Introducing Dogs and Cats:

Before you bring home a new dog or cat to a home that already has a member of the other species, you should first try to determine if there is a possibility that this match will work out. For example, if you bring a potential shelter dog to an area in the shelter where there are cats, and the dog acts aggressively toward the cats, this is a sign that this dog is an unlikely candidate for your home. Likewise, bringing a cat near a dog in the shelter area to determine if this cat will do well with your dog at home is a good idea. Most cats will hiss at the sight of a new animal (whether it is a cat or a dog) – look for aggressive displays where the cat moves toward the dog, rather than defensively away from it, as a warning sign. Keep in mind too that a dog or cat that displays indifference or no reaction when brought near a cat or dog in the shelter may show different behaviors in the home – until you have the new animal in your home you cannot be completely sure of how it will act. A dog in the shelter may react with indifference to a confident cat that ignores it, but will chase a shy or frightened cat in the home with great zeal.

When you bring your new animal home, follow the steps below for each type of "new" pet:

A new dog in a current cat household:

• Bring the dog into the home on-leash. Do not force interaction with the two animals. Make sure that your cat has places to go to "escape" from the dog, such as high cat trees or open doors. You want to minimize the cat’s level of stress as much as possible.
• Watch your new dog’s reaction to the cat while on leash. If the dog seems interested but is not intensely staring, wags his tail gently, backs away, or ignores the cat, these are good signs. If the dog’s body posture stiffens, his ears are alert and pricked, he stares intently at the cat, and he growls and strains at the leash, and appear agitated, this is a sign that your dog may be too predatory in nature to live successfully with a cat.
• Always observe and supervise all interactions between the dog and cat for a few weeks before ever allowing them to be alone together. If you need to leave them alone during this initial period, keep them separated either in separate rooms, or with secure baby gates that the dog cannot jump over, or by crating the dog. Make sure the cat has access to his food and water and litter box during these times.
• If the dog starts to chase the cat, redirect his attention as quickly as possible to something equally fun and interesting like playing with a toy, or a food reward, or petting and praise, or having him sit or lie down. Many times dogs will chase cats because the running excites their instinctual drives, but once the cat stops running the dog will give up the "game."
• Be sure to give lots of extra love and affection to your cat during this time to help reduce their stress. Try to associate the dog with positive things for the cat, like being brushed, cat treats, or a favorite cat toy.
• Don’t allow the dog to get into the cat’s litterbox. Most dogs will try to eat the cat’s feces and can ingest their litter, and the cat will smell the dog in their box and may possibly refuse to use it.

A new cat in a current dog household:

• Have your dog on-leash when you bring the cat into your home. Do not force interaction with the two animals. It is useful to give the cat a few days in a quiet, separate room where he can get used to his home, and smell the dog but not see it. Gradually progress to where you either have the dog or the cat in a crate in a room with a towel over the crate, so the two animals can smell each other but not see each other. Once they are doing well, remove the towel so they can see each other. Praise the dog for being calm and relaxed around the cat, and give the cat lots of calm praise and stroking around the dog as well.
• Watch each animal’s reaction to the each other. If your dog seems interested but is not intensely staring, wags his tail gently, backs away, or ignores the cat, these are good signs. If the dog’s body posture stiffens, his ears are alert and pricked, he stares intently at the cat, and he growls and strains at the leash, and appear agitated, this is a sign that the new dog may be too predatory in nature to live successfully with a cat. If the cat appears frightened, hisses, runs away, or gets aggressive, again, the cat may not be able to successfully live with a dog.
• Always observe and supervise all interactions between the dog and cat for a few weeks before ever allowing them to be alone together. If you need to leave them alone during this initial period, keep them separated either in separate rooms, or with secure baby gates that the dog cannot jump over, or by crating the dog. Make sure the cat has access to his food and water and litter box during these times. If the dog starts to chase the cat, redirect his attention as quickly as possible to something equally fun and interesting like playing with a toy, or a food reward, or petting and praise, or having him sit or lie down. Many times dogs will chase cats because the running excites their instinctual drives, but once the cat stops running the dog will give up the "game."
• Make sure your dog associates the new cat with great things, like particularly good food treats, a favorite toys, and lots of praise and petting.
• Don’t allow the dog to get into the cat’s litter box. Most dogs will try to eat the cat’s feces and can ingest their litter, and the cat will smell the dog in their box and may possibly refuse to use it.

In general, cats that do well with dogs are ones that are fairly mellow, relaxed, confident, and laid back. Cats that are very fearful and shy or cats that are declawed don’t usually make good prospects. Kittens also tend to do well because they can grow up with the dog. Dogs that tend to do well with cats are also relaxed and friendly with animals and have low-prey drives. Some people think that getting a puppy will alleviate the problem, but realize that certain breeds or breed-mixes are born with instinctual prey drives and they should be monitored as they grow older to ensure that they still do well with the cats as they reach maturity.

Introducing Dogs:

Introduce the two dogs to each other in a neutral area, such as outside your house on the sidewalk or in a nearby park.

Keep your voice and body language calm and relaxed, and speak to the dogs in a happy, upbeat tone of voice.

Carefully monitor each dog’s body language. Look for signs of stiffening, hackles up along the back, growling, raised and erect tail, and snarling. These are signs that there may be potential for an aggression problem.

Remember that a wagging tail does not always mean a dog is friendly. Look for soft, gentle, "floppy" wagging. A hard, tight, rigid, erect tail wag indicates that the dog is not happy.

Likewise, monitor for signs of fear as well. If you see tails tucked between a dog’s legs, excessive salivating and yawning, lowered body postures, trembling, and cowering, this means the dog is afraid of the other dog. Do not force the dogs to interact, the shy dog should be able to meet the new dog at his own pace.

If all goes well with the introduction, walk the two dogs side by side down the street and get them used to each other. When you feel ready, bring the new dog into the house, with the current dog entering first.

During the first few weeks, monitor all interactions between the dogs. Do not leave them alone together until you feel comfortable that the dogs will interact with each other well. If you need to, use crates and baby gates to keep them separated until you are ready to let them be alone together. Also, do not leave them alone with items that could spark aggression, such as rawhide chews, bones, or pig ears.

Feed the two dogs in separate areas. Some dogs can do well eating next to their canine companions, but many do not, and this can lead to aggression between the two dogs. Err on the safe side and feed them so that they cannot see each other while eating. You can slowly experiment with feeding them together if you feel comfortable, but make sure you are supervising them closely the first few times.

Monitor play time between the two dogs. You want to make sure that their play styles are a good match with each other. Some dogs can play too rough and this can lead to aggression or fear on the part of the other dog. Likewise, some dogs are very protective of toys or bones or rawhides and you want to monitor this closely as well.