Hi All, I've been reading the forum thoroughly and just want to say Hi. We will be picking up our new pup on Friday...so happy! I've waited so long until one of us was home during the day so we could have a dog. We had two cats but one recently passed, the other is now very bored but loves to play with anything in our garden, other cats, next doors rabbit and even the fox cubs. So I am hoping he accepts our new addition...he is not a scratchy cat and is a little backward which makes him cuter. So, if anyone has had to introduce their pup to an older cat and has any advice, that would be great. This is such a great site, oh and does anyone know how to put a pic in, I'd love to share our pup Xxx
Re: First Time Puppy Owner Welcome! From me and eight month old Pongo. You are going to have such a wonderful time! (As well as all those hours of 'omg have we done the right thing....' that all of us have been through during those early weeks....). Looking forward to meeting your pup on the forum! Rosie
Re: First Time Puppy Owner Welcome to the forum!! How exciting to be getting your pup in a few days. For posting photos have a look at some of the threads in the Technical area: http://www.thelabradorforum.com/index.php?board=14.0 Basically you need to first upload pics to a photo hosting site (like Flickr) and then put the BBcode or a link to the pic into your post
Re: First Time Puppy Owner How exciting for you!! Can't wait to see pics, puppies are doted upon here!! Good luck with the last minute preparations!!
Re: First Time Puppy Owner Hi! Hope all goes well with picking up your puppy - very exciting! My two young labs (one still a puppy) have occasional contact with a visiting cat. They quickly found out who was boss! It will probably be even better introducing a very young puppy, as cats can climb higher than puppies when they want a bit of peace!
Re: First Time Puppy Owner Welcome to the forum! Good luck for Friday's homecoming. If you have read even a quarter of the stuff on here you will be well prepared will look forward to hearing bow you get on jac
Re: First Time Puppy Owner Welcome to the forum from 10 month old Molly and me. I have introduced a puppy into a cat household. Before she arrived I used nail clippers to whip the very sharp ends off the cat's claws, as I didn't want her swiping them across protruberent puppy eyes. I was careful NOT to cut too deep, I didn't want to hurt cat and she still needed her claws to climb etc. I also ran my hands over both animals to mix their scents. It is important to leave the cat an escape route, especially as the puppy gets bigger and ever more boisterous. Gemma used to glare down at Holly through the banisters. There might have been a touch of I'm allowed upstairs and you aren't. Have fun!
Re: First Time Puppy Owner Hi and welcome from Harley (1 year old red fox lab) and me Look forward to seeing the pics
Re: First Time Puppy Owner In our house upstairs is the cat's zone and downstairs the puppy's, so she has a safe place to run as she can get over the stair gate. I swopped to feeding Olive up on the kitchen counter top the moment we brought him home (a) so she could eat in peace and (b) because he ate her food. She was very curious about him and surprised us by coming for a sniff on day one when I was in the garden with him. She then laid down to sleep so I thought it was going to be a best friend situation. On day four he got excited to play and barked at her so she made the mistake of running. That was the end of the friendship lol. She soon worked out he couldn't reach her up high so she found high spots all over the house & garden. She now spends a lot of time deliberately sitting above him which drives him crazy. Even if Ash is asleep his super spidey senses are alert and he can tell if she's creeping past. He chases her so anyone close by has to grab him. She can't be too bothered as she always tries to come on walks with us but she does spend more time away from the house than she used to. Good luck, I hope they become friends. You have a better chance if your cat plays with lots of other animals as my cat had never done that. I know loads of people that introduced a puppy to an older cat and it worked fine every time xxxx
Re: First Time Puppy Owner from a teeny tiny black 5 1/2 year old Lab known as The DivaDog and her pet human
Re: First Time Puppy Owner Aww so cute Madmudmob! Thanks everyone, I'm going to put a baby gate in the hallway and the dog will have the back dining room kitchen. The cat can get in through the cat flap and if he is fast enough get over the gate then he has the rest of the house. Can't do it any other was as our living room carpet is cream and don't want to risk a stain as we are having viewings as we are selling our house to move to rural Suffolk! Can't wait to take my little Monty to the beach and the forest walks! You are all so very lovely and helpful!
Re: First Time Puppy Owner Did you know you can buy a gate with a cat flap in it? I think it's the bettacare one, same as I have but mine doesn't have the cat flap...
