When you keep more than one type of pet at the house, you must ensure that both types of pets are well adjusted to each other. The pets must not fight among themselves and thus they should not be harmed, either physically or mentally.
Keeping American hairless terriers at home will be a good idea if you have another breed of dog at home. American hairless terriers are friendly with other dog breeds and they would not mind if they have to cohabit with dogs of larger or smaller sizes.
They are also much more mature and can handle the odd behaviors of the different dog breeds if any. But will it be okay if you keep cats with this breed of dog?
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Can the American hairless terrier and cat become friendly?
American hairless terriers are taught to be good farm dogs. They learn to find the pest and other small creatures and keep the farm free from these elements. So they are naturally revengeful regarding the small animals.
Though the cat is not a creature that harms the farm, but yet it is a small creature. So it may not be the reality when you will see the cat and the pet American hairless terrier becomes fast friends.
They can mostly be seen chasing the feline creature, but if you train the dog to not harm the household pets, then it will not do any severe harm to the pet.
Can you keep the cat along with the American hairless terrier?
Keeping the American hairless terrier is not impossible. If you are willing to keep both these pets at home then you can try by keeping the dog first and then bringing the cat. The American hairless terriers are mature and they can be trained easily. You can let the dog adapt to the surroundings and habits of the new residence.
After a year you can bring the cat home. By then the dog will be rather mature and self-content. Thus it will not throw many tantrums after seeing the cat.
How long does it take for the American hairless terrier to get adjusted to the cat?
To begin with, the cat and the dog should not be kept together when they are both very young. The nature of the American hairless terrier is contrasting with the cats and thus, that may cause friction and fighting.
The best time of bringing the cat home is when the dog is at least one year old. The creatures will take a month to get adjusted to each other’s presence. You should always keep watch on the two pets whenever the cat and the dog will be together.
Can the American hairless terrier attack the cat?
The cat and the American hairless terrier become close to each other if they are given a proper chance and environment. The dogs of the terrier breeds are not ferocious in nature if they are well groomed. So they can start playing with the cat once they understand that the cat is also a part of its family.
The cat needs to be assured that the dog will not be harming it, or otherwise it can act defensive and eventually scratch the dog too. As American hairless terriers have no furs on their body they can get scratched easily and that can lead to infection later.
Can the cat and American hairless terrier infect each other?
This is a common concept among dog lovers that their dogs can get respiratory infections from the cats if they have both these pets at home cohabiting.
Kennel cough is a common problem with dogs of any breed and that can affect American hairless terriers as well. If you find that the dog is coughing along with nasal discharge and lethargy, then it can be transmitted from your pet cat. The parainfluenza virus can attack the dog and this one comes from cats.
Bordetella is yet another type of bacteria that can harm dogs. The pet American hairless terrier should be taken to the vet for curing this ailment.
Other than these bacteria, the dogs can be affected by the worms which come again from the cats. Ringworm is a common fungal problem that is often passed from cats to dogs. Other types are tapeworm, roundworm, hookworm, or whipworm and all these are infectious diseases that can affect American hairless terriers.
