Introducing Dogs

[kolarik1]

Ok everyone. Now that it is getting closer to the time for me to go to Pensacola to visit my b/f, he is getting extremely worried that his dog will have a fit and nip at my 2 or they will try to retaliate and one of the 3 dogs will get hurt.

 

I have already explained to him that at some point his dog will have to meet my 2, it is unavoidable if we want to continue our relationship. Therefore, I have suggested the following to him. If you guys have any further suggestions for me to help calm his nerves, then please do tell!

 

1)Have my b/f come outside when I arrive and meet my 2 first. This way they will get their bouncy 'omg a new person' out of their system without squashing his dog (she is all of 14 lbs.)

2)Have my b/f take something with my dogs' scent in to the house and let his dog sniff it.

3)Have my b/f bring his dog out and while walking my dogs, have her come up from behind to try to get their scent so she doesn't have the 'omg 2 large dogs are approaching me' fear.

4)Then let the pups sniff noses, if they so choose (this will depend on whether or not she is snarling at them)

5)Let her enter the house first, and then bring my 2 into the house

 

I will mention, I am planning on taking a baby gate with me and my 2 will have their muzzles on. If at any point we both leave the house, my 2 will be put in a separate room with their muzzles on and the door closed with baby gate up so that his dog cannot get to them.

 

I know it sounds bad to separate them, but I am hoping that if she sees them inside the house but behind a baby gate and sees my b/f giving them attention while still snuggling with her that she will not have as severe a reaction. I know it will take time and she will not accept them fully in a week, but he will be coming back to Michigan @ some point and she will see them again.

 

I know it will be an adjustment for all 3 dogs involved, but I feel with proper guidance and handling, we can work through this as long as no one freaks out if one of the dogs' does snarl or snap. Plus, as I have told my b/f, all she would have to do is snap at my dogs, especially my male and he would leave her alone after that.

 

Any other ideas or suggestions? Currently she is with his dad/stepmom who have 3 obnoxious puppies who won't leave her alone, so she does snarl at them when they bother her...as I have explained to my b/f, my 2 will not constantly harass her like the puppies do. She has walked successfully with huskies in the past, but she gradually got to know them outside. The one time she was inside with another large dog was with my b/f's mom and apparently she kept an eye as to where the other dog was...but the other dog was taking her toys/food, which I don't blame her for being upset about! I plan on bringing toys for mine, possibly something for her, some type of toy.

 

Thanks in advance for your help!

[Guest AGirlNamedMe]

I"m sure someone else will have other suggestions.

 

I just wanted to say that I don't think it sounds mean to keep the dogs separated while you can't watch them - it sound smart.

 

I hope the meeting goes well!

[kolarik1]

I know it doesn't sound mean. And I think for the first couple of nights I will baby gate my 2 into a separate room so that we can sleep peacefully without too much dog interaction going on. Zoe is kinda like a greyhound....loves to go for walks, but lounges most of the day with the occasional spurt of energy (in other words, looking like a nut) I think the big thing will be that my 2 may try to lay on her bed, but that should be fine as she is allowed on the furniture due to her small size (my 2 are too chicken to pick their feet up of the ground and since I want to be able to use my furniture, I've never taught them differently). My 2 will definitely not be allowed to steal her food or even go near it, much like my cat. And I am hoping since they are used to having my cat around that they will be pretty good about not stepping on Zoe...I wouldn't blame her for snapping at them if they did, although my b/f says she mainly just growls and bares her teeth when mad. My 2 LOVE LOVE LOVE little dogs, so I am more worried about Zoe getting along with them and making sure my 2 realize that they can't play as rough with her as she isn't as big as them. I am just glad I ended up with cat/small dog safe greyhounds...now squirrels are a whole different issue with Zelda! Pop, on the other hand, really has no prey drive, he just chases Zelda like 'what are we doing sis? why are we running?'

Edited March 20, 2010 by kolarik1

[kolarik1]

My b/f's dog is due to arrive anytime at his place in Pensacola...his dad didn't tell him for sure when he was coming down until he called him from Nashville last night! And in the same manner, his dad refuses to tell him exactly how long he will be staying :angryfire

Edited March 20, 2010 by kolarik1

[Guest zoolaine]

I have always heard first meeting should be on neutral ground. How about meeting at a local park? You could walk the dogs past each other a few times getting a bit closer each time, then let them sniff, etc and see how they do.

[Guest lasharp1209]

Let the dogs meet outside first (like you said) - then take them on a walk all together before bringing them into the house. The house is her territory so she will be more possessive of that and more likely to be okay with the other dogs if she already knows them.

[kolarik1]

Let the dogs meet outside first (like you said) - then take them on a walk all together before bringing them into the house. The house is her territory so she will be more possessive of that and more likely to be okay with the other dogs if she already knows them.

 

Thanks, that was another part of my plan, just failed to mention it. I think she will tolerate them, but she will definitely not be happy about others in her territory...BUT I know with time and hard work, we should be able to work this out...it won't get all sorted out in a week, but as long as we are diligent and separate the dogs when we can't watch them I think things won't go too badly.

[Guest LindsaySF]

Your plan sounds like a good one to me, you've obviously put a lot of thought into it (not everyone does ). If you take a longish walk and tire them all out, that should take the edge off too. Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

[kolarik1]

Your plan sounds like a good one to me, you've obviously put a lot of thought into it (not everyone does ). If you take a longish walk and tire them all out, that should take the edge off too. Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

 

Thanks, I most definitely will! The cutie patootie is already with her daddy and he is thrilled to have her there....not too thrilled that his dad/stepmom who have had her for a few months have not listened to his wishes about what to feed her and how much so now she has gotten FAT! He doesn't think his mom listens either, but I know from first hand experience his mom stuck to the food he wanted fed to Zoe, walked her LOTS (his mom loves to powerwalk and Zoe always walked with her) and rarely gave her treats....whereas his dad gives her several treats a day just cuz he feels like it...last night he apparently gave her some KFC chicken while driving down That is a major no-no with my b/f...so he is biding his time til his dad leaves so he can really work on getting the weight off of her as his dad, even at my b/f's house, will give too many treats and disregard my b/f's wishes! To me, that is completely disrepectful and rude.

[kolarik1]

I will say this much...if I move in with my b/f and his dad/stepmom visit, they WILL obey any rules for the proper handling of my dogs...food, walks, muzzles, treats, etc...or they will be informed they will pay for any and all vet bills...if a dog dies as a result of them not listening, they there will be a lawsuit...plain and simple. I would rather they just listen when I say that my dogs can't have such and such, but since they don't listen to my b/f, I doubt they will listen to me...but maybe the threat of huge vet bills and a lawsuit would compel them to abide by what greyhounds can/cannot have...I can just see them feeding my pups raisins!

[NeylasMom]

I just attended a dog seminar yesterday and one of the topics covered was dog-dog introductions. I will admit I haven't read through your entire plan, but I wanted to share a few things that I picked up in case they are helpful. First, she made the point that a poor first time introduction can ruin the relationship b/w those dogs for life. So not to put the pressure on, but it's extra ammunition to make sure you do things carefully. That resonated with me particularly b/c my mom's dog (a cairn terrier) will have nothing to do with Zuri, but likes Neyla. Both are black greyhounds and Molly has played with other greyhounds so I think the main distinction is that when she met Zuri, unlike when she met Neyla, he was his usual rude self and just lunged at her. Not in an aggressive way, just in an "I want to meet you RIGHT NOW" way, but as the trainer pointed out yesterday, the other dog (who clearly is much smaller) has no idea what the intentions are of the rude dog and therefore its reactions will be the same.

 

On to the suggestions for how to do the introductions. First, one at a time. So leave one of your dogs in the car while you do the intro w/your BF's dog and then switch. The most important thing that I got out of the talk was that the 2 dogs need to both be exhibiting polite greeting behaviors rather than rude ones. If either dog is being rude, you need to step back. If either dog is aroused at all (excited in any way), you need to hold off. It may mean that you do some parallel walking first, even if it has to be across the street from each other, than gradually decreasing the distance until they are walking next to each other. Then a greeting may occur naturally as they walk. I think your idea to have your boyfriend come out and meet your dogs first is a good one, that way that part of the excitement will at least be removed.

 

The way a polite greeting will go (you can probably find more detailed info on this online, I'm recounting and my memory is not always the greatest) - the dogs will approach each other calmly, bodies loose (not tense), with their tails hanging partially down and wagging softly. THey will greet initially nose to nose (but just momentarily), then travel on to the neck and then gradually make their way down the rest of the body. This will then turn into mutual butt sniffing and circling as they do it. The trainer emphasized that it's crucial that you have loose leashes during this process and that especially during the circling the leashes don't get tangled and the dogs hung up. If they do, and you feel confident neither dog will run off (since they are more interested in greeting each other), I would drop the leashes momentarily and then untangle and pick them right back up. As you proceed, watch for signs that either dog is stressed - licking, whites of eyes showing, body tensing, mouth closed tightly - and if you see any immediately call each dog to its owner happily and reward them for coming (you will probably see them shake at this point to release tension), then try parallel walking for a bit before you try again.

 

Again, I'm not expert - googling "stress signals", "calming signals", and "polite dog greetings" may get you more info on what to watch for. Also, there are some videos on youtube of dogs greeting each other properly (or not). I hope this helps. Good luck!

[ivon]

Jen, all good ideas, except leaving a dog in the car in FL is probably not an option....

[NeylasMom]

Jen, all good ideas, except leaving a dog in the car in FL is probably not an option....

Thanks. Didn't think about the heat in FL, maybe leave the car running with the AC on and just stay in site of the car? Otherwise, I guess I would ask the BF to have a friend on hand to hold the other dog out of site, or figure out a way to get the extra dog inside once the BF has brought his dog out. 2 big dogs meeting 1 small dog at the same time is asking for it to go poorly imo. Hence my blow out argument with my neighbor with the off lead mini-dachsund who got pissed when I asked him to get his dog so he wouldn't come over. But that's another topic, which has already been posted in SB.