New doodle with cats?

[Jessie Cline]

Hi DK friends,

 

I am expecting my first goldendoodle to arrive in May 2012. I already have a cat in my home and was just wondering if you had any advice about how to introduce them and get them used to each other? I don't want to freak my cat out but I really want my puppy to get used to her while he/she is young. Any suggestions on how to go about this?

[Linda Karell]

Congratulations on the eventual new puppy!  I expect you'll get lots of reassuring advice; most cats will tolerate and train a puppy fairly well.  We have four cats, so we took some extra steps to get them ready, and the result was that the cats accepted the puppy fairly quickly (two like her, one is neutral, and the last one is the Queen--the dog moves when she says she can move.  Very funny.)

First, we changed the cats' environment long (a couple months) before the puppy arrived:  began feeding them on the laundry counter, where the puppy wouldn't be able to get to their food; changed to a covered litter box with its opening turned to the wall, so puppy couldn't get in and eat cat poo; and set up the crate in the middle of the kitchen, with new dog bed and toys, so the cats could explore and make it their own.  By the time Chervil arrived, it really was "just add dog."  The cats had adapted to the changes before they had the dog stressor, so they pretty much sniffed and walked away.  I also had Chervil in puppy class, lots of exercise, and never let her chase the cats.  Dog gates allowed the cats to sneak under, and they had lots of high places to run to.  Trimmed down their claws before Chervil arrived.  One cat took a swipe (the Queen, and she's never had to do it again), and the rest were like, "huumph.  whatever."

Good luck from our crowded house.  You'll love your goldendoodle!

[Jessie Cline]

Thanks so much!

[Deanna & Desi & Cori]

We've only done one dog-cat introduction so I really don't have a lot to offer - especially since Linda's suggestions are thorough and make a lot of sense.  When we first brought Sedona home, we kept her separate from Hercules (which in our case was easy because he's basically a garage cat - long story).  When we did the introduction, we controlled their time together and let them do a lot of sniffing while we held them.  If I'd thought of it, I might have taken a toy or blanket to the breeder's place at our first puppy visit to get a puppy smell on it so Herc could smell Sedona before she arrived and likewise, taken something with Herc's scent for Sedona to smell on the car ride home.

Good luck with the introduction - and good luck being patient for the next months!! 

[Jessie Cline]

Thank you, those are good ideas. The waiting is so hard!! haha

[AndySharon BoomerShaynaMariner]

You may want to join the "Doodles that Love their Cats" Group.

 

http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/doodlesthatlovetheircats

[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

I wish you luck in finding the PROPER way to do this. We did it wrong, we didn't let them get used to each other and now Chloe our older doodle chases him if she sees him but Myla loves him and will go up to the gate on the stairs and touch him and stuff. He has his won bedroom upstairs with a gate at the bottom of the stairs to keep him safe. Other things I have heard were keeping puppy on leash and cat in carrier and letting them meet that way?? I hope it goes good, ther's lots of doodles and cat buddies on here so you'll get good advice!!!

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

I think  how you approach it depends on the personalities of the doodle and the cat. I see some DK'ers cats practically adopt the puppy and they are BFF's. This was NOT the case at our house with our resident cat Amber. She does not like to have her personal space invaded and when Tara was a pup she was a WILD CHILD!  We put up baby gates to allow Amber her own space where she could relax and we also kept Tara on a leash (running loose) most of the time in the house so we could stop her when she charged the cat!  We spent those early months teaching Tara to respect the cat and we put the cat in an Alpha position to Tara as far as who got treats first, who ate first, who went in or out of the doors first. They do great together now although they don't snuggle or anything but Amber doesn't even to THAT with people!  I think the important thing is for YOU to establish the rules in regard to your pups treatment of the cat and then enforce them diligently. It takes time because their little infant brains don't learn real fast and a moving cat is just TOOOO tempting!   But eventually they WILL get it! Good luck!