Introducing Puppy To Resident Dog

[giraffez]

I'm getting a puppy soon but i'm very nervous about introducing it to my current dog who is just under 2 years old.

Was hoping someone can share their experience to help me make the experience as positive as possible. Some tips I've picked up from googling are:

1) Never let them meet for the first time in the house, take them to a place where its neutral

2) Reward the resident dog for positive body language

3) Expect and allow a bit of growling and showing who is boss but be quick to intercept if it gets too rough

4) Seperate food and bed areas

5) Let resident dog know he is number 1 and not to focus all attention on new puppy.

Are there any other ones that I could use?

With the neutral area where they meet for the first time, does it have to be a brand new place? Or could it be just outside in the front yard or at the end of the street?

And how long does it take the resident dog to accept the puppy - is it mins/hours/days (god forbid)?

Any suggestions would be fab! Thanks

[parrotpea]

They are some good tips that you already have there.

How does your older dog usually go with meeting new dogs and puppies?

A good tip is for your older dog to be held on leash by his main caregiver, with pup also on leash tied to a pole or held by a more neutral person. Then the older dog can have a good sniff, pup will (most likely)roll over and show belly and then leads can be relaxed a bit and they can get to know each other. I would also repeat this on leash meeting scenario at your home - or if they are fine, walk them home together after the meeting.

Usually a pup will be accepted very quickly.

Edited November 10, 2010 by parrotpea

[giraffez]

How does your older dog usually go with meeting new dogs and puppies?

Some he growls at and some he is fine. Thats why i'm so nervous

Thanks for the tips

[The Spotted Devil]

It certainly helps to know how your older dog normally reacts to puppies. My Dally is excellent with pups so I wasn't concerned. By the time I arrived home with pup it was too dark and cold to do anything else but introduce them then and there. I left puppy in the crate in the car and had my Dally come downstairs to meet her. He was predictably excited but was not over the top. I wasn't prepared for pup's reaction - she literally SCREAMED!!! A genuine case of puppy hysterics - would have been funny had she not been so overwhelmed by the situation. Dally sat on command at a distance and I was forced to carry pup in my arms, reassure her without sooking and let the Dally come closer. The screaming settled a little but she still started up when he came too close. I couldn't take them up to the house because the cats would have packed their bags and left with all the noise :D By the end of the following day she was gaining in confidence - I suspect the travel and change and the sheer size of him was all too much. Now she annoys the daylights out of him, they wrestle and play fight. Sometimes I will crate one or the other to give the Dally a rest as Emily, at 12 weeks, doesn't take no for an answer and he's simply not used to being harassed all day.

Watch for resource guarding - especially by the older dog. Food and toys (and sticks ) that they never cared for much suddenly become very valuable. I always crate when feeding or make sure I can restrain pup so she doesn't steal his biscuit. High value toys are only for when pup is on her own. I have no problem with the older dog growling at pup when she is over the top - but I know him and he has a very consistent, stable temperament. Tonight he had had enough and she would not let up so I quietly put the older dog to bed early with a biscuit. He was thrilled.

Edited November 10, 2010 by The Spotted Devil

[Bracken]

Some he growls at and some he is fine. Thats why i'm so nervous :D

I'm getting a pup around the end of December, and my current dog is the same as yours! Some dogs she barks at and growls and, being a border, even tries to herd which is a bit embarasing . But others she turns into a big pup for, bouncing around and trying to get them to play, which is very cute.

I'm doing the same as you when I introduce them, and I might use some DAP spray around the area I'm going to use. Just incase it'll make a difference with first impressions.

[giraffez]

He has only been around 1 puppy before that i saw in the park and I think he was a lot more gentle with him. No growling, but just want to sniff. Fingers cross it all goes well with the new one

[twodoggies2001]

A lot does depend on the resident dog,but when we brought home our new puppy years ago, we arrived home, put the puppy in the back garden with the resident and just stepped back to observe. The main thing to remember is NOT to over fuss with the puppy. They will work it all out and the resident dog will teach the pup some manners and there will be growling but you will know whether it is serious or just a teaching curve for the pup. There will be times when the pup screams 'blue murder' but 99% of the time it's just a bluff lol. I recall when we got out pup, I used to listen to a segment on ABC with Dr.Hugh Wirth, and a woman called in to say that her older dog wouldn't go anywhere near the puppy. It turned out that beforehand, each time the older dog approached the puppy, he was promptly squirted, with a water pistol, so what in the hell did the idiot owner expect? Basically, it just takes a lot of common sense and not that much different to bringing up children. Good luck and keep us informed on how things go.

[Flash30Aus]

Hi There,

We did this just a few weeks ago, and it went great. I think it mainly depends on the temperament of your older dog and if they are keen for company. Most dogs are.

Most dogs arn't nasty to pups, so this is good. We basically just chucked them both out in the yard together to get it over with. Once they establish a pecking order, which is Dog 1 and then Pup your all fine. Pups are always submissive, its instinctive. We didn't have any growling, maybe only a few tellings off of the old girl to the pup in the 3 weeks he's been here.

My main tip would be to pat and cuddle the older dog and just ignore the pup. When our old girl got all the attention and the pup was told to sit down and stop jumping she was pretty happy.

Good luck, and don't stress, your guys are young and will love each other.

Christie

Lucy & Dash

[wuffles]

I wasn't prepared for pup's reaction - she literally SCREAMED!!! A genuine case of puppy hysterics - would have been funny had she not been so overwhelmed by the situation. Dally sat on command at a distance and I was forced to carry pup in my arms, reassure her without sooking and let the Dally come closer. The screaming settled a little but she still started up when he came too close. I couldn't take them up to the house because the cats would have packed their bags and left with all the noise ;) By the end of the following day she was gaining in confidence - I suspect the travel and change and the sheer size of him was all too much. Now she annoys the daylights out of him, they wrestle and play fight. Sometimes I will crate one or the other to give the Dally a rest as Emily, at 12 weeks, doesn't take no for an answer and he's simply not used to being harassed all day.

Watch for resource guarding - especially by the older dog. Food and toys (and sticks ) that they never cared for much suddenly become very valuable. I always crate when feeding or make sure I can restrain pup so she doesn't steal his biscuit. High value toys are only for when pup is on her own. I have no problem with the older dog growling at pup when she is over the top - but I know him and he has a very consistent, stable temperament. Tonight he had had enough and she would not let up so I quietly put the older dog to bed early with a biscuit. He was thrilled.

Everything you said happened in our house Puppy screamed when our older dog came near her but by the next day she was fine. Everything became valuable as well, including sleeping spots. Our older dog is allowed to tell her off if she is being a s*** but not allowed to bully (which he tries occasionally and is stopped). Set your boundaries early -- think about what behaviour you will allow from both and what you will not tolerate. Good luck :D

[fuzzy82]

1) Never let them meet for the first time in the house, take them to a place where its neutral

2) Reward the resident dog for positive body language

3) Expect and allow a bit of growling and showing who is boss but be quick to intercept if it gets too rough

4) Seperate food and bed areas

5) Let resident dog know he is number 1 and not to focus all attention on new puppy.

Are there any other ones that I could use?

With the neutral area where they meet for the first time, does it have to be a brand new place? Or could it be just outside in the front yard or at the end of the street?

And how long does it take the resident dog to accept the puppy - is it mins/hours/days (god forbid)?

Any suggestions would be fab! Thanks

I guess we did everything wrong then... but it worked out anyway, they are best friends now:) Adult dog is just over a year, new puppy is nearly 4 months now, was 3 months when we got him.

1. They met in the backyard, free to run around, no leashes or crates or anything like that.

2. I tried to avoid talking to my adult dog, because she is a bit timid around other dogs, and the puppy was no exception, so there was a bit of growling and trying to hide and wanting to stand back a bit, while the puppy kept running up to her. When she was quiet and not growling I would tell her it was ok, and I put her up on my lap at one point to let her observe without having to interact.

3. Yep, the first 2-3 days there was some growling and shoving, but no harm done. My adult dog has excellent bite inhibition and good social skills.

4. We didn't do that, I just sat between their bowls and stopped the puppy from stealing the adult's food once he finished eating. The adult dog sleeps on her bed in our bedroom, and the puppy sleeps in the crate, but during the day they took turns on the various beds around the house, right from the start.

5. Difficult one, because puppies take so much work and attention, so you can't really help focusing a lot on the new puppy.

[giraffez]

I guess we did everything wrong then... but it worked out anyway, they are best friends now:) Adult dog is just over a year, new puppy is nearly 4 months now, was 3 months when we got him.

hahaha thats so funny but great it turned out well! :D

Thanks all for sharing your experience.

[Guest belgian.blue]

My experience was the same as Wuffles.

Badger screamed when Ivy came near him on the night we bought him home but 7 months later, best buddies! Just watch them as sometimes the adult can get rough, Ivy got VERY rough with Badger when he was small. I had to stop them playing.

Now Badger is bigger than Ivy and he's getting major payback :D

Be confident and you're dogs will pick up on that. You will be fine!

[giraffez]

Is the front yard considered neutral territory? The only time he is allowed there is on the way out to walks.

[Guest belgian.blue]

I have always have my dogs meet new dogs in the backyard as a dog on lead as be nervous around unknown dogs/puppies.

If you front yard fenced?

[giraffez]

I have always have my dogs meet new dogs in the backyard as a dog on lead as be nervous around unknown dogs/puppies.

If you front yard fenced?

Yes but even if i were to do it in the backyard, my older dog will still be on a leash

[koalathebear]

When we got Hoover, my OH was determined to do everything by the book. The two dogs were to be kept separate, meet on neutral ground and probably not meet in the house until after a couple of days when they had both had the opportunity to smell the scent of the other dog throughout the house and on the both of us ...

Easier said than done. We had a separate room set up for Hoover in the lounge but the problem is that when we took one dog into the backyard to toilet, the other dog could not only hear - he could see through a tiny gap under the blinds. Elbie barked like a maniac, Hoover was very curious. Eventually we had them meet out in the front yard on leashes. Elbie kept lunging, Hoover was a bit skittish but fairly stoic. Elbie is still a puppy himself so he was bouncing around but keeping his distance mostly and then pouncing in - making Hoover run away. No barking or growling through. Just very wary.

Then we brought them inside and they had a meet and greet in the kitchen. Hoover was in a drop position, looking very wary and tense and Elbie was sniffing at him and playbowing and bouncing around like a loon. If he got too close, Hoover snapped at him a bit. There was no real 'playing' until a bit later when they started play bowing at one another and sniffing around.

After Hoover settled in, he was the one always wanting to go around chasing after Elbie and Elbie was the one keeping his distance from Hoover - leaving the dog bed, walking away from toys etc. Within a few days/a week, they were totally fine with one another. They invade each other's personal space all the time, they play together, they chill out together, they play bitey face together. We let them become comfortable at their own pace and we made sure all interactions were closely supervised for the first week. After that, we kept an eye on them from a distance and intervened if we thought things got out of hand but generally they're fine.

[Bundyburger]

We got our puppy home at 10pm.. we thought our Kelpie would try and and eat him... We brought the kelpie out the front, they had a quick sniff, then went inside... They were fine... The kelpie just had to get used to the little limpet hanging onto him ;) They are best friends now. I can't imagine keeping them seperated for days...

I have some cute photos of them from the first night.. must find them and post them. Bundy was very cautious of this huge dog.. and Diesey just couldn't understand why we'd be so cruel as to get another dog

Edited November 11, 2010 by Bundy's Mum

[koalathebear]

You can see our two monsters are getting along just fine now. ;)

[giraffez]

You can see our two monsters are getting along just fine now.

Very cute. Thanks for sharing

[MsKatie]

We brought our pup into the house to meet the resident dogs and supervised carefully - he wasn't too in their faces - the old dog barked at him and the young one sniffed and checked him out - we no longer have the old one (run free girl) and the pup (now 1) is bigger than the kelpie (2 1/2) and they play well together - he can be pushy and she tells him off but they seem to have it worked out - food we are always wary of as he can be possesive -- they are fed seperately but toys are fair go for all