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Lonely Savannah

C

Crushton

Guest
So ever since we moved into a bigger house my savannah boy seems to be very lonely when we are at work during the day and at night when we go to bed he just walks around howling very loudly for attention. I give him lots of snuggles and play time when im home before i go to bed but its just not enough for him so we decided to try and give him a friend to keep him company. we decided to go with a boxer puppy that will be ready to come home in a couple more weeks. What do you guys suggest is the best way to do intros and be sure they will get along. Ares has been around other dogs very briefly at my mothers house and he didnt seem to be too upset around them but i know its different when you bring in another animal into HIS territory. any advise would be awesome!
 

John Popp

Site Supporter
Witchy has a write-up on how to perform introductions which goes into quite a bit of detail. It's the best document out there of its kind and pretty much the gospel on how to do introductions.

A Boxer wouldn't be the first choice as a companion pet for a Savannah.
 

admin

Paige
Staff member
I disagree with John...a boxer puppy will be fine. Most Savannahs love dogs and get along well with them. Similar to introducing to another cat or kitten... Keep them separated for a week or two, then slow intros... If you type introduction into the search box, you should come across quite a few posts.


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Patti

Admin
Staff member
Boxers can be aggressive toward cats so it's important that the puppy is properly introduced while he is young and learns early on WHO IS THE BOSS!!! ;) I would start by either crating him or putting him in a room with a doggy gate/barrier so that they can see each other and get to know each other without being able to harm one another. You will have to play it by ear to see how quickly they learn to love each other.

My Rhodesian Ridgeback (a breed that traditionally has boxer in it's background) learned at an early age that the cats are boss, and although he now gets along fine with most of him, some he can be a little rough with, and others he is still terrified of...
 

SlugMaster

Site Supporter
I might be able to add a perspective to this thread. Currently I have a 13 week old mini golden retriever puppy, who I have had a bit over a week. I am just starting to introduce him to my savannahs, after keeping supper puppy in the master bedroom. So far I have given him limited access to the house, with the cats in their back room or placed on a perch. The cats have done well, being very interested in the puppy, but not hostile unless puppy tries to get in their space. A second strategy has been to take the cats for a walk and hooks them up outside. Then bring the puppy by on a lead. Everyone's reaction to has been good.

I am hopeful they will do well together, but thinking it will take a lot of time and work. Enjoy your new fur friend!
 

John Popp

Site Supporter
A golden/mini golden would be a preferred companion among dog breeds for a Savannah.

Again, it’s not the SVs traits and personality that would be suspect with a companion pet.


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Ninja-n-Bear

Site Supporter
We had a houseguest this summer - a Boxer/Chihuahua mix, 4yrs old. He was here for 3 weeks, and we had no serious issues. He was defensive of his bed/territory, would bark at our cats and sort of rush at them if they got close to it, but NEVER laid tooth or paw on them, and wasn't like that anywhere else in the house. He was also into garbage pickin', but that may be from the Chihuahua side, lol.

I'd ask your breeder about aggressive tendencies in the parents, and if they've had exposure to cats, so you know what to expect. ;)
 

SlugMaster

Site Supporter
John,

Thanks for the vote of confidence on breed choice. I am not too sure of my judgment when it comes to four legged friends . But it sure makes things interesting. Below are the cats watching supper puppy.
DSC04029.JPG DSC04045.JPG Puppy 1.JPG
 

John Popp

Site Supporter
You're welcome Sluggo!

The warden and I have been doing lots of research on this front, and she desperately wants a puppy. There's never any assurance that pets are going to get along no matter what you do. In nature, if they don't like someone, even of the same breed, they just stay away from them. Conversely, we jam them into our homes and expect them to get along or at least we think we can manipulate them to get along.

Imagine this, you provide me a list of your top 10 friends and I'll randomly pick one to move into your spare bedroom. There's an opportunity for this to work out fabulously and lots of opportunities for it to be a train wreck. Using any number of dog breed selectors available online, you can at least minimize the risk of failure.
 
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