How to introduce dogs to cats?

Take your dog out of it's territory, introduce them, let them get on, then bring them back home.
 
put them both in boxes next to each other. so theyre close enough to smell and checkout each other but cant fight

once the kitten is a cat it would be fine though. it would probably put up a good fight against a jack russell
 
Stretch said:
Wait until the kittens are big enough, i.e they can walk, play etc. Then just put them together and let them get on with it. Most dogs are all talk, especially the small ones.
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You haven't much experience of 'proper' terriers, have you? :p

"andy" said:
put them both in boxes next to each other. so theyre close enough to smell and checkout each other but cant fight

once the kitten is a cat it would be fine though. it would probably put up a good fight against a jack russell
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Or you... lol OP, if the dog is of the 'run up and yap' sort rather than the 'grab and throttle on sight' sort, you're half way there. I have a bitch who throttles first asks questions later, which can be a bit of a nuisance when there are people around :o

As someone said above, you can try to introduce them on neutral territory (keep hold of the kitten!). Does the dog respect its master? Personally I'd be carrying the kitten, showing the dog that it's "mine" and that he bloody well better not touch, it or else... and make a huge fuss over the dog ignoring the kitten to hopefully avoid some of that terrier jealousy.

With suitable introduction you might well be OK, but personally I'd never leave them alone together. It's a terrier, and they do like killing cats. Fetch! Erm, I mean, 'bad dog'... :D
 
"andy" said:
one scratch and hiss while the cat has doubled in size and unless the dogs stupid it wont bother again
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Why would the dog be the stupid one? That'd be a very dead cat if it tried such foolishness around most of the dogs I know. OP, ignore that comment if you have any sense. Terriers do not take kindly to being hissed and/or scratched at, and they really don't care how fluffed up the perpetrator is, either. In fact, it'd be more logical to argue the dog would be stupid to actually fall for such a useless bluff lol
 
You may think that it is a dead cat that attacks a dog, but you would be surprised.. most dogs dont know what to do if a cat turns and attacks them, they're shocked.. its the "huh? that wasn't meant to happen" moment, that lets the cat get away.

*this comes from having experience of RAF Police dog handlers complaining that my cat used to attack their big burly attack dogs..
 
Ceryndrion said:
You may think that it is a dead cat that attacks a dog, but you would be surprised.. most dogs dont know what to do if a cat turns and attacks them, they're shocked.. its the "huh? that wasn't meant to happen" moment, that lets the cat get away.

*this comes from having experience of RAF Police dog handlers complaining that my cat used to attack their big burly attack dogs..
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Indeed. I spent a long time training 'attack' dogs too. However the OP has a terrier, which was designed from the DNA up to kill things like cats without thinking twice. Trust me, a cat that stops to play bluff with such a dog won't be living to do so again. Many dogs are indeed operating out of prey drive when they simply chase a cat. Thanks to 'modern' breeding they are also quite cowardly on the whole, and once a cat stops the impetus to chase is removed and suddenly they're facing an apparently angry animal. That's the point they choose to yap like a yellow belly, or run :p

Terriers, lurchers and dogs of that ilk never lost the instinct to close for the kill. Apples and oranges, unfortunately. Hence advising the OP to tread carefully. The last cat that tried the "look how big I am! Hiss..." trick in my garden ended up taking a long nap at the bottom of a four foot hole when I returned to check on the dog and saw her ragging its carcase around the grass. :o For the record she's neither big or burly; standing a mere 12 inches and weighing under 14lbs.
 
Rainmaker said:
You haven't much experience of 'proper' terriers, have you? :p
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Thankfully no, my experience is limited to tolerating other people’s dogs barking, growling and generally being a pain in the back side. Funnily enough the only dogs I’ve ever had a problem with are poodles. They never bark, they just bite.
 
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Mix the scents of all animals if you have the cats in the house keep them seperate from the dog and every day or so swap the bedding over of the cats and the dog. they will get used to each others smells before they see each other and creates a hybrid scent. this is also a technique for introducing ferrets to each other so they dont fight
 
My shar pei was attacked by a terrier nasty little things when they want to be.

Much prefer my bigger dogs :)

KaHn
 
Get a kitten cage. Day 1 in another room away from dog put them in cage so they get used to smell of the house, you etc. Day 2 let them out to roam the room. After 1 day or so, introduce dog into room with them in the cage. This will get them used to each other. After another day or so let them mingle.
 
Not sure about little dogs but my mums Labs got on fine with the 2 cats (both from kittens) dogs were first.

When the cat came she was a bit scared but now they cuddle up and dont bother each other. The male dog loves licking the cats but they are not too keen on it tbh and normally walk off. Eddie (cat) got a bit close to Katie (dog) and she bit him nose, he breaths a bit funny and noisey now. He must have got his own back coz he now eats her food from her bowl. Its quite funny coz she comes and looks at you as if to say he's eating my food again Dad stop him :-(
 
"andy" said:
snip
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lol, I like that first vid.

Oh here's a picture of said mutt, hugging a dolphin/shark thing

67001269117697818069197.jpg
 
I think I saw somewhere that the initial introduction is done with one in a cage or with a barrier between them. See how it pans out, and then perhaps with the dog on a leash.

Be careful, I have a friend who never introduced the two cats in his house to the two weimaraners and lets just say it wasnt pretty when one of the cats slipped through the net...
 
Keep them in seperate rooms when unsupervised, swap their blankets round so they get used to the smell.

Have plenty of spare kittens for back up.
 
Gaijin said:
I think I saw somewhere that the initial introduction is done with one in a cage or with a barrier between them. See how it pans out, and then perhaps with the dog on a leash.
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It's often noted that dogs can be a lot more edgy when on a lead, due to lack of freedom of movement. Mine certainly is a lot more vocal when he's on a lead than off.
 
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