1st Cat Interaction

The cats weren't exactly excited to see that we have a new family member. However, I think they handled it pretty well. This is what we've done to help with the cat/dog process:

Before Puppy Red's arrival:

• About a week ago, we puppy proofed one room in the house and planned to give him access to only this room, so the cats still own the rest of the house. Once he arrives, this will keep the cats from feeling as though he's taking over their turf.
• The puppy-proofed room was also setup with his new crate, new bed, food and water dishes, all his new toys, and the childproof door (about waist tall) that locks puppy in that room. This gave the cats a week to get used to all the new stuff and practice jumping over the door in case they ever need to escape from the puppy room.
• To help train the cats to jump over the door, I placed a tall stool next to the door on the outside of the room. This helped them practice jumping in and out of the room. It also gives them a high spot to watch the dog once he arrives.

Puppy Red's 1st day home:

• About a mile from home I let Puppy Red out to go potty. That way I could put him back in the crate and there would be no concerns about bringing him into the house in the crate and keeping him in there for a bit.
  
• Once home I carried his crate into the puppy proofed room and left him there for a bit (he wasn't ready to come out of his crate yet anyway). This allowed the cats to walk around the crate and get a good sniff. They stayed low, all fur was poofed out and they started 3 feet away from the crate.
• Note that I placed the crate facing away from the cat's vantage point. This kept Puppy Red from seeing the cats and therefore he didn't have to worry about them yet (he already had enough new stuff to be concerned about).
• During this time I didn't talk too much so the cats weren't too distracted from exploring. However, I talked a little to try and comfort Puppy Red.
  
• After about 20 minutes I encouraged the cats onto the stool then opened the crate. He still wasn't ready to come out of the crate (NEVER pull your dog out of the crate at this point...they need to come out when they're ready) so he stayed inside a little longer. After a few minutes my girl cat, Kailey, was standing quietly on top of the crate sniffing it. My boy cat, Leo, was still on the stool observing. Puppy Red didn't even know the cats were there.
  
• Once Puppy Red came out, I talked to him in an excited voice and thanked him for coming out. Once he started exploring the room, I got on the other side of the fence to pet the cats who were on the stool. I didn't force attention on the cats; I put my hand out and they signaled to me that I can give them attention. This deliberate attention time was done to keep them from feeling jealous of Puppy Red. After all, we don't want the cats thinking that they're being replaced!
• After a little attention, I also gave them a treat to help make this a positive experience. The treat was welcomed.
• Monica, my breeder, gave me a blankie with Puppy Red's family's scent on it so I put that in his new dog crate with the crate door wide open. He was unsure when first coming out of the old car crate, but once he smelled the blankie in the new crate, he instantly perked up. As a matter of fact, he started herding all of his new toys into his new crate and spent most of his time playing in there.
• We only had about an hour before bedtime, so I spent the rest of the time playing with and talking to Puppy Red for a few minutes then walking over and petting the cats (who remained on the stool) for a few. Everyone seemed pretty content with this arrangement.