Hi all, I just joined this site and already I am posting a question. Let me give you some background first. I have a 5 yeard old Bernese Mountain dog mix (probably some spaniel in her). Bobbi (a female) has been with our family now for 2.5 years. She does not handle change well (when we moved she had to be sedated). We moved to our current location in December, our next door neighbors have three pit bulls. At first Bobbi went ballistic every single time she saw them. After a few months she was fine around them, they could be off leash and she just wanted to play with them. They even interacted a few times. Bobbi has encountered cats on several occasions and each time she ignored them. We took this as a good sign.
About three weeks ago we brought a sweet little black and white male kitten into our home (he is now 12 weeks old). We started with only smelling through doors and once Jelly got his clean bill of health (sort of) we started putting Bobbi on the leash and Jelly roaming free. We quickly learned Bobbi became too hyper and started putting her in her kennel while Jelly roamed free. We would then swtich with him in his Kennel and Bobbi free. Everything was going well. I did find out that Jelly had worms so treated both animals. All was going well and Bobbi was seeming calmer and calmer. Yesterday I put her on leash and while she was at first excited and eventually calmed down and allowed him to be on the couch while she sat on the floor in front of him. He moved into my arms which made her sit up. Once she calmed down I turned him a bit so she could smell his butt, I thought it would help. I was wrong. Bobbi lunged and snapped at his rear. I was able to keep her from what I can only assume would have been a bite. I corrected her while staying calm and just moved the cat. I have been toying with the idea of putting the dog in a muzzle and allowing both animals to roam free (under supervision of course). My hope would be that they could get better used to each other while maintaining a level of some security for the cat. What do you all think?
About three weeks ago we brought a sweet little black and white male kitten into our home (he is now 12 weeks old). We started with only smelling through doors and once Jelly got his clean bill of health (sort of) we started putting Bobbi on the leash and Jelly roaming free. We quickly learned Bobbi became too hyper and started putting her in her kennel while Jelly roamed free. We would then swtich with him in his Kennel and Bobbi free. Everything was going well. I did find out that Jelly had worms so treated both animals. All was going well and Bobbi was seeming calmer and calmer. Yesterday I put her on leash and while she was at first excited and eventually calmed down and allowed him to be on the couch while she sat on the floor in front of him. He moved into my arms which made her sit up. Once she calmed down I turned him a bit so she could smell his butt, I thought it would help. I was wrong. Bobbi lunged and snapped at his rear. I was able to keep her from what I can only assume would have been a bite. I corrected her while staying calm and just moved the cat. I have been toying with the idea of putting the dog in a muzzle and allowing both animals to roam free (under supervision of course). My hope would be that they could get better used to each other while maintaining a level of some security for the cat. What do you all think?