Introducing A New Dog

[Guest Arielle]

The day has finally come when my roommate has decided to adopt a dog. On the one hand, I'm excited because my greyhound, Ari, really does seem to enjoy the company of other dogs when we go to the dog park, friends' houses, etc. On the other hand, I am a bit nervous about introducing a new dog into her territory. Ari is a six-year-old female. She was never in foster care before I got her but lived in a kennel with other greyhounds. She has been an only dog since I got her (1.5 years ago) but has had a lot of socialization. Friends bring their dogs over all the time, and she has stayed at other houses with dogs while I have been out of town. She has some food and space aggression issues with my roommate's cats, so when I feed her I usually put her in my room and close the door. The space aggression is resolved when she growls at the cats when they come too close, and they leave her alone.

 

The dog that my roommate is potentially adopting is a two-year-old, sixty-pound husky mix. His owner doesn't know much about him as she just rescued him from a shelter, but thinks that he gets along with other dogs. He is coming over in a week to meet Ari and the cats. My question is, how should we go about introducing him? Like I said before, Ari enjoys playing with other dogs but gets snarky with her food and bed. I'm probably jumping the gun, but if my roommate does end up adopting the new dog how should we go about resolving these issues? Thank you!

[Guest grey_dreams]

Can you arrange that they meet out on the street (neutral territory for both), both leashed, and from a distance to start with? Walk in parallel at some distance from each other (opposite sides of the street, but so they can see each other) and then slowly come closer so that they are walking in parallel but on on opposite sides of each handler (i.e., not exactly side by side but with you and your roommate between them). Guage their reactions to each other while walking at a distance and then while coming closer. If everything is fine, then allow them to greet briefly. The proper greeting is that they arc around each to sniff. Watch closely for signals of stress or anxiety from either of them. If the greeting goes fine, and they want to greet longer, allow it. If everything is still fine, then you can head for home and let them interact off-leash in your home. Watch carefully for any signs of stress or anxiety and don't let anything start or escalate. Does Ari do fine with other large breeds like huskys? If you know this for sure, then you might focus more observation on how the new dog interacts because that is more of an unknown.

Edited February 23, 2013 by grey_dreams

[JJNg]

Ditto grey_dreams' response. It's best to do the initial meeting on neutral territory and go on a walk together before bringing the new dog into Ari's home. Since you've seen how Ari interacts with other dogs in a number of situations, I also agree that I'd be more concerned about the husky mix's reaction to her, rather than vice versa.

 

If your roommate does adopt him, I'd recommend feeding them separately and don't leave food out so that the food issue isn't a problem. Most dogs will resolve the bed issue, although how much training and interference you'll need to do depends on his response.

[JenniferS]

I agree, meet outside, on leash in a controlled, neutral environment. I would also feed them separately and monitor feeding/playtime, etc. Make sure there are enough beds or places for them to lay down away from each other. If need be, separate them while you are not at home. Even though my two get along very well, I still separate with baby gates when I'm not home because my male gets growly with my female when she tries to lay too close to him.

[3greytjoys]

Ditto excellent replies above.

 

Also helps to give new dogs an opportunity to urinate/deficate (spaced out in two different areas from each dog) first, and let each dog sniff the other dog's business area on ground before beginning walking introductions.

 

When you all arrive home, if you have a fenced yard, good to let dogs in fenced yard before letting both dogs inside house first. (This allows dogs to do plenty of peeing/marking in an outer "home" territory before entering more intimate indoor territory.)

Edited February 24, 2013 by 3greytjoys

[BatterseaBrindl]

Greyt advice so far.

 

I'll just add that I think it's best to have an extra bed ...or two.

 

That way if one dog pushes the otehr off a bed, the other dog has a choice.

 

I always do this with my horses when I put out their portions of hay.

Always one more pile of hay than there are horses.

Same for dog beds in the house.