How To Introduce A New Dog To Your Dogs - All About Dogs

How To Introduce A New Dog To Your Dogs

How To Introduce A New Dog To Your Dogs

How To Introduce A New Dog To Your Dogs

Having a dog means having a companion, someone who would wait for you when you leave the house, and someone excited to see you all the time; having more than one dog, well, that just multiplies the fun. However, the challenge lies in the introduction of your new dog to your old dog—once you get past this, the fun starts.

Bringing home a new dog into a household that already has dogs is a gradual process. You can’t expect them to be instant best friends in just seconds. For your old dog, this is an intrusion on their territory while for the new dog, it puts them in an environment without any rules or boundaries to follow.

For your new dog, there is the excitement and nervousness to be in a new environment, but the stress and frustration for your resident dog may be possible. Having to welcome and share you with a new dog can be overwhelming as well.

Outside the home trick

Assistance from a friend or family member who is well-known for your current dog is the key, that way your old dog can trust his environment. Going to an unfamiliar place will be helpful, that way no one will be territorial.

Then the process begins with a long walk in the park, letting them get to know each other at their own phase. This process also helps as it will drain energy from the pack and allow them to become familiar with each other in a place that none of them “owns.”

At the start of this walk, you will take the lead with your existing dogs, while your friend or family member follows behind with the new dog. After a while, it’s time to drop back and let your original dog sniff the new dog’s rear, then resume the walk with the original dog in front, and then let the new dog have a sniff

Inside the home trick

If going out the house is not possible, doing the introduction in the safety of your home should do the trick.

First, make sure your old and new dogs have no visual contact with each other. Remember that dogs live in a world of scent, and they trust their sense of smell a lot.

Bring your new dog in a neutral place in the house and let them wonder, allowing them to become familiar with the place at the same time leaving their scents all over the place — make sure your old dog is out of sight.

After a certain amount of time, hide the new dog, and let the resident dog out. This may make him confused, but it will also allow him to be familiarized with the new scent. Having a quality time with him before the introduction is one way of reassuring him that you are not replacing him.

Keep in mind that like humans, dogs take time to get to know each other. Give your old dogs time to be ready to welcome your new dog into their pack, because dogs are territorial pets, especially with you.

Never tolerate any growling or bullying behavior, tendencies are they will inhibit this behavior towards each other. Reward good behavior, if they see and feel that you do not pick favorites, they all just cooperate and realize that there is no competition.

Once your dogs have become a pack and had established the foundation of their bond, let them establish the hierarchy of pack leaders – wherein you are their pack leader.It will be natural for the old dogs to feel more dominant and more responsible for the actions of their pack. Like an elder child, they feel responsible in disciplining or training the younger ones on how to properly behave in the household.

Do not force a submissive dog into a dominant position because the tendency of this will be making your dog anxious or insecure and pressured. The best way is to be neutral, and just let them figure where they stand. Once they had settled their hierarchy, you will figure out who is the dominant and submissive, sometimes, they just give equal power to each other, depending on their behavior on the age as well.

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