Oh, it depends. If the cats have had positive experiences with a dog before, and the adult dog likes cats and knows to ignore and give the cats their space, then an adult dog would be my choice. But if the cats have never before been around a dog, a pup would be a better choice because the baby dog is more likely to be trained/buffaloed into acknowledging the cats rule the house. Also, an immature animal typically will be less threatening to an adult cat.
The new puppy should be confined to one area of the house, so that the cats don’t feel that all of their territory has been invaded. Start immediately teaching the pup to ‘sit’ and ‘stay’ on command, so that he has some tools when it comes to respecting the cats. Allow the cats to be the ones that come to him, and prevent him from chasing them. You can teach the pup that sight of the cats means a delicious treat for him…”it’s a COOKIE-CAT” could be the mantra. That way, instead of chasing after the cats, he’ll turn to you for his treat.
Make sure that the cats have lots of second-story cat furniture to get out of puppy-sniffing range. Offer them lots of attention and treats, too, when within sight of the pup so they learn his presence means good things for them. Lots more tips and even some step-by-step introduction instructions can be found in the book PETiQuette: Solving Behavior Problems in Your Multipet Household.
More: continued here
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