Our 4 month old male boxer

Question
We welcomed home our boxer pup last week. He has been introduced on thier own to our 4 year old cat. Since then, whenever he sees her, he tries to play with her and she will his and bat at him. What can I do to make them have a more calm environment to start to be friends?

Answer
In time, the puppy will learn to respect the cat's "personal space", and the cat will learn to tolerate the puppy's antics, but this will go faster with some help from you.  Self-control exercises for the puppy can help, and are never a bad idea in any case.  Give the cat some 'dog-safe' areas - blocked off by baby gate raised up a bit from the floor, so that the cat can squeeze under but the dog can't (or a 2-foot high gate, that the cat can climb, if the dog won't jump over it).  If the puppy gets too enthusiastic, some special time in his crate with a stuffed Kong will give him a chance to re-focus his energy, and give the cat a chance for some peace and quiet.

This article is about dinnertime manners, but the basis is self-control exercises:
http://www.clickertraining.com/node/596

Some other articles about self-control:
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=1574&S=1&SourceID=47
http://www.shirleychong.com/keepers/archives/settle.txt
http://flyingdogpress.com/selfpg.html
http://www.pawsitivesolutions.net/puppyhood/settle.html

Good luck!