I'm sorry this is long. Any advice appreciated!
We got a kitten two weeks ago. He's now 11 weeks old. We have two big dogs. I wanted a kitten because it was impossible to find a rescue adult cat that was used to dogs, and having had puppies I know how much easier it is to socialise babies than it is older animals.
I spent so much time researching how to introduce a kitten to dogs. We've spent the last two weeks being painstakingly careful and slow in our introductions (it's honestly been one of the most stressful things I've done). We started by keeping them in separate rooms and after a few days swapping them around so they could get used to each other's smell. Then we had the kitten in a crate and the dogs on leads, lots of treats and praise, kept the sessions very short (to keep it positive, but also because the kitten did not at all appreciate being in the crate!). Eventually we moved on to having the dogs on short leads while the kitten was free. The dogs were so good and relaxed and everything was looking positive.
The next step was supposed to be having the dogs loose also, but keeping the leads on so we could pick them up if anything seemed tense. This is where it all went pear shaped. Kitten saw the dangling leads and chased them, then didn't like how close he ended up to the dog attached to the lead and puffed up and swatted his face. Both of my dogs went from being relaxed and cool with the kitten to thinking this cat is a holy terror who will murder them at the first opportunity. :(
The dogs now get up and leave when kitten gets close. I'm okay with this, but the kitten seems to think he's a big man who's chased them off and he puffs up, squares off and then actually does chase them down. The dogs run in fear. He doesn't seem scared of them at all and I feel so sorry for my poor dogs, whose lives have been, as far as they're concerned, completely ruined by this tiny, vicious menace. They're both so stressed, and I'm worried one of them will literally snap if the kitten won't stop.
I don't know what to do. Will this get better with time and patience? How do you teach a kitten to stop? I can't use a spray bottle or one of those air spray things because it will punish the dogs too, and I'm trying to reward them for being calm near the kitten.
I should add I'm not subjecting the dogs to the kitten all day. They're still separated for most of the day and only around each other for a half hour to an hour at a time. Both cat and dogs have safe rooms that the other can't access, so they're not just mushed together!
Any insight at all would be so helpful, thank you.