Cyrak6 - I am planning on doing Schuthzund with him in the future, so that's partly why I want him to respect my pets so much, and Schutzhund will teach him even more discipline and I'll be able to command him, with the help of a trainer at first, to be really responsive and listen to what I ask of him.
I started teaching him leave it right away - probably the second or third day, and I started off by doing it 5 mins. a day, and then twice a day, and then for 10 mins, etc. I'd sit on the floor, and have a big bag of really great, smelly treats. With them in my hand balled into a fist, I'd hold a second treat hidden behind my clicker in the other hand, and then let him sniff my hand. They'll try and lick and get to the treats, and the second he doesn't, and either looks at me or something else, click and treat. I don't use a verbal cue at the beginning. Later, I'll start to say "leave it," and the second he looks either at me in the eye, or backs off and waits, leaving the treats alone, I click, treat and praise. As smart as GSDs are, it doesn't take them long to master that at all.
So then you take it further, standing up and using a leash. Then I'd put a plate of something enticing or a big pile of treats on the floor and walk around it. He'd try and get to them, I say "leave it," and when he left it, lol, click, treat and praise. This one is harder, and takes patience and a little more time to learn, but again they're smart and learn fast.
Once he had it down with food, I integrated other items into the training, you don't want to just use food. So I practiced with his favorite toys, his chews, my shoes lol, and my own foot! Also, before every meal, he knows he must sit and wait before I set it down. Same goes for chews and toys, if he goes for them too soon, "leave it" makes him wait until I say it's okay to take the item.
So now that he knows leave it so well, I can use it on anything, including my pets, and stuff he's inclined to try and chew on. But for a puppy with prey drive, leave it may not be enough if he's really interested in the animal, and that's why I make sure my dogs learn to respect my pets. This one is more about attitude and how you carry yourself around them than training, so you'll need to make sure that whenever you're working with the cat and dog to always be confident, assertive, standing up straight, and not nervous. If you're anxious at all, stop and come back to it later.
I'll do things like feed my ferret BEFORE I feed Rem, or make Rem wait in the hallway while I let Kilala out of her cage, or sit and wait while I cuddle her, etc. If she's on the bed, he must be on the floor. Personally it's not that I regard my ferret more than my puppy, I just want him to know that as his elder, so to speak, she sort of "outranks" him and she gets to do certain things first. He's also not allowed to touch her cage at all, I use leave it for that one. And when he's fine around her, I make sure I treat and praise him for doing the right thing, it's really important to let them know when they've done well, because all they want is to please us.
Cats are easier to teach dogs to respect - my cats have two rooms in which they alone are allowed to go - the basement and the living/dining room. The latter is gated, the cats can get over it, but the dogs MUST stay out. This way, the cats have a place to retreat to if they feel bothered, and the dog sees that the cat is superior in that it has it's own room which is off limits to him. The basement door is always cracked open for the cats, but my dogs know leave it so well that they don't even attempt to go down there.
As for my parrots - Rem jumped up to see my african grey, Mariah, one time and one time only. I let it happen, because I know Mariah and she is one tough cookie. She got him on the muzzle with that beak, and that's all it took - he now has the utmost respect for her, and leaves her well alone!
I think the biggest things are supervision (if the pup can't be watched when the cats are around, crate him) and keeping a level head - the most important thing I did when I brought Rem home was act normal, if you act like the process of introducing the cat to the pup is a big deal, the dog will pick up on it, and wonder why the cat is such a big deal, and be even more interested in it. But if the cat is just the cat, and you go about life as normal, while keeping a watchful eye and the puppy well trained, things should be fine.
