Do you have a room that can be sectioned off by a baby gate? That would be best for letting the puppy and kitties meet eye to eye when the time comes. The puppy more than likely won't climb over it. And the kitties either won't climb over it, or they will and learn to high tail it out of there, or tolerate the puppy!

Although it may sound cruel, kenneling a puppy for a period of time in a carrier is actually not harmful and sometimes is recommended. If you put the puppy in a carrier for a while and let the cats sniff around him, that's another good tool. It is more rough on the cats to be isolated to one area than it is to the puppy - so think about puppy isolation rather than isolating the cats. Also the cats have a hierarchy worked out - if you put them in one room they may squabble because of the disruption.

Check with the doghobbyist boards about crating a puppy and you'll be bound to get lots of advice.
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Smile, it will make them wonder what you are up to!

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