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well, I caved

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AJHawkfan

AJHawkfan

Wanna make $14 the hard way?
My wife has been harrassing me for a long time, wanting to get a dog. I finally caved and told her she could get one. She goes tomorrow to pick her up. A 6 week old female blonde lab puppy. Anyone have any good suggestions as to how to successfully integrate a puppy with a pair of cats?
 
Yep, get rid of the cats! :)

Actually, we have a chocolate lab and by nature he gets along well with all other animals, cats included ::sigh:: (did I mention Im not a cat lover?)
 
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AJHawkfan said:
My wife has been harrassing me for a long time, wanting to get a dog. I finally caved and told her she could get one. She goes tomorrow to pick her up. A 6 week old female blonde lab puppy. Anyone have any good suggestions as to how to successfully integrate a puppy with a pair of cats?
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My best advice is that the cats will take care of themselves, but don't introduce them as chew toys and try not to let the dog chase them (hard to do). :) I have a dog (golden retriever) and two cats, and we were able to teach the dog that the cats were not play things fairly quickly. The cats hid for a while, but they warmed up to each other and then the cats just became part of the "pack."

Are you crate training? I very highly recommend it.
 
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AJHawkfan said:
My wife has been harrassing me for a long time, wanting to get a dog. I finally caved and told her she could get one. She goes tomorrow to pick her up. A 6 week old female blonde lab puppy. Anyone have any good suggestions as to how to successfully integrate a puppy with a pair of cats?
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Not me. When we got our Golden Retriever puppy a few years ago, oneof our cats bolted and moved in with the neighbors, and our other cat still hates the dog. Hisses and swips at her nearly every time they're close. We've had the dog for over 2 years.

I stongly recommend a rigorous puppy training program as soon as possible. We went to a local 'obedience' school, or whatever you want to call it, and it has paid big dividends. I can tell you, based on some of my friend's dogs behavior, that a poorly trainied dog SUCKS. Train it early, and you'll be very happy with it :)
 
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Both of the cats are already declawed (front paws only). They both have rear claws.

One of them is very skittish about new people/animals. (She was an abused cat when we took her in, so she's not very trusting.) She is indoor/outdoor; we think she might start spending a lot more time outdoors. The other one is indifferent about most everything. (He has a history of marking, although not lately, but otherwise is fine.) For the most part, they're both good cats.

We are crate training, due to the overwhelming encouragement we've heard about it. We are also looking into good obedience classes now.

My sister in law has a year old St Bernard who was at our house for the better part of a day a while back. The cats behaved alright for him, (which is where she got the leverage to break me down).
 
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The dog and cats will be fine, I think, especially since the dog will be introduced at such an early age. It's the cats that are set in their ways, but they can hide if they want and will eventually get used to it being around. :)
 
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Cats completely suck, I would recommend you completely ignore them (including feeding them) and the problem will solve itself.

Crate training is very important. I, for one, am not a fan of obedience school, as I like to train my dogs myself. I have a four year old Chocolate Lab, and he's great. The biggest thing to remember is to train them to come while the dog is little enough that you can still catch it when/if it doesn't listen. My biggest pet peeve is watching someone chase their dog for twenty minutes because it doesn't come, and then discipline the dog when it finally does listen and comes to them. All that does is reinforce to the dog that it should NOT come when called.
 
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