Dogs and cats aren’t known for being best friends, and that’s somewhat true in our household. I’m Jinx and I’m the older sister of Riley, Ripley and Prestley. With three dogs in our house (male ones at that), I’m outnumbered by canines of the opposite gender. I love my brothers even if I don’t like to be around them all of the time and that’s because our house has been setup to make us all as comfortable as possible. Here are a few things that mommy did to make sure that I wouldn’t feel unsafe with three dogs introduced overtime into our house.
- Make gradual introductions – like one of the dogs said about introducing a new puppy to other dogs in another post, each dog was introduced gradually to me. No one forced me to go make friends as soon as a puppy came home. Baby gates were used to give me space, and I was able to go explore them when I was ready.
- Taught “leave it” – this is one of Mommy’s favorite commands for the dogs in general, but she uses it when they’re tempted to chase me. It works with food, toys and garbage when walking as well. Mommy knows you can’t train a cat; we’ll do what we want, so this helps keep things under control between us since she’s worked with the dogs!
- Provide neutral territory – we tend to clash more inside the house, but when we all go out into the backyard together the dogs don’t try to chase me at all. We just enjoy the space together! Since our backyard is fenced, it’s a safe spot for us all to go!
- Create personal space – the dogs are together all of the time, but I don’t always want to be with them. They like to play with each other a lot and when they’re hyper, I try to stay out of the way because I don’t want to get involved. There’s a baby gate at the bottom of our basement stairs so I can go somewhere the dogs can’t go if I want some time to myself. It keeps them away from my litter box and food, too. By doing this, I see them when I’m ready to and I come up when they’re calm and quiet.
There is one thing that mommy says she would do differently if we could start over, and that would be to get a cat at the same time as a dog or after
wards (particularly if it were a kitten). A young cat has more patience for getting to know dogs!
Bart
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Nice post. Thank you for information sharing with us ! Please keep posting.
I am fond of adopting a pet like dog and birds. But I didn’t even try to get a cat! I am afraid that if I do so, my dog will get jealous. Anyway, thanks for your blog and I appreciate your tips in handling it!
A little revelation upon my experiences as an animal lover, sometimes humans fall close into that category.but then let us talk about real 4 legged, non-amphibians. Dogs and Cats hate each other, NOT TRUE, Cats hate dogs because dogs want to play with them, wagging tails and teasing, the dog became domesticated and some breeds are still used as tools for hunting but the domesticated dog is not a hunter unless he (she) has to fend for itself. The cat on the other hand although domesticated still retains it’s hunting instincts ,good for us 2 legged, these felines keeps rodents away and maybe some diseases.” Doh” I am that dog a smack across the muzzle from the cat is part of the game,ha.ha.ha “let’s do it again, wiggle, waggle my dog head!
All five of my dogs are brilliant with my two elder cats. They are best friends. I have a small kitten that I dare not let downstairs yet as I fear my Bichon Frises may think its a toy. Only a matter of time though I hope