Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
So, how do I know when they are ready to meet? I know it hasn't been very long, but I've been doing the door open, baby gate up, petting dog on one side, petting cat on other side thing, and the hissing has stopped. He's been sticking his paws through the gate to touch the dog, claws tucked away, but he hasn't been able to reach her. He has also been standing on his hind legs and looking over the gate at the dog. If the dog shakes his collar or changes position, he runs back onto the bed, but until then they are both pretty docile. The dog acts like he doesn't even realize that there is another animal on the other side of the gate. He's just there for pets. Do you think it sounds like they are ready?
Also, how do I do it? Should I just take the gate down and sit with the dog somewhere in the living room and see if he comes out on his own?
Depends.. how would the dog react if you took down the baby-gate, went and watched TV (with the dog) - and Fuzz wandered out eventually on his own into the room.
Would he jump and flip around, or go after the cat, even out of curiosity?
Maybe it would be a good idea to put the doggy on a loose leash and keep him with you while you're on the couch, for example, that way when curiosity gets the better of ol' Fuzz, you can stop anything from escalating and spooking him out.
Worst case scenario - he just runs back under the bed. But your dog's reaction to the cat wandering around once he IS aware of another critter again in the house with him - might be what sets the pace for everything right now.
Keeping him (her? sorry) on a leash temporarily might have its benefits. If you feel her lifting her head to get up to go investigate, you can keep her down laying next to you, while you blissfully go about watching TV (yeah right! watching Fuzz!!! ) and letting him do his own thing. I would give Fuzz his own private space and time to come out of his shell, and pretend not to notice him while he explores around. - we had to ignore Moo when she came downstairs. I wanted to bounce around and say HI MOO, Yay for MOO! and all of that ridiculous overbearing mommy-nonsense. I was just so proud of her coming out of her shell.. but she would bolt and spaz out and high-tail it back upstairs in the blink of an eye.. so ignoring, it had to be. She still has her bizzarre moments, where if I see her, it's a crime - but more and more frequently, I'll feel her rubbing up against me, and look up as if to say "yeah, i've been down here for the last 20 minutes by your feet, so what! "
I imagine any out-of-the-blue sudden noises or movements from anything might cause him to retract or scamper back into the room for a bit - but that's just it.. just for a bit He'll get braver as time goes on, if he knows he won't get attacked when he sets one paw out of your room, hehe. And that's where the leash comes in handy. Just until the dog gets used to "oh it's the cat, ok, lay back down".
Being skittsh is easy to get over, all it takes is time. It's so much better than aggresive or violent tendancies!
Take it all with a grain of salt.. this is coming from someone who hasn't owned a dog to apply these theoretical relations to, in over 2 years.
Have you been over to the dog section of the sub forums? I'll bet you'll get a lot of great ideas and responses from accredited doggy mommies.
Peace. And best of luck! I'm off to work. Come back and let us all know how it goes!
So how is Fuzzball doing? You haven't posted, so I assume he and the dog have worked things out...?
He is doing great! We re-named him Steve, as in Steve Zissou. I had a friend over on Friday night and Steve climbed over the baby gate and came out to show off and realized that he is the king. He chased the dog around, played with her toys, sampled her food. No hissing! Poor Ari [the dog] is not a fan of her new step-brother, but I think she'll get to use to him. Steve likes to sit on the couch and swat at Ari when she's sleeping on the floor, but Ari takes it like a champ. She gets a sheepish look on her face, but she doesn't try to bite or become aggressive in any way. I've been taking her on longer walks since the weather is nice and so I can give her some one-on-one time without the cat. Steve is definitely the boss. We've taken the baby gate down completely and moved the litter box from the bedroom to the bathroom.
He is doing great! We re-named him Steve, as in Steve Zissou. I had a friend over on Friday night and Steve climbed over the baby gate and came out to show off and realized that he is the king. He chased the dog around, played with her toys, sampled her food. No hissing! Poor Ari [the dog] is not a fan of her new step-brother, but I think she'll get to use to him. Steve likes to sit on the couch and swat at Ari when she's sleeping on the floor, but Ari takes it like a champ. She gets a sheepish look on her face, but she doesn't try to bite or become aggressive in any way. I've been taking her on longer walks since the weather is nice and so I can give her some one-on-one time without the cat. Steve is definitely the boss. We've taken the baby gate down completely and moved the litter box from the bedroom to the bathroom.
Everything is great!
Thank you everyone for the advice and support!
WOW! What a difference a few days make I'm glad to hear that everything has worked out; now you'll know exactly what to do when you get the second one Why do I get the feeling that the latter situation is what occupies Ari's nightmares :"Cats, so many cats, swatting me, no more cats!!"
Everyones advice is good. Hopefully they become fiends but give it time.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
) and letting him do his own thing. I would give Fuzz his own private space and time to come out of his shell, and pretend not to notice him while he explores around. - we had to ignore Moo when she came downstairs. I wanted to bounce around and say HI MOO, Yay for MOO! and all of that ridiculous overbearing mommy-nonsense. I was just so proud of her coming out of her shell.. but she would bolt and spaz out and high-tail it back upstairs in the blink of an eye.. so ignoring, it had to be. She still has her bizzarre moments, where if I see her, it's a crime 
- but more and more frequently, I'll feel her rubbing up against me, and look up as if to say "yeah, i've been down here for the last 20 minutes by your feet, so what! 
He'll get braver as time goes on, if he knows he won't get attacked when he sets one paw out of your room, hehe. And that's where the leash comes in handy. Just until the dog gets used to "oh it's the cat, ok, lay back down".
Why do I get the feeling that the latter situation is what occupies Ari's nightmares :"Cats, so many cats, swatting me, no more cats!!" 
