Conference misery::feline_v1

    I just got a Bernese Mt. Dog puppy about a month ago, and I have
    about 20 cats.  Needless to say, I was worried about how the cats
    would handle it.  Well, the first meeting was very anticlimatic.
    The puppy took one look at all the cats, and tried to back out of
    the house! :^)  Since then, they are getting along very nicely.
    I set up a puppy gate in the kitchen the night we brought her home,
    mostly to keep the puppy from the cats.  Well, it took about 30
    seconds before the cats were jumping over the gate like lemmings,
    trying to get a closer look at the puppy.  
    
    The puppy is very large, so she isn't allowed around the cats when
    we aren't home to watch her.  During the day she is crated in the
    kitchen, and when we are home she is loose with us.  We are training
    her to respect the cats, and so far, they are helping with the
    training.  Kailtin, my blue girl, gave Annie, the dog, a good whack
    across the nose one day and drew a bit of blood, and now Annie keeps
    her distance from hissing cats.  Before that, she seemed to think
    that hissing was the Feline version of smiling.  
    
    The best thing to do is to start training your puppy from the minute
    you bring him home.  The cat will help.  Puppies are big and clumsy
    so be careful not to let him step on the cat.  That is a problem
    we have with Annie.  She has huge feet, and I have 5 week old kittens
    running around.  The better trained your puppy is, the more control
    you will have over her, and the less you will have to worry about
    the cat.
         
    
    Jo

    I've also notice that puppies brought into cat households have the
    tendancy to swipe their front paws at you when they want to play.  They
    think this is the way cats play so they just pick up the habit.  It can
    be pretty funny because no harm is intended.
    
    Good luck with your new puppy.
    Mary
    

    I introduced my new puppy to the gang by keeping them
    separated by a safety gate, eventually the males got curious
    and jumped over, the females however maintain their distance
    most of the time so there hasn't been any notable problems as
    they basically worked out the details themselves.
    
    F.
    

    My parents used to have a dog, and their cats just loved him.... the
    only difference is that they had the dog prior to getting a cat...  the
    cat hissed of course, but after a couple of weeks they became great
    friends, they would sleep together and play together....  Since the
    first cat my parents got 2 more cats, they all got along great, until
    our Dog was put to sleep due to his old age and health problems.....
    
    

My 7-year-old thinks he's a dog also.  Klaus growls at competition,
strangers, and dogs.  He's declawed, but it doesn't affect his ability
to intimidate dogs!  Most dogs are scared of him, and if they're not
convinced by the noise, he chases them around the house, pounding on
them with his clawless pads!  He takes on dogs ten times his size. All
the others cats either tolerate or make friends with visiting
dogs.

My sister has a German Shepherd, two cats (related to the crew below), and
two rabbits.  They all get along great, and the dog plays with the cats by
"pinning" them with her paw, while they try to wrestle away.  They they 
hide on furniture above her head and, well, the dog still hasn't learned
to look UP as well as ahead.

Don't worry too much, it's a good bet they'll get along great once they're
used to each other.



Klaus, Katrina, Phantom, Nutmeg, Coconut, Georgina, Algernon, Bailey,
Bosco, and diane and i.

bill

    Thanks for the replies.  We are picking the puppy up Dec. 17th.
    I'll let you know how they're doing.
    
    B

    Ok, here it is.  Pudgy puppy and Tigger have/should have adjusted by
    now.
    
    Brought the puppy home.  Gee, doesn't she smell like a ..............
    PUPPY!!!!!!!!!!!!!Pew..Puppy breath and all.  Husband gave her a 
    nice bath.  Ok, now she smells better.
    
    By now, the cat's wondering what the heck's going on.  Starts to stroll
    into the kitchen, then...POUNCE!!!!!!!
    
    The cat looks at me as if to go.  Is this my dinner? or an early
    Christmas gift.  Did I do something wrong and this is my punishment?
    The puppy tries to sniff the cat, where in turn the cat spits and
    swipes the dog,  but alas.... NO CLAWS!!!  He looks at me as if to go,
    Where the H**l are my nails!
    
    Oh, poor Tigger.  This has been going on since December 20th.  The cat
    now lets the dog kind of walk up to him, but still takes that pitiful 
    swipe.  The dog now knows the cat bats can't hurt and is constantly 
    harrassing the kitty.
    
    Oh well,  maybe some day.
    
    Wait, wait,  I remembered something..Yesterday, the cat was thirsty,
    jumped over the doggy gate and was drinking from the dog dish when the 
    puppy saw him,  he just walked over and sat there  looking at the cat
    and the cat gave him a few looks, but no hissing.
    
    I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
    
    b

    I don't let my puppy harrass my kitties.  We are teaching her to
    leave them alone.  Maybe you should be correcting the puppy when
    she tries to harrass the kitty, then the kitty could relax, knowing
    that you won't allow the dog to hurt her.
    
    Jo