Many animals are surrendered to animal shelters and rescue organizations on a daily basis due to behavior issues. It is the goal of the Solano SPCA to help keep the animals of Solano County in their homes and not be turned into animal shelters due to behavior problems that can be addressed with the pet and owner.  These are questions that are sent to us by pet owners that need a little help.  If you have major problem or any aggresion issues either to people or other animals please contact a trainer for help.  To ask a question for our trainer click here.

Question of the day:

"What is the best way to ensure my new half  pitbull and half boston terrier puppy gets along with my two adult cats?"

Dear Alex,

Congratulations on your new pup you have a lot of work ahead of you in raising this little guy.  Introducing new pets to resident pets can sometimes be tricky but if you are patient and persistent you can easily maintain a multiple pet home.  You didn't give an age for your new pup so I am going to assume  he/she is between 8 and 12 weeks.  I am also going to assume that your new pup is an indoor pet and you are already utilizing crate training as an effective way to potty train your new buddy. 

There are a couple of things to remember when introducing dogs and cats for the first time:

First, dogs and cats are very different species and they often find it difficult to correctly read one another.  For example a dog raising one paw in the air is an appeasement behavior (submissive behavior indicating that the dog means no threat to the other party), on the other hand a cat raising one paw in the air can be a sign of aggression or simply just a playful behavior.

Second, both dogs and cats rely heavily on their sense of smell when investigating their environment. 
 
And third dogs are predatory animals that will often chase an animal that runs from them; if the cat runs the dog is likely to chase!

The fact that both dogs and cats are so reliant on their sense of smell is useful because it gives us a means of slowly introducing the resident cats to the new puppy.  You should start by switching the cats' bedding with your new puppy's bedding.  This will give your cats a chance to get use to the puppy's smell and visa-versa. After a couple of days of letting everyone get used to each others smell you can start the initial introductions.  All beginning introductions should be conducted with the puppy on leash and in an area where the cats have a ready means of escape.  Keep in mind that if the cats run your puppy is probably going to try and chase them.  It is usually a good idea to teach your puppy a "leave-it" command as well as a solid "down, stay" and "sit, stay". 

Initially introductions should be kept relatively short to reduce the amount of stress on your kitties.  Gradually increase the amount of time the dogs and cats are around each other.  The puppy should have a leash on at all times for the first couple of weeks.  I like you use a drag line (a leash with the handle cut off that drags behind the puppy) this will allow you to stop the puppy if he/she tries to chase one of your cats.  Again, it is very important that you teach your puppy a "leave-it" command. 

For the first couple of weeks do not leave the new puppy/dog loose with the cats.  Gradually increase the amount of freedom your puppy has around the cats. 

Hope everything works out and good luck with your new pup!

Amy Peterson
Shelter Manager
Behavior and Training Department
Solano County SPCA

"In a perfect world, every home would have a dog, and every dog would have a home."