Leaving a dog and a cat together when you’re not home
Don’t leave a dog and a cat loose together if …
1. For whatever reason, you have any doubts. It’s much better to be safe than sorry.
2. Your cat is nervous or tense around the dog or scared of the dog. Trust her instincts.
3. You haven’t had both pets for at least 2 or 3 months to really get to know them and how they interact. Even if someone told you “he’s cat friendly!” or “She loves dogs!” That means very little.
4. The dog tends to chase the cat, even if he’s just “playing.” Or if the cat tends to bolt away from the dog.
5. They’ve ever fought in the past.
6. If either tends to guard or show possessiveness of food bowls, beds, certain rooms, etc., and you’re not 100 percent certain the other will back off. For example, my cats won’t allow my dog Ace to enter certain rooms. He just turns around and leaves. Or cries.
7. You catch your dog staring at the cat or fixating on the cat, even if it seems “playful.” For example, is your dog obsessively following the cat around, whining or pawing at her? Not cool.
Again, let me know what you’d add to the list.
Leaving two dogs together when you’re not home
Don’t leave two dogs loose together if …
1. The dogs don’t know each other. For example, maybe you recently adopted one of them or maybe one is just visiting.
2. YOU don’t know the dogs. For example, maybe you’re watching them for a friend. It’s generally better to be safe and leave one or both in their crates or separate rooms.
3. There’s any chance the dogs will fight.
4. They’ve ever fought before.
5. Either dog tends to show possessiveness/guarding of food, water, beds, bones, the dog walker, toys, furniture, etc.
6. One dog tends to cause the other to get in trouble. For example, maybe they both bark when they’re together or maybe they chase and wrestle and break things.
7. One is not yet housebroken or tends to mark. You don’t want the other dog to start peeing in the house as well.
8. Either dog tends to become aggressive around certain triggers like the doorbell, the mail carrier or hearing other dogs outside. You don’t want one to re-direct the aggression to the other. Happens all the time.
What else would you add to this list?
Steps for Leaving Your Puppy Alone with Another Dog
Leaving your puppy alone with your other dog is absolutely okay, but only if you do it right. That being said, the emphasis is on “if you do it right.”
You can’t just throw your older dog and your puppy together and then leave them unsupervised. That can be a recipe for disaster.
Rather, there are a few steps involved to getting to a peaceful, happy two-dog household situation.
Before introductions, it’s important that you prepare the home.
That’s the first and most important step to introducing your older dog to his new buddy.
In addition, set up an area where your puppy can stay when you’re out of the room or the house.
Use a dog gate to separate off one room in the house that is your puppy’s for now.
The dog gate will keep your puppy and your older dog safely separated at any time you’re not within eyesight, and it also allows them to interact on a limited level at the same time, promoting bonding.
Check out this video on introducing the two, then we’ll go over the steps in more detail:
Unless your current dog is leash aggressive – in which case, you shouldn’t be getting another dog – it’s important to introduce him to your new puppy while on-leash.
Keeping your older dog on-leash will ensure that should anything go wrong, you can quickly pull him back to help limit the potential for severe injury to the puppy.
Place your puppy in a room with lots of space, and then walk your dog into the room while he’s on his leash.
Watch for any immediate signs of aggression from your dog. These can include a raised, still tail, raised hackles, growling, and bearing of teeth.
If you don’t see any of that simply be in the room with your dog on-leash and allow the dogs to come together naturally.
Don’t force it. You want the introduction to be as natural as possible.
Whether your dog goes to the puppy or the puppy goes to your dog, be constantly on alert for any aggressive behavior and be vigilant, ready to pull back on the leash should your older dog snap.
Remember, as sweet as your older pooch may be, there’s really no telling what can happen with dogs.
Allow the two to interact as much as they want, provided everything is copacetic.
Only separate them when either one of them begins to show a loss of interest.
Remember, the first meeting isn’t about them becoming best friends out of the gate. It’s simply about them getting used to each other.
If everything went smoothly after the first interaction, you can allow your two dogs to pal around together with your older dog off-leash – just be sure you never leave them alone.
It’s important to have off-leash interaction because you never want your dog to be straining against his leash to reach your new puppy.
The foundation of leaving your puppy alone with another dog is good relations, and straining against a leash can give your older dog the feeling he gets when he’s trying to chase a squirrel or get to something he shouldn’t.
As your dogs interact together, be constantly on the lookout for any indication that things might be getting tense.
If everything seems good, continue this for as long as possible. If you don’t have anywhere to be that day, just shadow your two dogs for the entirety of the day.
Do this even if everything appears fine, even if they’re simply napping together. Remember, at this stage, anything could still happen.
Continue your ongoing, guided interaction for at least a couple of weeks before you even consider leaving your puppy alone with your older dog.
The key to all of this is making the puppy a part of your older dog’s daily life. You want the puppy to feel like a real, bonified member of the family before ever leaving the two dogs alone.
If, after a couple of weeks your dog and new puppy seem to be getting along, it’s time to start giving them limited alone time.
While they’re playing or sleeping, go to another room of the house that is close by, and let the two dogs interact naturally without your input.
Keep an ear open for any sounds of aggressive growling (dogs will growl while playing), any whining that is out of the ordinary, or any other sound that could indicate a potential problem.
If you don’t hear any of these, continue leaving the two dogs alone to do their thing.
If you have a smart home security system that has cameras, your phone’s app is a great way to give your dogs alone time while still keeping tabs on them. You can watch their interactions right from your phone.