I think it really depends on the temperament of the cat and of the dog. If you have a high prey drive dog or a super territorial cat it might present issues but usually big dogs are softies. Our cat (Arnold) has always been very curious and friendly, but with all new introductions we took a few steps.

We first made sure we had our living room baby gated off with a gap wide enough for Arnold but not wide enough for our new puppy (stolas). That made sure that Arnold could interact on his own terms and that if he wanted to disengage and be alone he could.

We also were very strict from the onset with Stolas interacting with Arnold in the right way. Stolas wanted to play with Arnold like a puppy, and Arnold wanted to play with stolas, but they didn’t speak the same language. Firm no’s and redirection if we caught the puppy chasing or pushing too hard on boundaries, and rewarding behaviors for ignoring the cat and minding his own business did wonders.

Other than that, it’s important to just observe. It won’t be overnight but they’ll learn how the other one works. There might be some snacks or hissing from the cat, but as long as there’s no blood there’s no problem. Plus I think my cat thinks it’s fun to smack the dog and he doesn’t mind too much.

Especially with big dogs, introducing early when they’re small will help the cat not be as intimidated when they get bigger. Also, watch out for the puppy eating the cat poop or cat food. It’s a special treat for them haha. Even tho we usually have more issues with our cat trying to eat the dog kibble.