If you have or plan to have both a cat and a dog in your home, you need to know how to train both pets to get along with each other. The saying “dog and cat” is not fanciful. Dogs tend to defend their territory fiercely and prevent new pets, both cats and dogs, from taking it over. Cats, although smaller, are not inferior and also tend to defend their territory.
Many animal lovers who keep a cat and a dog together find it difficult to find a way to make them friends. Separating them from each other and keeping them in different rooms would be impractical and twice as time-consuming if you want to play with each of them. The best solution is to teach your cat and dog to get along by following a few simple steps.
It will be quicker and easier to teach your pets to get along if they are younger. So try to get a second pet as early as possible. The younger they are introduced, the fewer conflicts will arise between them as their instincts will not have been strengthened yet. Pand the first encounter between animals determines how they get along, so you need to prepare for it in advance.
The hardest part of this stage is the domestication of the new pet, which takes about 30 days or more. When a second pet arrives in the house, the first thing that will be needed is to get them used to each other. If you want to shorten and ease this process, follow the steps below.
Step 1. When you first bring your new pet home, try to keep it in a separate room. It is important that both animals can smell and hear each other, but not see each other. This will allow the new pet to familiarise itself with its new surroundings and the old pet to stay safely in its own space.
Step 2. Take an old towel or t-shirt and wrap the new pet. Then take the towel or shirt to the old pet’s room and place it nearby. It will start to sniff and smell the new pet’s scent, which it will gradually get used to.
Step 3. The process described above should take one or two hours. Then swap the animalse and move it to the previous room. For the new pet, place a towel or T-shirt with the old pet smell next to it.
Step 4. Both pets will now have a chance to get to know each other and establish a friendly contact. Keep both pets on different sides of the same door. Place some food or other favourites near the door and toys for both pets. While they are enjoying their food and playing, they will hear and smell the presence of the other animal. This will create a positive atmosphere between them.
Step 5. When you notice that the animals are no longer showing interest in each other or trying to smell each other through the bottom of the door, move on to the next step. Next, you will need to arrange for live introductions, but separate the animals through a barrier or glass wall.