Golden and kitty

Question
Hy! I own a lovely male Goldie who in August will be 1 year old. He is extremely happy, sweet and playful. I am getting a little kitty in a couple of days, cos its owner cannot keep them all and I am a bit concerned about my dogs reaction. I already own a couple of rabbits and he seemed to be fine with them, but he has only seen them through their cage or in my arms, and in this circumstances he licks them and gets very excited. The reason of my concern is that everytime he sees a cat outside our garden he gets crazy and begins to chase him. We have also had problems in the past cos he run away and killed two hens. The kitty is very young (about four weeks) so I am sure that she will get used to the dog, the problem is whether the dog will ever get used to the cat. What should I do? Should I avoid any encounters between them? Should I let them toguether and watch his reaction? Please help.

Answer
I don't think anybody can say what would happen and wouldn't trust anybody that said they could.  Dogs are individuals, and react in different ways.  Look at the difference in how he treats the rabbits and hens.  A big part of the reason could be that rabbits are yours, and the cats outside the garden and the hens aren't.  Even living with man 10,000 years, dogs still follow the rules of a wolf pack, or at least the best they can with the strange packs they find themselves in.  Bring the kitten home and treat it much the same as you do the rabbits.  Let him snoop it and lick it.  Be very careful and don't leave the 2 of them alone together.  Provide the kitten some cat furniture, the poles and boxes with small entrances to provide safe shelter.  Your care will need to go on at least the next 2 years.  His personally will not be fully developed before then, and will be changing.  

If you play the role of a top dog correctly, it will help him accept the kitten.  You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat.  Start at http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/

I am a little concerned about the age of the kitten.  I know the 4 weeks is much too soon for a puppy to leave its mother and litter mates.  6 weeks is the very minimum, and 7 or 8 is better.  At that age, puppies still have a distinctive breath signaling adults they are puppies, not prey.  I don't know if kittens do or not.