How to Introduce a New Dog to Your Dog

Most dogs can share a home comfortably with a canine guest or housemate. Like any social animals sharing space, they’ll have their tiffs. Dogalini’s got a bone and Fidette tries to take it away, so Dogalini snarls. Or Pumpkin gets hyperexcited when the humans come home and bodyslams Bowser right in his bad hip, so he snaps at her. Most of the time, though, most guest and housemate dogs can enjoy a relaxed and friendly relationship. If they’re young and have compatible play styles, they may wrestle or chase each other for a good chunk of every day.

Still, bringing home a new canine guest or roommate can set off a spat. The factors at work here include territory, enclosed spaces, a high pitch of excitement and stress, and unfamiliarity. Last week I explained how to set dogs up for a friendly relationship outside the home. Once you’ve done that, of course, you’ve taken care of the “Uh-oh, a stranger!” unfamiliarity problem. Now let’s tackle the other three.

Problem #1: Excitement and Stress

By introducing the dogs off territory and giving them time to make friends, you’ve already done a lot to diminish stress. General excitement, though, can also spiral out of control and into aggression, as anybody who’s been to a playground knows. The toddlers are all having a high-pitched blast right up until Jenny hits Johnny, and then everybody’s in tears.

As for Dogalini and Newby, plan a long walk or play session before you bring Newby over, and they’ll have less energy with which to get amped. Like toddlers, dogs can get over-tired, so no need to drive them to collapse.

Teaching your dogs certain behaviors can also help you keep the party under control. For example, if both dogs will sit or lie down and stay on cue, you can use the sit or down to give them a breather if the action starts to crank too high. You may well not need this option, and of course you may not have it if Newby is a shelter dog or if you’ve been slacking off with your own Dogalini’s training.

Problem # 2: Territory

You hold the title or the lease, sure, but the house belongs to Dogalini, too. Like people, dogs vary in how comfortably they can share their space. We might find it startling, at best, to come home and see our fun new hiking partner sitting at the kitchen table. But dogs often respond more calmly if they enter to find the newby already there.

You’ll need two people for this. If you have a yard, that’s usually a good place to start. One person should bring Newby into the yard on leash and let him poke around. Then the second person brings in the resident dog, also leashed. Since you’ve already introduced Dogalini and Newby and you know they get along, you can unclip the leashes as soon as you see they’re ready to greet each other in a friendly way. Greetings may be perfunctory if the two dogs have just been hiking or playing someplace else.

Next step – the great indoors.

Problem #3: Enclosed Space

After you’ve had the two dogs spend some time together outside, Newby should enter the house first and get plenty of time to look around and get comfortable. Wait for the running-around-madly-sniffing-everything phase to expire; then bring Newby, on leash, into the most spacious room. Now it’s Dogalini’s turn. Assuming the dogs have enjoyed each other’s company up to this point, just step aside and let them say hi. You can have them trail their leashes for a few minutes if you feel better knowing you can grab hold in an emergency. But your preparation has made that unlikely.

Leave as much air as you can around the dogs–nothing heightens tensions like a small crowded space, especially if any of the humans present are the nail-biting type. And try not to stress over a quick snark or three. As long as spats end in a hurry, nobody gets hurt, and tensions decrease as the hours and days go by, they aren’t cause for concern. As a bit of extra insurance, you can separate the dogs in your absence for the first few days. Some people make this precaution a habit if one dog’s much smaller than the other.

The Behavior of Your Dogs Might Change As Time Goes By

It’s trainer lore that the behavior of an adopted dog changes as he settles in to his new home. Many people have been thrilled when Newby doesn’t bark for the first week, then faced sad disillusion on Day 8 when it turns out he’s got a voice like every other dog, and the doorbell reliably gets him to use it.

As for dog-dog changes, you may see Newby claim some space for his own, or begin to guard his toys or food from Dogalini. Or the reverse may happen, of course. Whether the evolving relationship reflects changes in the dogs’ relative rank, who knows? We humans are often inclined to interpret dog behavior in terms of who the so-called alpha is, but the fact that we’re prone to such explanations doesn’t make them correct. Fortunately, it doesn’t matter.

Reward the Good Behavior

Our job as the humans in the household is to reward the behavior we like, and prevent the behavior we don’t like. If Dogalini and Newby are fighting over a toy, we can play with them separately, put away the toy, or call a behavior consultant to help us teach them better manners. If Dogalini pushes Newby away every time Newby tries to get some love from you, well then, Dogalini needs to learn to share. If Newby and Dogalini are hell-bent on barging out the door at the same time, both dogs should learn to wait for your okay. Whatever they do or don’t think about their respective ranks, you set the rules for how they behave.

For a great guide on living with multiple dogs, see the resources below.  And talk to me! Call 206-600-5661 or e-mail me at dogtrainer@quickanddirtytips.com. Visit my Facebook page. Your questions and comments may appear in future episodes. That’s all till next week!

Resources

The best guide for living with more than one dog, hands down, no contest, is “Feeling Outnumbered? How to Manage and Enjoy a Multi-Dog Household,” by Patricia McConnell and Karen London (Dogwise, 2008).

Saunders, Kim. The Adopted Dog Bible (HarperCollins, 2009). This brand-new book impresses me with its wealth of information and sound training advice.