in my hands, close to my body.  My dogs were excited, wagging their tails.  They jumped a little bit (gently), and after they sat on command, I slowly knelt down so they could smell my hands that were protecting the kitten.  They sniffed and wagged their tails and smiled a bunch.  I praised them, and when they got more and more excited, I stood back up.  I repeated that process a couple of times, then closed the kitten in my room with me so he could explore.

The dogs aren't allowed on my bed, so the first time I let them "meet" the kitten without my arms wrapped around him, I let him wander on the bed and the dogs were allowed to walk around the bed and watch, and try to interact.  The alpha dog continually got between the kitten and the other dog.  She was protecting the kitten.  So cute.

The other dog and the kitten rarely play, just the two of them.  And when they do, it's under the watchful eye of the alpha dog.  Both dogs will chase the kitten on and around the couch, and it's hilarious to watch.  The kitten and the alpha dog are BFFs.  

 

[chasetheblue]

thank you! I'm hoping it will all go smoothly. 

 

[shadowsrescue]

I have introduced my 9 year old Samoyed, Misty to 2 different cats.  Each time I kept her on a leash and close to me.  We started by letting her smell the room the cat had been staying in.  We then used a gate and allowed each of them to safely sniff giving yummy cooked chicken as rewards.  I wanted them to associate something good with each other.  Visits were always short and always with the dog on a leash.  I then allowed the visits to grow in length.  When the two were allowed out and about for awhile, I kept a very close eye on both.  I even kept the dog on a short tether so I could quickly grab her if needed.  We had fairly smooth introductions, but there were a few chase sessions.  Make sure the kittens have places to get up high away from the dog.  Do you have a cat tree/condo? 

 

[chasetheblue]

I don't have a tree but they are allowed on the tables as of tonight (I need somewhere to feed them where the dog can't get their food. sigh. don't really want cats on the table but don't have much option for now). I can't really afford a tree at the moment, but there are lots of spaces that they can get to that the dog wouldn't be able to reach them in (under the couch etc).

They like dogs, they adore the landlords' dog upstairs (much to her disgust lol), so I'm not worried about how they will feel, just about how he will react to them . Thankfully he is very smart and most of the time is a pretty good listener.