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My sister and her husband, both animal lovers, always had dogs in the home. When their daughter was old enough, she wanted a cat (even though she was allergic). Adding a cat to a dog home could have opened up the proverbial can of worms, but what happened was, the dogs came to accept the cat as one of the pack. And the cat happily took its place among the dogs. Of course, they had little dogs, Shelties and a Lhasa Apso at the time, but I doubt if the size of the dogs makes a difference. I think that they all just learned to get along.

Our three dogs, having never been around cats, are on their guard for anything smaller than them that runs around. Our Min Pin in particular, a ratter, spends the majority of her day watching one of our many chipmunks running back and forth under the bay window that she lies in. And once when we passed a dog-friendly cat on one of our walks, they all pulled and lunged to get at the cat who observed them as if they were insane, and decided to keep her distance. 

But animals, in particular domesticated ones, are adaptable and accepting of their situation. I have no doubt that if we brought a kitten into the home, and we spent our time 'educating' our dogs about being gentle, they would soon come to accept the cat as one of their own. But until then, they might get a few scratches across their nose. They can be fast learners! 

 

 

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