How can I deal with my daughter and son in law getting a new dog?

Dogs are far more hygienic than cats and will not pee in the house. Why WOULD she talk to you about it, its her life and her choice. She is right that the dog cannot be shut outside in a strange place, she will be frightened and stressed. That said, for crying out loud! Its a dog not a toddler! She is doing her no favours by allowing this anxiety to fester. There are plenty of excellent methods for training a dog with separation anxiety and the longer she leaves it before starting the worse it will be. What is she going to do with a dog that can NEVER be left alone or with a friend? Get a grip!

You have every right not to want a dog in your house, stressing out your cats so why don't you go and visit her the next few times instead? Cats are pretty self sufficient and you could get a neighbour or friend to feed them for you while you are down there. It will give her the chance to get the dog trained and settled and once you get to know her it might not even be a problem. If she doesn't chase them and the cats are pretty laid back then they probably wouldn't mind. My dog tried to chase my boyfriends cat once and he just stood there and give her the filthiest look I have ever seen on a feline until she gave up and crept back to her bed in disgrace. After that they were pretty friendly with each other and he now tries to groom her whenever I bring her round.

Dogs pee in the house a lot? Really? In my experience, cats are the animals who pee in the house even with a clean litter box available.

They are married and live on their own, so you have no say if they get a dog or not. They don't need your permission.

They can get a dog sitter, a neighbor to check on the dog, or leave it with a friend. You can visit them. Put the cats in a separate room, or let them go outside while the dog is over. 1 of my family members staying for a couple weeks brought their dog over without notice. At the time I've never had a dog, 2 cats at the moment. Everything was fine.

I've always been more of a cat person, too, but my boyfriend loves dogs. We now have 2 huskies together and one cat (I had before we met). It is often advised that huskies do not live with cats as huskies are thought to be very "prey-driven" dogs. However, the pets all seem to get along pretty well. We had a little trouble once when we first adopted our female dog. She tried to go after the cat when he was hiding in a bush. But we haven't had any incident since.

If you want to introduce the cats and dog so they don't try to hurt each other, I suggest doing it while holding the dog back at first, and giving the cats a way to escape by climbing to a higher place (it's what they do best!) Being able to climb to a higher spot will also give the cats a sense of security with the dog around. I have a very tall cat "tree" from the pet store for my cat. He loves it, and it's a great way for him to escape when he seeks refuge from the dogs :)

You could go to visit her,and a pet sitter could feed your cats.Housebroken dogs don't generalize their training to all locations. If the dog is housebroken at one house, it must be retaught at the next house.

Dogs are social animals and should not be kept outside. It is the equivalent of putting them in solitary confinement. It's cruel to them.

It takes a very skilled person, or one with expert help, to help a dog with anxiety issues.Since this is her first dog, I hope that your daughter has some ongoing expert help, and I don't mean from a TV show.

Your cats are going to freak out and you are going to have to deal wit dog pee on the floor. It would work better f you visited her. You can still call, email, text and meet on FaceBook or some other social network. I know it's not the same but the change of location is going to mess up the dog, your cats and your house. The dog might do better with a sitter at home. Since I don't know what form its anxiety takes, can't say for certain.

It would make a lot more sense for everyone if YOU visited THEM, or maybe you could all meet halfway.

Excuse you?! I don't know where you get your so-called facts from about dogs but for your information they do NOT "pee in the house a lot". They do that when they are puppies but that goes away with training and house breaking them. Also she is a grown @$$ woman with her own place and a husband so as she is AN ADULT she can do what the hell she wants to and not consult your controlling butt. Also you can see your "kid because she got a dog but for a few minutes at a time" because you can do two things: 1) drive your selfish, self-centered self up to see her and 2) grow as a person and learn how accept dogs. You're SUPPOSED to be a man so do something new and different be a real man and have a new experience by growing the hell up. Sorry but so far your kid is a hell of a lot more mature than you are and ever will be, it looks to me like. Your ADULT daughter and son in law did something wonderful by adopting an adult dog with special needs as he has anxiety issues. He can't help that but you can by trying to meet the dog. Also by YOU driving to her place you don't have to worry about your cats being stressed out and spraying in your house. Problem solved. Too bad you weren't bright enough to think of it. We have to accept new and different ideas to grow as a human species. I am wondering how it is being stuck in the stone age.

Hi. I have two cats and have always been a cat person. I never really cared for dogs because they tend to pee in the house a lot. Growing up my daughter asked or talked about getting a dog a few times and I always told her she couldn't have one because it would stress the cats out and pee in the house. Well my... show more

19 answers · Dogs · 17 hours ago

"it would still spook the cats too much to let inside" - This clearly states that the dog is not aggressive towards the cat.. you just think that your cats will be scared? Try putting either the cat or the dog in a crate and the other out of the crate and introduce them that way and if you see any signs of aggressiveness then obviously you have to keep them in separate rooms when they come over but who knows? they might even get along..

PS/ Since your daughter is married, she is a grown up, she is allowed to buy a dog with her husband if she wants to... She doesn't need to ask you as she doesn't live in your house anymore... You dont decide what she can or can't get.. She is a grown up..

I just find the "they tend to pee in the house" thing hilarious.

I've got 4 dogs all of whom gladly hold their bladders until they are let outside. Yet the cats we've had would piss in your shoes if you looked at them the wrong way. Oh and....cats urinate in the house 100% of the time so I don't really get ya there.

It's your house. Tell them not to bring the dog. Or better yet how bout YOU go visit them? All I'm seeing is a bunch of whiny bull and excuses from an overbearing mother here.

Put the cats in the bedroom while they are there. If they stay a long period of time, say more than three days you can slowly let the dog and cats become acquainted with each other. When this happens do not let that dog become so excited that he barks. So not hold the cats...let them roam out of the bedroom on their own. The dog has to keep in leashed and sitting calmly while the meeting is happening. The thing you want to accomplish in this first meeting is the dog to just lay down and ignore the cats, not a nose greeting! And further, never let the dog get super excited. I say in three days the dog will give the cats their needed space. I hope the cats see you petting the dog. That shows them you accept the dog into your home. this might take 5 mintues or two hours but doable. Goodluck.

Don't ever get any other pets or more cats. You're too stupid to have pets. A outside dog can sleep outside...a indoor dog is not and will not sleep outside. I have cats and dogs and afew of my cats weren't used to dogs, it took awhile but they adjusted. You can't have a say in if your daugther gets a pet in her new place. She's probably better off staying at home with the dog, your cats can be left alone for afew days if 2 litterboxs and a big bucket of food and water. Cats don't care if your gone a day or two. Dogs need to go outside, they cannot be left for more than afew hours.

I don't truly understand how you figure you have a say in your daughters choices once she's moved out and married. That puzzles me big time.