Talented K9 Introducing A New Dog

Introducing a new dog into your home isn't always easy, especially if you have other dogs already living there. This article is focused more towards homes that have dogs already living there. Since dogs are pack animals, they don't always instantly accept a new dog into the home. You might think you'll just bring the new dog home, introduce the new dog to your dog and all will be just fine. Though some people can get away with doing that and things end up just fine, I don't recommend introducing a new dog into the home in that way.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when introducing a new dog into your home. If you've already met the new dog, and you know they will be coming to live with you, try to get a towel or blanket they've slept on to bring home with you and let your dogs have it around to sniff. Getting the new dog's scent in the house will help your dogs get to know the other dog and familiarize themselves with the new dog's scent. This way when they meet the new dog, they will recognize the scent. This alone does not guarantee your dogs will like this new dog, it is simply something that can help. Sometimes it's not possible to get something with the dog's scent on it before bringing the dog home.

On the day you bring your new dog home, see if you can get somebody to help you. Take them all for a walk and try to let them meet on neutral ground. This way neither dog will try to be protective of territory. Slowly let them sniff each other, look for any signs of stiffness, dominate postures, stares with the eyes. Dogs tend to get stiff and do a stare with their eyes right before they attack, so if you see this, walk away with the dog showing these signs quickly. If they are wagging their tails, sniffing each other happily, and inviting each other to play you're doing good.

If they greeted each other on a happy note, let them play together for a bit if you can or go ahead and walk them back home. Keep in mind, taking the new dog home can change things as now the new dog is coming into your dog's territory. Keep an eye on them and make sure your dog is still okay with the new dog. If they are still happy and wanting to play, go ahead and let them.

If you don't have anyone to help you and go on a walk to let the dogs meet on neutral ground, then put your dog in a room in the house, and put the new dog in a crate. Bring your dog out and let them sniff around the crate. Keep in mind, some dogs get what we call 'Barrier Aggression' meaning as soon as something is between them and another dog, they act aggressively towards the other dog. Hopefully both dogs don't have this Barrial Aggression and can sniff each other calmly. If no aggression is shown, make sure you have someone to help you keep an eye on them and put both dogs on a leash. Let them sniff each other and see how they act. If all seems happy, you should be okay.

Sometimes dogs need time to adjust to each other. I've had to keep dogs separate for a couple of weeks before letting them actually meet face to face. They were allowed to sniff each other and see each other in the crate, but we had to be sure each dog realized we were all part of a pack now. Introducing a new dog doesn't have to be hard, but caution should be taken. Not all dogs love other dogs, some dogs absolutely hate other dogs. Before deciding to bring a new dog home, you should try to be sure each dog is okay with other dogs before hand. If you don't, you could bring the new dog home and find they hate each other.

Talented K9

Amy Hiscocks is a Professional Dog Trainer and Behavior Specialist. For more tips on introducing a new dog into your home, tips on house training, crate training, behavior problems, tricks, motivating your dog, keeping your dog busy, and many more, visit us today at Talented K9.