Intoducing Mia to cat's

Hi all, not been on for a while because not needed any advice on anything as mias been a brilliant well behaved loving dog, she's nearly 10months old now so don't know if i should be on the puppy forum??
I do now however need some advice as we are taking my fiancee dads cats under our roof as he is emigrating, he has 3 cat's who are lovely well mannered cats who have been in there family for 10years, we have tried to get them a new home but as you can imagine not many people will be willing to take on 3 cats so we have decided yo give it a go but we are worried how Mia is going take to them, anyone else had a similar situation? Obviously i doubt not many would have 3 cats & a dog but any advice would be helpful thank you

Slow introductions are needed gradually but chances are the cats will stay out the way .

Take it slowly, and make sure cats have plenty places to escape. In my experience dogs want to play and cats will go for eyes. ps a babygate is grate.

Plan is give cats run of the house upstairs as Mia will be downstairs in her bed while were both at work,then just let them meet maybe with Mia in her bed (crate) or would that be more cruel on Mia seeing the cats while shes stuck in her crate?

I would have her on a harness and line rather than in a crate. In this case, it's not my general aversion to crates, more that I find that training is usually more effective if you can set situations up for an animal to do the right thing of their own choosing, but at the same time having a safety net if it does go wrong. If you have Mia in the crate it is more difficult for you to control her movement, other than limiting her space. With her on the lead, though, you can ask her to sit or lie down, then depending on the room you have you could walk her around. This way, you're not just saying 'here's a cat, you decide', it's more 'this is a cat and this is all you need to do near it to get yummy treats'.

Are you keeping Mia crated while you are at work? If so, I would absolutely not have her crated in the evenings. The question of whether it is right for any dog to be crated for extended periods aside, to not give her maximum outside time when you are home would not, in my opinion, be fair.

For a dog who's not been brought up with cats, though, it might be hard and I'd most definitely err on the side of caution before allowing them any time together. I think you're very brave taking this on, and I wish you all the very best. Please keep youre realistic hats on, though, and be ready to say if it's not working.

Thanks for the advice everyone, Think we're not going introduce them straight away maybe give the cats time to adjust in their new environment because obviously it will take time to get use to their new home & i think introducing them to Mia straight away will only make it harder, we have to keep them in the house for atleast 2 weeks aswell before letting them out. Will keep you updated & i just hope it works out.

Sounds like a sensible plan, and it'll also give Mia time to get used to the smells, etc.

By the way, you don't have to have a problem to come to the Staffy Forum, just pop in and say hi from time to time anyway.