Jim Dandy: I SO agree with Anastasia, that's one you definately need to research My shelter-dog LOVES animals, all animals, and people, all people (but she eats bees-lol). But she's also no puppy & was truly desperate for a "home". The shelter that she was at let me take her around on a couple occasions to "meet and greet" because I had an elderly uncaged ferret at home and wanted to make sure she'd be nice to him, and she was wonderful, he died a very content old ferret. But I also had a shelter-dog for many, many years who hunted anything & everything he could. I'd stay clear of any breed of hunting/tracking/or incredibly dominant dogs. From my experience, some small dogs are nastier than the HUGE ones (makes up for their lack of size?) Also, I really hope that your cats still have their claws, yes? That is a cat's defense, especially when it comes to a dog's teeth - I think that's what makes a dog think twice & what chance does a cat have without them with an angry dog in front of them, no matter what size? Just my opinion