Should we wait for a new puppy?

April 12, 2008 4:19 AM

We want to get a new puppy and we are moving to a new house. Should we wait to introduce the puppy to the other pets once they are used to the new house, or make all the changes at the same time?

We currently have a 5 year old dog and a 5 year old female cat and we have been considering getting a puppy as a companion to our dog. Both of our pets met just over a year ago and it took a couple of months before they were comfortable around each other but even now our cat refuses to play with the dog (they are the same size) and looks down at him as an inferior being. It shouldn't be a problem but the poor guy seems so desperate to play with her, he brings her toys and follows her everywhere but she ignores him.
He is a really sweet and well behaved dog so we started looking for a puppy that he could play with and that the cat would not see as a threat. We will be moving into a new house in two weeks that has a big fenced-in yard and a is a good deal bigger inside too. The problem is, should we wait until our dog and cat are used to the new house and have established their territory there and then bring a puppy, or should we have all three come into the house at the same time so that the puppy does not seem later like an "intruder"?
I don't want to traumatize them either with too many changes at the same time. Any ideas?

posted by loryjade to pets & animals (3 comments total)

I'd wait a bit for the pets you currently have to settle in. Mostly for the cat's sake. Plus the puppy is going to take a lot of extra time that you don't want to deny the other pets while they're still WTFing about the house.
posted by Cyrano at 5:47 AM on April 12

Many years ago I got a cat that needed to be "fixed." I asked my vet if I should move her into my apartment, wait a while, and THEN have her fixed. He said to do it all at once--so I brought her home from the operation, groggy and scared, to a place she'd never been before. The vet believed it is easier on an animal to go through one period of massive adjustment, in which everything is new, rather than getting settled in (the move) and then discombobulated all over again (the new puppy). It made sense to me. And believe it or not, 20 years later, that cat is still with me. So it couldn't have been too traumatizing.
posted by fiery.hogue at 6:40 AM on April 12

I agree with Cyrano. Get your house in order before you bring home a puppy, a new puppy is a lot of work, and you do not want to sacrifice the vital first few months of puppy ownership (housetraining, socialization, basic manners) because you're too busy with your new home - doing a bad job of raising a puppy for the first few months will affect that dog (and you) for the rest of its life, wait until you have the time to devote to it. Also, please remember to get a pup who is the opposite sex to the one you have now in order to minimize the chances of problems down the road.
posted by biscotti at 7:00 AM on April 12