Of course your are excited! You have a new dog or a new puppy and you want to him or her to meet the whole family and explore its new home so you let him race around and meet everyone and your other pets.
Your other dogs sense the excitement and may feel they should protect their turf and maybe protect you from the intruder.
The poor new dog is anxious, unsure of where it is and doesn’t yet understand that it is “home”. Who are all these new people? Why is the other dog so excited?
Slow down. Don’t set yourself and your new dog up for failure or at least, trouble.
When you first get back home with your new dog, keep him on a leash and walk around the yard. He probably needs to relieve himself and this is a good time to show him where it should be done.
When introducing the dog to other family members, they should stand, not sit on the ground. Sitting, or worse, laying down at the dog’s level, tells the dog that he is equal in status to the humans.
Bring your other dogs outside to meet the new arrival, who should still be on a leash. If you have any concerns about your other dog(s), it may be best to have them on a leash as well so that you can maintain control and nip any aggression before it gets out of hand.
Introductions should be made slowly. Don’t force it.
We always take all our new dogs and our existing dogs on a walk right away. We also foster dogs, so we sometimes have five or six foster dogs in addition to our three adult dogs. We have found that a long walk tires the dogs, remove some of the nervous excitement and is the quickest way to begin the bonding process, both between the dogs and with the humans.
Constant supervision is an absolute must. Please, never leave your dogs alone together until you are certain that they have become best buddies, which may take several months.
Here is an article by Cesar Millan with important advice about bringing your new dog home and here is another entitled Eight Essential Steps to Bringing a New Dog into the Home. Both make good reading.
You have had your dog for years. Now you bring a puppy or an adult dog into the home.
No problem, right?
Well, maybe. But it is likely things will go wrong especially if you don’t handle the situation correctly.
Your existing dog says, “Hey, what’s going on? These are MY humans! This is MY house. I get all the attention and petting and treats around here. Get lost!”
Make sure you don’t overdo it with attention to the new arrival.
Especially, feed your dogs separately and supervise them at all times they are together.
Here are some ideas from Cesar Millan about introducing new arrivals to your existing dogs.
Dogs, especially floppy eared breeds, need routine ear cleaning to keep ears clean, dry and to normalize pH. This helps to prevent inflammation and infection.
Here is how to do it:
Copyright 2023 – RCFDR
Rescue Charlie’s Friends Dog Rescue is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation licensed by the State of Maine
as an Animal Shelter and for the Importation of Dogs and Cats for Adoption.
Rescue Charlie’s Friends Dog Rescue is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation licensed by the State of Maine as an Animal Shelter and for the Importation of Dogs and Cats for Adoption.
Copyright 2021 – RCFDR
