Hello everyone; the title sums this all up. I have also posted this in r/Dogs.
I have a 7 y/o F Shepherd mix (coloring is white with a few brown patches and freckles, breed unknown). She weighs 55 lbs. I got her from a shelter 1 year ago.
She is very skittish, but very friendly. She tries to go up to people, but will spook if they try to pet her. In all honesty, she really only likes about 7 people. My roommate, who she has lived with as long as she has lived with me, absolutely terrifies her. He still can’t get close to her.
Most other dogs scare her, too. Aforementioned “scary” roommate has a 1 y/o F Beagle-Black Lab mix, who she adores. They play together every day, and have a WWE Smackdown on my bed all the time. She is not like that with any other animal.
My other roommate recently got a 1 m/o M kitten. My dog has met cats a few times, and is generally just confused. She often cries and tries to get close to them, at which they bat at her nose and she runs away.
With this kitten, however, she has often tried to nibble at him. After watching her do this multiple times (he picks up the kitten and I grab the dog’s Martingale collar and hold her close to me so she can’t follow the cat), I have noticed she goes for his butt. The two of them have sniffed each other there before and been fine.
I would assume her instincts and intentions were benign if she was going for the back of his neck, as if to pick him up. However, going for the back half of his tiny body was noticeable.
Is this something we should be concerned about? We are trying to introduce them to each other slowly, with the dog on the floor and the cat on the bed. The cat often jumps down to sniff the dog, but only when she is laying down. Should we keep them separate until the kitten is bigger? As he’s only 1 m/o, his body is about the size of a mango. My dog is 55 lbs, for ref.
I have a 7 y/o F Shepherd mix (coloring is white with a few brown patches and freckles, breed unknown). She weighs 55 lbs. I got her from a shelter 1 year ago.
She is very skittish, but very friendly. She tries to go up to people, but will spook if they try to pet her. In all honesty, she really only likes about 7 people. My roommate, who she has lived with as long as she has lived with me, absolutely terrifies her. He still can’t get close to her.
Most other dogs scare her, too. Aforementioned “scary” roommate has a 1 y/o F Beagle-Black Lab mix, who she adores. They play together every day, and have a WWE Smackdown on my bed all the time. She is not like that with any other animal.
My other roommate recently got a 1 m/o M kitten. My dog has met cats a few times, and is generally just confused. She often cries and tries to get close to them, at which they bat at her nose and she runs away.
With this kitten, however, she has often tried to nibble at him. After watching her do this multiple times (he picks up the kitten and I grab the dog’s Martingale collar and hold her close to me so she can’t follow the cat), I have noticed she goes for his butt. The two of them have sniffed each other there before and been fine.
I would assume her instincts and intentions were benign if she was going for the back of his neck, as if to pick him up. However, going for the back half of his tiny body was noticeable.
Is this something we should be concerned about? We are trying to introduce them to each other slowly, with the dog on the floor and the cat on the bed. The cat often jumps down to sniff the dog, but only when she is laying down. Should we keep them separate until the kitten is bigger? As he’s only 1 m/o, his body is about the size of a mango. My dog is 55 lbs, for ref.
