Three kitties and a dog

My good friend Tom is going to Israel for a month and asked me to watch his dog, Siris, and his three cats, Simba, Lola and Clovis. All of the dogs, except Sydney, knew Siris and Syd and Siris have become fast friends. Syd likes to chew, very gently, on Siris's ears. Weirdly enough, Siris does not object to this behavior. Now I should be clear on this, I am more of a dog person than a cat person. I have had cats in the pas,t but have mild allergies to cats. My dogs are unfamiliar with cat behavior and ways. When Tom asked me if I could take the cats, I told him I could. My intial reaction on how the dogs would react was the following: Macy would take it in stride, Sydney would be curious but friendly and Baily would get a few scratches trying to chase them. The cats and Siris arrived yesterday morning. The cats were obviously stressed, so I set up a gate outside of my office and kept the office door shut until I could be home to supervise. The cats found my linen closet and have camped out there. Last night, while checking email, I allowed the dogs access. Macy behaved as predicted, curious but completely calm. Bailey, on the other hand, avoids the room like the plague. She has timed herself out. Sydney, cannot understand why they will not greet him formally. He was on kitty watch all evening and started again at 4 this morning. He sits in the closet and barks, trying to elicit some kind of greeting. Bless his little cattle dog heart, anything that won't be cordial must be herded. I hope that in the space of a month, the cats will gain some confidence. I am debating whether to keep the gate up or force the cats to interact. My only fear is they will not leave the closet to eat drink and poop, meaning I will be in charge of clean up. Oh lord, this last sentence took 10 minutes to write due to a sneezing fit. How can I be allergic to cat dander and not allergic to dog dander? HMMMMMM!