How to Train a Cat & Dog to Like Each Other Without Attacking

Video Transcript

"Today we are talking about how to train a cat and dog to like each other without attacking. Well this is an important question. A lot of people have adopted a cat or a dog or bring home a new puppy or kitten, and they want to integrate them so that they can live together happily. So one of the important things to keep in mind here is that any animal can take an adjustment period. So considering the animal that has been living in your home already they are use to a certain environment, and routines and the family that they have. So when you are introducing a new dog to your cat for example you want to consider that your cat is use to their normal daily routine, and they might or might not be comfortable with a dog. So usually when I set this up by keeping them separated at first so you can create a safe space for your cat where they have access to their food, water, litter box, and some nice comfortable places to curl up. And keep a separate area of the house that you are getting your dog use to. When you are ready to start integrating the two the first step would be to take the two animals, and to switch their places so you can actually bring the dog into the room where the cat has been, but with no cat in there. And then place the cat where the dog has been. This allows them to actually smell each other, and to pick up the scents, and sort of track around what the other animal has been up to, but without having to meet face on at first. Once you have had a chance to do that for a few days, and now you are probably about a week or two into the process of having the animals living in the same space, but not sharing it yet. Then the next thing that you want to do is to start getting them more interested in being near each other. And the best way to do that is to set up either if you have a glass door or a screen door or you can stack a few baby gates on top of each other in the doorway. Then you allow the animals to see each other now that they have smelled each other, and then you can start doing things like feeding them their food on either side of the gate. So putting your cat's food down closer to where the dog is, and the dog's food as well. And you can play with your cat in that space so that they start to feel like it is a safe and comfortable thing, and have positive associations with the dog. You can also use treats for specific brave behavior. So if you see your cat starting to do really lovely things like come up to the dog's area or up to the gate, and rub up against it. This is a lovely cat behavior, very friendly nice way of marking in kind of a social way. So you can reinforce that behavior by using some treats for your cat. Giving your cat some wet food on a spoon for example. And you want to be reinforcing the dog on the other side as well for showing calm behavior, and social interest in the cat. Now when you are ready to really put the two of them together you are probably going to want to still have some control over the situation. The best way here is to put the dog on a leash, and leave the cat free, because cats tend to run and get scared. So unless you have an overly aggressive cat you in which case you might want to use a carrier. But again just keeping the situation safe, moving very slowly, using treats, and praise, and love, and attention, and nice, soft, deep strokes of petting is going to allow your animal to adjust to the change very gradually. And if you bring a cat in, and you had a resident dog it really is going to be the same situation. Giving your cat some time to settle into the fact that they are living in a new home with a very, very slow introduction. First letting them smell then see each other, controlled scenario with reinforcing good, calm, positive social interactions and behavior. And then when you are comfortable, and you think everyone is going to be safe you can let the dog off leash, and just monitor everyone for the next couple of days make sure they are safe. And I think you will be on your way to having a happy household."