10 yr old male dog attempting to introduce male 12 wk old kitten ..help?

[Andrea Powers]

my dog is not aggressive but when it comes to the cat he loses his mind so i do i get the dogs to calm down and get over this anger and accept the kitten?

 

[Confuzzled]

When we introduced a cat to our dogs we held it and let the dogs sniff its tail area while we held it. They snuffled about and licked the kitten. I never let go and when they got a bit rough I told them firmly NO! I kept hold of the kitten at all times and had my partner there to take the dogs out if there was a problem. After a while the kitten got down and the dogs went over to see her but she spat and hissed and hid under the sofa. After a while she would hit them on the nose and eventually she RULED them. Often she would curl up on them for warmth and they got 'used' to each other. So long as you set the ground rules with the dogs at the very start they will know that YOU as pack leader want this little kitten as part of your pack! Make sure you don't leave it alone with them until you are sure they have accepted it. Keep them in separate rooms if you go for the first month. Do feed them together as this will reinforce the 'pack' idea. Any problem behaviour use a deterant like water pistol on the dogs or bunch of keys dropped or short sharp NO! Never use their names to tell them off. Good luck!

 

[Peachy Perfect]

My aunt and uncle have dogs and cats. When they first introduced a cat to the dog, they put them both in their travel cages and let them sit across the room from each other (facing each other so they could see each other), and just let them sit there for a while looking at each other and getting used to it. They did that until the dog didn't do anything when the cat was around in the cage.

Then they took the cat out and brought it closer to the cage with the dog until it was ok with that. Then they took the dog out and held him on a leash while someone else was holding the cat, and did that several times until the dog was okay with that...

Just progress in steps like that.

 

[Richard]

keep the kitten in a carrier for a couple of weeks so that the dog can get used to the smell and sounds of the kitten

 

[?Red Panda?]

Take it slow.

Start off by holding the
kitten in the door way far from your dog. Keep them separated! Every so often bring the kitten closer. This will make the kitten more common and less exciting. Also, give the dog something that smells like the kitten like a blanket or a towel. Let him get used to his smell.

When it's time to bring them face to face, make sure that you pet BOTH of them at the same time. They won't understand that you are petting them at the same time, they will assume you are petting only them, making them feel like they are the ones getting the attention.