Your experiences? Suggestions?

When DH and I got married, we each had 3 cats - it was really hellish introducing everyone! Actually, introducing the 2 dogs to the cats was easier. :rolleyes:

I think the recommendation is putting the "newbie" into a separate area of the house and gradually letting them meet the current residents. I've never been able to do that, though, so our usual routine is to just let them meet and sort it out!

Good luck! :grin:

I'm hoping it will be a long time yet - but the "talk" came up :rolleyes:

We've done it several times now and we thought our original Girl Dog was a Bitch :twisted: , huh, when the time comes I have major dread for this time.

OGDog was our first deliberately adopted and what a beastly kid she could be. She was always good with puppies but we wanted to shelter adopt unadoptables so the hunt ensued.

We actually took her around to shelters to see who she wanted to kill least :rolleyes: and who could blow 'er off best. Tried to force a few matches that just wouldn't have made for the type of family situation we wanted and then on a rainy day, in the middle of traffic there was First Boy Dog. Covered with (then) assumed fatal scarcoptic mange, no muscles on his body and scared witless. He and OGirlDog took one look at each other and started to play :roll: :thumbsup: :toofers: ... go figure. It was true love for all the years of OBoyDog's life until we lost him.

The saga of how we found ten year old OGDog a new friend was ummmm, stimulating to say the least ...g

we held the cat up to other dogs at the shelter to make sure he did not freak around a dog. When we got home, we put the cat box on the low table and let the dog sniff it before we opened it. The cat came out to a curious dog and acclimated fairly quickly. They have been best friends ever since. The interspecies gay love triangle is a running joke around here.

lol
cheryl

we held the cat up to other dogs at the shelter to make sure he did not freak around a dog. When we got home, we put the cat box on the low table and let the dog sniff it before we opened it. The cat came out to a curious dog and acclimated fairly quickly. They have been best friends ever since. The interspecies gay love triangle is a running joke around here.

lol
cheryl

ROTFzi - oddly, my guys have been more reasonable with the occasional stray cat then other dogs. One time they were creating a tremendous ruckus in the house and I couldn't figure out what the hay was going on - turns out stray kitty got in and was hissing under a table. I think my panic in the form of "touch that cat and you are roast turkeys" translated quite well, kitty was allowed in whenever she felt like it and they just sucked it up, although verrrrry grudgingly :gabigrin: ...g

Hmm..Not too well with larger animals. I have a Jersey Steer I raised from a day old. He is a puppy..a 2000 lb puppy. My filly bosses him, as usual.

My filly hates my goats I raised. She chases them and tries to bite them. The dogs don't bother them..the goats butt the dogs in the head when they get too close..LOL


Now, when i got my cattle..the dogs learned quickly to "stay out of the way". Cows hate dogs..and will kick them. My Golden liked to bark at them. She went in barking..came out running and "yelping". They also learned barking at the hocks of my filly will get them a swift kick.

As you can probably already tell..my filly rules this place..LOL

Well - our intergration was smooth and painless, with only a very, very few grumbles over bones.

Jackie had never met Molly until the day we picked her up to bring her home. We decided it would be for the best to have them spend some time together first, so we went to the local park and walked and played and generally had a good time.

Molly and Jackie basically ignored each other until it was time to get into the car...Jack got in, and Molly bounced right up behind him, and Jack looked a bit confused.
We took her home and showed her the food and water bowls, then let them both out in the back yard.

Jackie is a notoriously greedy bone hog. One is never good enough. So when giving them rawhides, I would put out 3 - one for Jack, one for Molly, and the floater. Rawhides dissappear pretty rapidly at my house, but I'm certain Molly got her share. Jackie growls and says - hands off whenever Molly gets too close to whatever he's chewing on, but they've never been physically aggressive to each other. It has become a friendship too - I wish I could show you how they "work" the woods where we walk. They call each other's attention to good smells, and now they both give chase when we let them - the skunks are out in force right now, so we keep them pretty close to us, but squirrels and chipmunks, BEWARE! lol

I think the biggest factors of the success to our integrating Molly was the age and disposition of both dogs.
Both of them are older ( Jack is 8 and Molly is 9) and Jack is a pretty mellow fellow. Molly is a bit timid, and a bit needy for reassurance and attention. She's gotten much better in the few months we've had her - I believe she knows she's wanted and loved.

I have two of the best dogs ever. Really, really I do. :cloud9:
Gren
http://mediaservice.photoisland.com/auction/Jul/20047128331943897993481.jpg

Jackie (lying down) and Molly - having a munch.

:gabigrin:

Two of my favorite hinies :cloud9: :inlove:

That post just made me grin from ear to (uncandled)ear.

LOL we do the same with toys i.e, floater. Give 'em one of my big slurpies ...g

:gabigrin:

Two of my favorite hinies :cloud9: :inlove:

That post just made me grin from ear to (uncandled)ear.

LOL we do the same with toys i.e, floater. Give 'em one of my big slurpies ...g
hehehe - I think the floater toy/bone keeps things from getting weird.

Auntie Gabs :inlove: :big wet doggy smooches from Jackie & Molly:

Gren
http://mediaservice.photoisland.com/auction/Jul/20047128331943897993481.jpg

Jackie (lying down) and Molly - having a munch.


Fluffy butts ahoy! :jestor:

We've been lucky with our animals. When I moved in with my husband, my dog was old, and much more used to cats than dogs. She took to the two kitties instantly. They avoided her a bit, and just scoped her out. We took care of two other cats for about a week. Our fat cat didn't like this a bit, and we had to keep the two new ones locked up in a separate bedroom.

I can only talk dogs - but with dogs, no matter how old and which sex, it's best to have them meet for the very first time on some neutral kind of terrein. This means: Don't have them meet in your home or back yard and not at the shelter or wherever the newbies come from. Go to the park or some place like that and have them meet there. Makes things LOTS easier. :flower: