Kitten hissing and spitting at my dog

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Anonymous user Icon representing the flag French
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Hi everyone!

I'm looking for some advice to help me better understand this rather explosive situation...

We've just brought home a little 2-month-old female kitten. She was born at my parents' house and comes from a line of four generations! All the cats in her family have always been absolute sweethearts and very sociable.

She's been with us for 4 days now :) She's lovely with me and my partner; she purrs, plays, eats everything, and she's house-trained!

The issue is our dog, a Bernese Mountain Dog weighing around 123 lbs (nearly 9 stone), but he's a real gentle giant who obeys our every word! When he sees the kitten, we keep him calm in a 'down-stay' position; he starts whingeing because he's desperate to go and see his new friend :) But she hisses the moment he looks at her! When that happens, we pick her up to reassure her.

We've been introducing them several times a day and things were going better and better; we could get the kitten within 50cm of the dog while he stayed still without her hissing.

By the 3rd day, we could even get her to play near the dog quite easily, until she started spitting right in his face, followed by some aggressive swiping. Today is the 4th day and she's actually approaching him on her own; the dog is being less reactive, almost ignoring her, but the kitten is spitting more and more as she gets closer! We find it quite aggressive and alarming...

So, we're wondering what the best approach is... even though there's progress in her getting closer to him, her reactions are more aggressive than they were at the start.

How should we handle the kitten during these tricky moments?

Thanks in advance!

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    Anonymous user Icon representing the flag French
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    Hello! Well, that’s a bit of progress then! Ha, you should never play like that lol, it’s a recipe for disaster later on... it’s always best to avoid playing with your hands or feet, even under the duvet. Otherwise, the cat gets into the habit and then they'll do the same thing without the duvet to protect you, which is bound to hurt even more... The kitten was overexcited, so to him, it was just normal play, especially since your partner was probably winding him up with her feet (it’s common, I made the same mistake myself but I soon realised). So, no playing with hands and feet, just toys! :)
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    Anonymous user Icon representing the flag French
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    Hi everyone!

    I’ve got an update since yesterday following your advice!

    He’s getting closer and closer. She’s been arching her back and going for his paws quite a bit. The swipes don't seem that aggressive, but she’s still hissing and spitting!

    The latest thing is that she’s started attacking my partner in bed since last night. It started as play (feet under the duvet), then she suddenly darted at full pelt towards my partner's face, swiping at her and hissing. Today, she’s hissed at her again and gone for her legs twice!

    As for me, nothing at all...

    What do you think?

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    Anonymous user Icon representing the flag French
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    That’s completely normal, it’s just because he’s scared. You’ve got to give him time to settle into the place and get to know his new buddy. My parents have a Coton de Tulear and they’ve just got a little female kitten, two months old, who had the exact same reaction as your kitten. It took her two weeks to stop hissing and start coming down off the sofa without being "wary" of the dog. I’ve got a six-week-old kitten myself and it’s the same thing when I take him over to my parents'—he hisses, spits and swats at the dog. So we just leave him on the floor, staying right there with him, and let the dog approach so he gets used to her. It’s all just a matter of time!! =)

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    Anonymous user Icon representing the flag French
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    No problem at all, I hope everything gets sorted quickly for you, but usually it takes a good week or even longer for trust to properly build up :)

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    Anonymous user Icon representing the flag French
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    Thank you so much for your advice :)
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    Anonymous user Icon representing the flag French
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    I’m no expert, but personally I don’t think things will get critical for the kitten as such; it’s more a case of whether your dog loses patience... Just make sure to keep a close eye on both the little ones regardless.

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    Anonymous user Icon representing the flag French
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    Thanks for your reply! We’re going to give your method a go and see how things progress. When things get a bit out of hand, should we move the kitten away and reassure them with a stroke, or just ignore them?
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    Anonymous user Icon representing the flag French
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    She’s not really being aggressive, she’s only just arrived so you’ve got to give her a bit of time... Settling in a new kitten can take several days or even a few weeks. In the meantime, try not to step in too much unless things start looking really nasty, but it’ll all work out in time. She isn’t going to take things too far; she’s only acting like this because it’s all new to her, and she’s more frightened than she is aggressive. As for how to react, only do so when you absolutely have to. Just pick her up normally and move her a bit further away.
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    Anonymous user Icon representing the flag French
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    Yes, it definitely looks like her claws are out when the kitten is hissing and swatting at the dog, even though he doesn't really react, other than pulling his head back. Even so, he’d still be happy to go over to her. Should we just let him carry on and get close, even if the kitten is being aggressive? If she’s acting like this, should we just leave her to it to see how far she takes it? At what point should we step in, and what’s the best way to do it? Thanks again for your replies
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    Anonymous user Icon representing the flag French
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    Yeah, you know what kittens are like, they play like that! Does he swipe with his claws out? You’ve always got to keep an eye on them, of course, but if you stop the kitten from "feeling out" the dog, they’ll never get along properly. Trust and contact have to be built on both sides.

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