How to Help Your New Dog Get Along with Other Dogs and Cats

When you bring home your dog from the shelter, there are lots of new things to learn about. The dog may feel overwhelmed at first because they have to get used to a new home, new people, and occasionally other pets. It’s important to take your time in introducing your dog to other pets in your home. If you go about it the right way, there’s a good chance you’ll have a big, happy, furry family as a result.

 

Introducing Your Dog to Your Cat(s)

In most cases, cats and dogs can live together peacefully. It’s important to understand that some dogs are very aggressive towards cats and may never be able to live with a cat. However, most of the time the shelter staff already knows when that’s the case and won’t let you adopt a dog like that if you have cats.

Certain rules must be followed when putting cats and dogs together. Your cat needs to have a safe space where the dog can’t get to it. The litter box, cat food, and water dish must also be out of reach for your dog. Dogs don’t have any qualms about eating your cat’s food, and they may even ambush a cat in the litter box. Keeping these things away from the dog in a private place ensures that your cat won’t relieve itself elsewhere or doesn’t get enough to eat.

When you first introduce your new dog to your cat, the dog should be on a leash. At first, you just want the dog and cat to be in the same room with each other. Pet them, talk to them, praise them, and give them treats. If your cat is skittish, you may want to keep her in a carrier. You want your dog to stay calm around the cat without bolting towards them. Use commands like “sit” and “leave it” to make sure the dog leaves the cat alone.

If your dog stays calm for several days, you’re ready for the next phase. This is where you can let go of the leash, but you still must be prepared to grab it. At this point, your dog may approach the cat. You can expect the cat to swat the dog on the nose, and that’s often all it takes for the dog to leave the cat alone. If your cat is still a kitten, has been declawed, or is otherwise unable to defend itself, you may need to exercise more caution when you make the introductions.

Meeting Other Dogs in the House

Introducing your dog to other dogs in the house is an important step you need to take. Some dogs are really easy-going and like almost every other dog, but you probably don’t know that ahead of time. There are different ways to introduce dogs to each other, but one of the methods is the exchange of smells. 

For example, you can use old shirts you no longer use and let you established dog sleep with it. Then you’ll take it to the shelter and let the new dog sleep with that same shirt. You can do the same thing in reverse for the established dog to help both get used to the other dog’s scent. Before they meet, you can exchange the shirts and have the dogs wear them. The same thing can be accomplished by using a pheromone spray. The goal is to help them familiarize themselves with the smell and make them like each other before they even meet.

When you introduce the dogs, it’s a good idea to do this on neutral territory. The best way for two dogs to meet is to go on a walk with each other. In the beginning, you want to go single-file and have one dog follow the other with adequate distance. Eventually, if they show signs of wanting to play together, you can take a walk next to each other. 

It’s a good idea to keep your dogs separate while you’re away until their relationship has become established. Incidentally, putting your dogs in separate rooms or crates will also reduce the likelihood of them making a mess of the house while you’re gone. It may be necessary to keep the dogs apart for the first day and only have them meet for 20 minutes at a time. During that time, the new dog may need to stay confined to one room of the house.

How to Help Your Dog Get Along with Your Children

A friendship between a child and their dog is special. Kids often form very close bonds with the family pet, and the relationship is beneficial for both of them. However, you must take the appropriate steps to ensure the relationship is off to a good start. It’s also important that both the dog and your child understand the ground rules from the beginning to ensure everyone’s safety. Here are some tips for making this work.

Choose the Right Dog for Your Family

It goes without saying that you must choose the dog that is right for your family. Dogs come in all shapes in sizes, but they also have different personalities and temperaments. While it’s not nice to stereotype, some dog breeds are also better suited to be family pets. This has to do with their disposition and their task in life. For example, breeds that were traditionally used for herding other animals may easily adopt your family as their herd and care for it just as much. On the other hand, a hunting dog may not be as likely to be the children’s playmate – unless their favorite pasttime is exploring the neighboring forest.

Let Them Meet before You Adopt Your Dog

A shelter is probably not the best place for young children for various reasons. Some kids don’t like loud noises, and a shelter full of dogs is certainly not a quiet place. Additionally, it can be difficult to cope with the fact that all of these dogs need homes. A child may want to save them all, which is understandable but not necessarily feasible for your family.
Nevertheless, it’s a good idea to let your child or children meet the dog before you adopt them. Maybe you can take the dog on a walk together or spend some time with the dog in their kennel. It’s okay for the dog or your child or both to be nervous, but neither should exhibit hostility or terror at meeting the other.

Give Everyone Personal Space

It’s important to make sure that your child and the dog always has personal space to retreat to when they feel overwhelmed or need to be alone. You may want to make your child’s room off-limit to the dog, at least in the beginning. This ensures that your child won’t be unsupervised with the dog and gives them a chance to have the room to themselves.
Your dog also need a retreat that nobody will follow them to. It could be a dog pillow underneath a desk that doens’t get used much or a cozy blanket next to the fireplace. The best hiding place is an area that doesn’t get any walk-through traffic to ensure your dog feels at peace. This could be the same spot your dog sleeps in at night, but it doesn’t have to be. It’s important that every member of your family respects the dog’s place and never disturbs the animal when they’re hiding there.

Take It Slow

It takes time to get to know someone knew and form a bond to them. It’s no different with a pet. Even if your child has wished for a dog for a long time, they may not fall in love with the new pet at first sight. That’s okay, because it takes time to build a friendship. Given some time, your child will get attached to the dog. As they play together and get to know each other, they’re bound to fall in love. Incidentally, it may take you some time to appreciate your new dog, too. It will also take your dog some time to get to know you and adopt you as their new best friend.

Teach Them about Each Other

It’s important to teach both your child and your dog how to behave around each other. For example, your dog must learn not to jump on your child, because that can be very scary – especially with big dogs and small children. Your child has to learn to be gentle with the dog, because pinching and pulling can hurt him – unlike a stuffed animal. These teaching opportunities will present themselves sooner or later, and it’s important not to miss them. The sooner your dog and your child learn how to behave around each other, the more likely it is that they’ll become the best of friends.