When your pets are “absolutely apart” and only seeing each other during short, micromanaged setups, how do you know if they are ready to level up?

In this episode of It’s Training Cats and Dogs, Naomi laid out the main things to think about when making the decision to attempt some more extended interactions.

To listen to the full episode, click here to open it in your podcast player or press play below:

If you’ve been doing setups with your pets and they are going relatively well, you might be wondering:

• Am I being paranoid and keeping them apart for no reason?

• Can I trust the behavior I’m seeing during setups? Or am I getting impatient and looking for signs they’ll be able to hang?

• Is continuing to keep them separated better than seeing what happens if we put them together?

The best answer to these questions is: let’s try it (carefully)!

Write out your plan

You shouldn’t just put everyone in the living room to see what happens! It’s best to think through as many possible scenarios as you can before you attempt to bring your pets together.

Here’s what to consider and include in your plan:

• What does “success” look like?

• What behaviors am I going to reinforce? How?

• How can I set up the environment to create protected contact?

• How will I intervene if:

  • management fails?

  • one or both pets goes over-threshold?

Test whether your pets are ready

Do they have the necessary skills to stay safe?

Can they respond to cues when they are stressed or distracted?

Pro tip: do some practice training sessions ahead of time to refresh your pets’ responsiveness and to give yourself a confidence boost!

Check in with yourself: am I ready?

Do I feel comfortable taking this next step?

What kind of support do I need to attempt this new phase of integration?

• a friend or family member

• support from your trainer and fellow members of The Cat and Dog Coexistence Club