Introducing a 2 year old GSD to a kitten

[ardeboard]

First, a little background: I have a GSD, Isolde, who is a little under two years old, closer to one and a half. She is very sweet around people she knows (me, my fiance, my parents) but is skittish and territorial with strange people or dogs. However, she adores my parents 5 year old Aussie, they're best friends.

My fiance is considering adopting a kitten. The kitten would live with him, and Isolde with me. I am curious how to introduce a young GSD to a kitten. Obviously I would not want Isolde to kill the kitty. She has only met a cat once or twice before, which was my parents cat. The cat is terrified of Isolde, and will not emerge from her room when we visit. The few times they have interacted, I have had the dog in the sit command and on the leash for good measure. She wags her tail and is EXTREMELY interested in the kitty. She will whine nonstop until the kitty is out of her view.

It seems that she is just curious, and I don't think she would kill intentionally, but accidents happen. Is there any effective way to introduce a kitten and Isolde without any kitty casualties? I've heard a few different techniques, and have considered maybe a muzzle for the first few meetings.

I would greatly appreciate feedback on this. I don't want to get a kitten if Isolde will just kill it. It would traumatize me, and would be unfair to the poor kitty. If there is any way to successfully introduce a young GSD and a kitten, Id like to hear it!

Thank you!

[MaggieRoseLee]

Big thing is to make sure the cat has an escape route and initial meetings are controlled.

And I mean MANAGED before crazy happens, not yelling/screaming/crazy if it starts going bad....so it's great you are being proactive and thinking now.

All the dog classes and training you've been doing will help. I'd get with your instructor to fit that into the specific meeting. They will know how well you and your dog are doing and have great help for a situation like this.

For more tips, go to How Should I Introduce My Dog To My New Kitten? | Petside

How Should I Introduce My Dog and Cat to Each Other?

How to Introduce a New Cat to Dogs: Tips for Bringing Newly Adopted Cats Home to Meet the Dog | Suite101.com

How to Introduce Dogs to Cats | eHow.com

[LaRen616]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

My kitten's name is Isolde but I call her Monster. It's a beautiful name.

I would start teaching Isolde "leave it" before getting the kitten. I would also keep the kitten in a crate when Isolde first meets him/her. Let her sniff the crate, then I would crate Isolde while letting the kitten walk around. When you do let Isolde out of the crate have her on a leash.

[kiya]

The most important thing is do not allow the dog to chase the cat/kitten. I have mostly brought puppies home to cats, much easier than dog to kitten. Right now I have 3 dogs that all grew up with cats when they were pups. We had to put our 18yr old cat to sleep the end of October. I was not going to get another, we still have an 11 yr old cat, Misty. When hubby said we should get another cat, I took him up on it and ran right to the pound.
The only one who is giving me a problem with the new kitten is my 7yr old female, Kiya. It's been 3 months of WORK & management to keep the kitten safe. My oldest dog really couldn't care less about the kitten. Lakota just turned 2 in January and she absolutely LOVES the kitten. Infact she loves cats in general. She wants to play, which of course turns into a chase game when the kitty runs around. When that happens Kiya just can't deal with it.
The best exercise I do with all my dogs is put them in a down stay, frequent treats for being good, while the kitten is free to do what ever he pleases. Kiya can't resist liver brownies and she will stay laying there while the kitten walks inches from her face without making a move.
When Lakota goes to the vet she freaks out. The vet has 2 cats that live there, one of them is dog friendly so I tell Lakota we're going to visit the kitties. Even my vet couldn't believe how calming it was for Lakota to have the cat with her in the exam room.
Does your dog have a high prey drive? Lakota & Kiya both have high prey drives, my male has a high play drive.