So you have decided to expand your family? Congrats!
Introducing a dog to their new sibling (aka. your current dog) is sure to spur a mix of nervousness and excitement. Many dog owners expect dogs to be social beings that look forward to having a new playmate, and although dogs are social animals that tend to love the company of other dogs, things can get messy if proper introductions are not made. Follow the steps below to make the transition as smooth as possible for both dogs.
IT'S IN THEIR DNA
Dogs are pack animals, and the addition of a second or third dog into the home often triggers a genetic pack drive or rank drive. When a new dog is added to a home, every dog in that house has to re-establish its personal rank within the new family pack. Re-establishing rank is where dog fights come from.
INTRODUCING PUPPIES TO ADULT DOGS
Puppies usually torment adult dogs unmercifully. Before approximately the age of four months, or sometimes older, puppies may not recognize subtle body postures from adult dogs signaling that they’ve had enough.
Well-socialized adult dogs with good temperaments may set limits with puppies with a growl or snarl, never hurting the puppy although the puppy may yelp out of surprise. This communication is healthy and should be allowed.
PRE - INTRODUCTION CHECKLIST
First impressions are important, make sure you check all items in this list before your new dog walks into your home.
STEP #1. CHOOSE A NEUTRAL SPOT FOR THE FIRST MEETING: It’s best to avoid introducing the dogs in the house — or even in the yard — where the resident dog may become territorial. "Neutral grounds," as the name implies, refers to areas where your existing dog has no strong emotional attachment.
PRO TIP: Open areas are ideal, as there are a lot of interesting sights and sounds to keep the dogs distracted.
STEP #2 PAY ATTENTION TO THE BODY LANGUAGE: Watch the dogs for happy, waggy body language and interest in one another without hard stares, tense postures, freezing in place, or a lowered or tucked tail. Expect the dogs to sniff, circle, play, urinate or simply ignore each other. Let them do what they want to establish a relationship — with as little mediation from the owner as possible.
PRO TIP: Head to the meeting spot with the dogs separately and always handle introductions with both dogs on leash.
STEP #3 TAKE YOUR PETS FOR A WALK
Keep the initial interaction brief. After the dogs meet, try going for a short walk together. If the walk together goes well, your dogs may be ready to meet on home turf.
PRO TIP: if you own more than one pet, introduce one dog at a time.
To prevent hard feelings, it's best that each dog is given separate but equal time initially. Be sure to give the adult dog some quiet time away from the puppy, and not force them to interact. If your dogs are very different in age or energy level, be sure to give the older or less energetic one his own private space where he can enjoy rest and down time.
WHEN TO GET HELP
If the introduction of a new dog to a household doesn’t go smoothly, contact us to help your dog reach its full potential. Learn more about our training philosophy and services here.
A FREE phone consultation is available for all dogs.
We do appointments by scheduling only as we are not open to the public. No dog is permitted on our property without undergoing a complete behavior assessment and temperament test.
Where do I begin. My husband works for a company based in Florida but runs the Boston office, we are back and forth a bit and wanted to take our French bulldog, bear (his name) with us. Bear was trained with a sit command but that is really where it ended with his discipline. I wanted a dog I felt comfortable flying with. We did a bunch of research and came across Full potential K9 inc. After reading through their webpage we set up an appointment with the owner. He came to our home, met us, met Bear and did a bit of an evaluation. We settled on a customized board and train program. The next day, with a huge lump in my throat I dropped bear off to The owner/founder/head trainer Dillon. He was very kind and respectful of the fact that it was really hard for us and that for me particularly hard. Bear is an emotional support dog for me and Dillon was going to start the process of getting him to service dog status. Within days of Dillon having our dog, we all discovered a bunch more about Bear, good and bad that needed work and extra attention. Bear was a bit slow to learn as Dillon had to first work on behavior modifications such as crate and sometimes people reactivity. The constant communication we had with Dillon whether it was a quick text, video or phone call was vital for us in getting through giving up our dog for what would end up being almost ten weeks. Dillon as well as his whole staff, was available when ever we needed anything. They also went above and beyond with vet visits, filling prescriptions and respecting Bear’s need to be on very specific dog food. After a few weeks of training my husband and I had a long FaceTime chat with the staff (we were back in Boston at the time) about Bear’s progress, and difficulties. The honesty, detail, love and compassion the whole staff had for Bear was evident. We as a group decided to extend Bear’s training and really dive into a bunch of commands and boundaries we all knew would be best for both bear and his owners (myself, my husband and our two children). WHAT A GREAT CHOICE!! The leaps and bounds he has make with listening and following a bunch of commands is unreal. Bear is now home with us but it is unbelievable how much he has learned and how much we have all learned. Dillon went the extra mile by meeting me several times in high traffic areas like Home Depot so that Bear and I could be tested and perhaps occasionally fail. Dillon was right there, to get us back on track. The other piece of this perfect puzzle known as full potential K9 is their care and detail in teaching the owners. I really didn’t appreciate my role in keeping Bear safe, happy and successful as a well mannered animal. I think at the end of training we all agree .. the owners are the harder ones to train;) so THANK YOU TO THE WHOLE STAFF AND a special thanks to Dillon and Emma for giving me back my dog with all these amazing tools to be his best self! When you leave the training facility and the loving staff you know you have a new, extended family in them. They made it clear and have checked in often to let us know they are one phone call or visit away if we ever need anything! Don’t walk.. run to Full potential K9. If dogs could talk they would thank you for that;)
