german shepherds and cats

Question
My boyfriend has a german shepherd who is not a social or likeable animal and somehow someway we are great together. We are always together and talking about moivng in together. The question is I have 2 cats and a yorkie and we are trying to figure out the best approach to let them meet and get along. What do you recommend we do to make this go well and not end up bad? It only took Leo 2 days to adjust to me and so we are hoping it will not take long for them to get along so we can continue our life together, please help in anyway possible.


Answer
Introduce them one by one, not all at once, slowly in a neutral area. Not at either home. Keep your small dog and each of your cats crated at first, and the GSD also if possible. Let them sniff and smell each other through the crate and spend some time just getting used to each other's smell. You can gradually bring out the other pet on leash in a calm, confident manner. Let them sniff and get used to each other  I would get them together several times over at least a period of a week before introducing them in the home. Then introduce them in the home of the least alpha animal. whether that's the yorkie or the shepherd. The cats you will likely have to introduce in YOUR home where they are comfortable. Follow the same procedure, one cat at a time, in a crate until the bigger dog is comfortable. Make SURE they do NOT run from the shepherd. That is very very important. Give your boyfriend's dog a treat every time he looks at the smaller animals without appearing too at attention or on alert.
It'll work out, just be calm, patient and dont' get upset,. If you do the animals will pick up on it very quickly.
Cindi