Introducing Golden Retriever Puppy And Cat

[Lola3791]

Due to our previous dog's death we are getting a Golden Retriever puppy named Rosie. My cat Lola did not like our another dog because he would try to play fight with her. We also have a rabbit that Lola is afraid of. I would like Rosie and Lola to get along. Rosie has had a positive experience with cats while Lola has had a negative one with dogs. With our other dog, she scratched him the first time he tried to play with her. I don't want the same thing to happen to Rosie. Does anyone have any suggestions?​

 

[Kflowers]

First expect it to take a long time, seriously long time. Like a year. It may go faster with the dog being a puppy. The key thing is to be sure the puppy won't hurt the cats. Give the cats lots of places they can get away from the puppy. think up. For now the puppy will fit under the bed, but not be agile under there. The cats will attack him
if he goes under after them.

goldens have long noses which is good. Expect the puppy's nose and muzzle to get scratched a lot. The cats will do this to tell him to back off, to not smush them, to not lick them. Our cat merely hisses and puppy (lab shepherd) backs off, but it's clear she got
to know another cat before.

Practice the command sit a lot. Puppies will stop what they are doing to sit. That's really all you want.

leave it is - good useful command

Drop it == also good.

Let the cats decide when and how much puppy they want. Cats can and do know the difference between this puppy and another.

 

[Lola3791]

First expect it to take a long time, seriously long time. Like a year. It may go faster with the dog being a puppy. The key thing is to be sure the puppy won't hurt the cats. Give the cats lots of places they can get away from the puppy. think up. For now the puppy will fit under the bed, but not be agile under there. The cats will attack him
if he goes under after them.

goldens have long noses which is good. Expect the puppy's nose and muzzle to get scratched a lot. The cats will do this to tell him to back off, to not smush them, to not lick them. Our cat merely hisses and puppy (lab shepherd) backs off, but it's clear she got
to know another cat before.

Practice the command sit a lot. Puppies will stop what they are doing to sit. That's really all you want.

leave it is - good useful command

Drop it == also good.

Let the cats decide when and how much puppy they want. Cats can and do know the difference between this puppy and another.

Thank you so much! We are the puppy in a few weeks and I'll update then.

 

[Kflowers]

You should also buy a spray bottle of bitter apple or the no chew of your preference. You may have forgotten puppies tend to chew EVERYTHING. No raw hide bones, they sprinter and form obstructions in the puppy and require surgery. Yeah, our first ones survived it because we didn't know and this one had well finished teething when we got her.

 

[Lola3791]

You should also buy a spray bottle of bitter apple or the no chew of your preference. You may have forgotten puppies tend to chew EVERYTHING. No raw hide bones, they sprinter and form obstructions in the puppy and require surgery. Yeah, our first ones survived it because we didn't know and this one had well finished teething when we got her.

No we didn't forget. Our last dog chewed EVERYTHING as a puppy.

 

[1 bruce 1]

I'd sign Rosie and you up for a good puppy training class. Those are almost always all positive and focus on teaching good behaviors instead of fixing the bad stuff, and most trainers will have heard "how do I get my puppy and cat to get along" 1,000 times and will have some good information. Personally, I'd stay away from the big box training classes and find a good trainer with a good reputation with raising good pups. How old is Rosie?
The pup will get smacked. I'd let this happen now why the pup is young, and not when she's a 65 pound adult.

 

[Lola3791]

I'd sign Rosie and you up for a good puppy training class. Those are almost always all positive and focus on teaching good behaviors instead of fixing the bad stuff, and most trainers will have heard "how do I get my puppy and cat to get along" 1,000 times and will have some good information. Personally, I'd stay away from the big box training classes and find a good trainer with a good reputation with raising good pups. How old is Rosie?
The pup will get smacked. I'd let this happen now why the pup is young, and not when she's a 65 pound adult.

The nearest dog training class is 2 hours away. I'm not worried about Rosie's training since she's been around cats. I'm worried about my cat's behavior towards Rosie. I don't think she'll like Rosie due to her fear of the animals she has been around. I think Lola will try to stay out our Rosie's way as much possible, rather than fight her. Rosie will be 8 or 9 weeks old when we get her. She is currently 7 weeks old.

 

[rubysmama]

Here are the TCS articles on introducing cats and dogs, in case they might be helpful.

Best And Worst Dog Breeds To Live With Cats
Introducing Cats To Dogs | TheCatSite
How To Safely Introduce A Cat And A Dog
Caring For Cats And Dogs | TheCatSite

 

[Lola3791]

Here are the TCS articles on introducing cats and dogs, in case they might be helpful.

Best And Worst Dog Breeds To Live With Cats
Introducing Cats To Dogs | TheCatSite
How To Safely Introduce A Cat And A Dog
Caring For Cats And Dogs | TheCatSite

Thanks!

 

[Lola3791]

We got Rosie yesterday. I let Lola look at her from across the room. Lola ran away and wanted to go into her room. This morning when she came out of her room, she just sat in the doorway staring at Rosie from across the room. She's been in her room since and hasn't wanted to come out. That's not really odd for Lola but still... I'm worried she won't want to come out anymore. Maybe she just needs to adjust to Rosie's presence in the house?
This is Rosie

 

[Kflowers]

It helps if you can put puppy in a room and let Lola have the rest of the house for half the day night. Right now with puppy lose, in Lola's mind the puppy is trying to claim her territory, which makes the puppy the enemy. We spent a year with our new dog downstairs and here-first cat upstairs. Now dog comes upstairs. Cat hides and hiss from under the covers, or on good days, sits on top of a small chest of drawers and stares at the dog. Dog backs off every time the cat hisses. We are making progress.

More information if it helps
our dog is a lab/GSD mix, super well trained and has apparently had a cat before. She loves the cat. dog is 5years old.

Cat - singleton lost her family when she was 5 weeks old and hand raised for the rest of her kitten hood. She had a dog, she loved, who
tolerated her. Lost that dog 4 years ago. Cat is 7 years old.

The fastest and easiest meet and love each other was when I brought the pittie home. Pittie was 6 months, adored the grown cats -- all of them. Cats had never had a dog. Pittie spend a couple of months with a patchwork quilt looking muzzle, but didn't mind. She had cats. She wanted to be with them from the first moment. Since she tried to chew her way through a heavy wood door to get to them, I let her in the bedroom that first night. We all slept together on the futon. It worked. YMMV.

 

[Kflowers]

Your puppy is adorable. Do not push the cat. Expect the puppy to scream when the cat smacks her. Puppy has a long nose, her eyes should be save. The cat won't be trying to hurt her, just to make her
back off as she would another cat. Remember a lot of the power behind the scream is the startled effect. Puppy will quickly learn to back off when the cat hisses.

 

[rubysmama]

Awww... Rosie is adorable. Good luck with the introductions with Lola.

 

[Kflowers]

And never give up hope. Got the dog and the cat in the same room twice today. Cat came out to be a lap cat for an hour while door was open allowing dog to come upstairs if she wished. Remember I'm dealing with two adults, and dog is trying sooooo hard to be friends because she loves kitty.

It will be easier with one being a baby. Of course your dog will have certain cat mannerisms. My pittie was six months old when I got her. The cats taught her to fight like a cat. when another dog would approach to play fight (we didn't have real fights, thanks be) she would flop on the ground. the other dog would be all I won! I won! and stand over her. At that moment she would clamp her arms and legs around his body and flip him to the ground. Trey shock! She taught all her friends. They became noted for it.

 

[danteshuman]

I am sorry for your loss and think your puppy is adorable! With training I think your puppy should learn to get along with each other. (Perhaps crate training so your cat can sleep next to you.) I would also train your puppy to not go into the bathroom (or where your cat’s litter box is kept.) That way she can use the box in pace. Putting her food up high and teaching the puppy to not go for it, should help her eat in peace.

 

[Lola3791]

It has been two weeks with no progress. Rosie has approached Lola a few times wanting to play but Lola hisses at her. But this was expected.
What wasn't expected was that Lola is still not comfortable with Rosie in the house. She stays inside her room pretty much all day.
Lola is currently sleeping on my bed next to me; she's only out of her room because Rosie has been out of the house for a few hours.
Is it normal for Lola to be acting this way for two whole weeks?

 

[Kflowers]

What you have is what we have. It is actually okay. Our dog stays downstairs with my sister at night. Cat stays with me. In the morning cat gets her breakfast and checks out the birds/squirrels etc out the windows. After a couple of hours cat goes back to bed under the cover or sits on the low chest of drawers. Puppy, wh aodroes the cat, comes upstairs and goes to greet the cat, who hisses at her. Puppy backs off. (EVERY TIME CAT HISSES AND PUPPY BACKS OFF THEIR RELATIONSHIP MOVES FORWARD.)

sometimes cat comes out and walks around looking suspiciously at the dog. If the dog has to go passed the cat she walks as far away from the cat as possible.

After five hours puppy goes back downstairs. the dividing door is shut and cat comes out to wonder around.

We got the puppy in June of last year. We just kept them separated for the first six months. The next six months the cat stayed under the covers when puppy came upstairs. Now the cat is hissing. This is progress. Your guys are moving at breakneck speed.

Cat time does not march as fast as anyone else's.

 

[Lola3791]

Update: Lola came out of her room today!

 

[Lola3791]

Lola came out of her room again today! I think this means she's used to Rosie being in the house. I'm so happy! I was so worried she'd never come out.

 

[Kflowers]

That's HUGE. Don't be discouraged if she skips coming out of her room for a day here and there. She knows the puppy wants to see her and love her, and she's got to make it clear who's in charge. If she doesn't the puppy might LICK HER!!!

Even sniffing noses with three inches distance sends Sweet Gum into a two day sulk under the covers. Puppy sighs heavily. But progress is progress. Cats don't want us to get too hopeful.