SamK

Hi everyone,

I have reserved a male black & tan I have named 'Griffin' with a breeder in my home country, South Africa. He'll be moving in with us in mid-December when he is about 8 weeks old. I'm really excited.

A nagging concern is integrating Griffin with my aged micro-menagerie: Cindy is a 14 year old, practically deaf, 3kg Chihuahua and Charlie is a 15 year old forest cat. Cindy and Charlie co-exist without much affection for each other but they were both very affectionate to James, dobe x husky x whoknows, who died at 14 years old in May. I shall appreciate any advice on how I can best manage these relationships in the hope that old Cindy and Charlie don't spend their dotage running and hiding from Griffin.

Nice to meet you! I look forward to learning lots from this forum.

Sam

lolonurse

Hi Sam, and welcome to the DT community! We have always had dogs & cats, and sometimes birds, guinea pigs, chickens as well. A young puppy is the easiest to integrate, since he is used to being 'bossed' around by his mom, and dealing with interacting and learning social skills with his littermates.

I think, since your 2 elderly pets are used to having other pets in the family, that the main issue will be having an exuberant, clumsy, curious baby in the household. When you bring him home, let Cindy & Charlie sniff Griffin, with Griffin in his crate or behind a baby gate, so his wiggliness doesn't frighten the 2 "littles".

I'm sure when Griffin is out, the other 2 will make themselves scarce at first. After Griffin has played a while and is tired, have him on a leash, and encourage the others to come and visit him, and talk soothingly and calmly to them all. If Griffin tries to pounce at them (he may either think they are his own size and age, or they are toys), gently admonish him to be gentle, and control him - but they will ultimately work out their relationships...

I suggest that, if your forest cat has his claws, you trim them just in case, as a cat's claws can do damage to a puppy's eyes, or rip his nose ... and can also trigger a prey drive. You want to have treats and toys available... when we got our Dobe puppies, we would use the laser light or a stuffy toy that the cats also liked, and all would concentrate on that, and it made them see each other as team players.

Don't forget, once Griffin comes home - we want to see photos! Lois

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Darkevs

Hi!!!

Welcome to Doberman Talk!

Congratulations on your upcoming puppy!

we look forward to meeting him.

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wanbi84

Hi and welcome to forum

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Brandy&Melanie

Welcome! I love the name Griffin!!

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Doberman Club of Canada:

http://www.dpcc.ca/

Read this before you get your pup:

http://www.dobermantalk.com/puppy-co...-your-pup.html

dax0402

Hi and welcome to the forum. Best of luck with your new puppy.

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