When bringing a new dog home, we have to take into account our furry family members already at home. Not only will your new dog be decompressing and adjusting into a new environment, your current resident dog(s) will also be adjusting to sharing their space, their people and their things with a new unfamiliar dog. While this can be an easy integration for some pups and families, most dogs need some time and help from their humans to make sure this process goes smoothly.

Decompression

New environment, new smells, new people, oh my!

• All of this newness can be overwhelming to your new dog and can put some dogs in a state of shock. This decompression period should be a time for minimal physical attention and increased self entertaining mental enrichment(puzzle toys, filled Kongs, DIY enrichment boxes, etc). Many people think they need to shower their new dogs with love and attention to make them feel loved, but rather the key to a bonded doggy-human relationship is trust...and the more respectful we are of our dog’s space the more they will trust us. Give your new dog the opportunity to set the pace and to have choice in our interactions by giving them space.
• It’s important to give your dog a quiet area to adjust in during this decompression period. I recommend a low traffic area that can be closed off like a spare bedroom or office type space. A suitable crate for your pup is ideal to create a zen den for them during unsupervised time (Stay tuned for our post on the ins and outs of happy crate training).
• During this time it is highly recommended to provide separation from the resident dog(s). Your resident dogs know something is up. There’s a new smell in the house, and they aren’t so sure what to think about it. Friend or foe? And what are they doing in MY house? Even if your current furry fam are well socialized and friendly with other dogs, it is very different for them to share a home with another dog.
• How long does this decompression period last? The question we all want to know, and the answer I give all too often: It depends. Every dog is an individual. Let your new dog and their body language give you that answer. Confidence when interacting with you, loose happy wiggly body language, can be good indicators that your new dog is feeling nice and comfy. Most rescue organizations will recommend at least 2 weeks to separate and decompress.

Scent before Sight, Sight before Touch

BFFFs (Best Fur Friends Furever) in the making!

If you have multiple dogs to introduce to your new pup, its best to introduce them individually. This process and length of time to take in each step will vary from dog to dog. If both dogs have a strong history of positive interactions with other dogs, and/or one or both of these dogs are puppies(>6 months) you should have an easier time moving through these steps. If one or both of these dogs has an unknown or minimal socialization history with other dogs, be patient with your pups as you move through these steps (And don’t be afraid to muzzle up your pup(s) for safety and peace of mind if you’re unsure of their history with other dogs). When in doubt, take it slow. Our goal is to set our dogs up for success and to create lasting doggy partnerships full of trust & respect. If you try to rush through this process you risk mistakes happening that could really set back and slow down this friendship building.

Scent: Trade bedding with your new dog and other dog(s) in the household. When the resident dog is out for a potty break, let your new dog smell around the house(and vice versa). Our dogs take in a TON of information with their noses, so let them get all of those smells in to discover all the things about each other.

Sight: For this step we want our dogs set up in controlled situations to see their new dog furiend (at a distance they feel is safe) without being able to touch each other. Some examples of this can be:

• A baby gate separating rooms with one or both dogs crated or on a leash. Each dog can have a filled Kong, favorite chew or you can be praising and treating for looking over at their furiend nicely. Make sure this distance is enjoyable and safe for both dogs. This should be an enjoyable experience for all. If you notice any of the following, more space between the pups is needed: Stiff body, fixated staring(inability to redirect attention), unable to take treats/no interest in the chew or kong given, barking, lunging, growling.
• A tandem walk(keep in mind the same distance is needed between the dogs so they both feel comfortable and safe). One handler per dog is needed for this exercise. If walking around a neighborhood, I typically like to start with each dog on opposite sides of street. As you are walking make sure to praise & acknowledge the dogs when they glance over at each other. You can even add in a yummy treat to create positive associations with the other dog’s presence.

Touch: Oh boy, they finally get to meet! If the previous steps have been followed, that overwhelming excitement and anxiety around meeting another new dog will typically have subsided to set your dogs up for a calmer first meet.

• While this may vary from dog to dog, I typically like to start dog intros on a walk(starting similar to the tandem walk in the Sight exercise). This allows the dogs to have other things to focus on rather than there being so much pressure on the dogs to greet each other.
• Starting at a distance we begin walking in tandem, as both dogs become more relaxed we are able to slowly close in the distance.
• It’s important to note that you must take this as slow as both dogs need. If any tense/reactive/fixated body language takes place, it is necessary to create more space between the dogs. Don’t feel like you have to close that distance all in one walk. Some dogs may need multiple walks to feel comfortable greeting the other dog(and that’s okay!).
• As a general rule(if both dogs have on a 6 ft leash), as we get closer, I will keep the distance between handlers at about 6-10 ft. The reason for this is so that each dog has a choice in this interaction. If Dog #1 is super excited to say hello but Dog #2 is a little less of an extrovert, Dog #2 is able to walk away from their eager beaver friend(Dog #1) until they are also ready to say hi. This also allows the dog to have control over their interaction rather than the humans prompting their greeting.
• Sometimes the dogs will choose to ignore each other. While this is better than a more reactive response, this doesn’t necessarily mean the dogs are ready to be friends. It simply means they are content with each other’s presence, but are not quite interested in getting to know each other further yet. If this happens, continue with the controlled sight exercises and tandem walks until both dogs are ready to take their relationship to the next step.
• When that golden moment finally happens and both dogs mutually say hello to each other, keep those leashes relaxed! Stay at the end of your leashes, but please don’t create any added tension in their greeting by pulling or jerking the dogs back. We want them to be able to communicate with their bodies freely and smell each other’s bottoms without human interference please.
• If you get nice sniffs, wiggly butts and bouncy bodies, continue the walk and it’s now safe to move to off leash play in a back yard or other fenced in space. (If off leash play is taken into your backyard, I like to continue the walk on leash into the backyard to ensure there is no shift in body language due to territory before unleashing the pups).
• If you get a stiff greeting(that doesn’t soften) or any growling/barking/lunging create some space between the dogs. If possible, try to continue the walk at a further distance to end this session on a more positive note. It may be necessary to spend more time on the scent & sight steps before attempting a closer greeting again.
• I will post a couple of videos showing examples of this tandem walking introduction.. One of the videos is with two dogs with a solid social history with other dogs. The second video is with one dog from the first video & the other dog is not entirely confident with other dogs and at times she can be reactive(hence her stiff body posture and the need to start with a bit more space between the dogs at first- we also staggered the dogs initially so that they weren’t right across from each other).

Furiendship Unleashed!

Did we just become best friends?!

As these pups start to enjoy off leash time getting to know each other on a more personal level it’s important to ensure safe mutual play from both dogs. Try to stay in motion to avoid dogs lingering for your attention. Provide verbal praise to the dogs as they play/interact appropriately. Disagreements, snaps and corrections are very normal in dog relationships, but we do want to make sure there are nice respectful responses to avoid dog-dog corrections from escalating into scuffles.

• A well received dog-dog correction looks something like this: Fido & Scruffy are playing, it gets a little too much for Fido as he tries to walk away from play. Scruffy continues to try to play with BFFF Fido, but Fido needs some space. Fido air snaps at Scruffy’s overzealous attempts to continue playing. Scruffy gets the hint and walks away to enjoy a nice sniff and allowing Fido his space. They have communicated to each other nicely and there is no need for human intervention.
• And here’s what it looks like when a dog-dog correction is not well received(possibly due to lack of doggy social skills and/or insecurities with other dogs generally and not quite trusting enough of this new formed relationship). As Scruffy & Fido are playing, Fido bites at Scruffy’s neck just a little bit too hard. Scruffy yelps, signaling that it hurt, but Fido continues to jump all over Scruffy playfully. Scruffy growls and snaps at Fido in an effort to stop the play. Fido ignores(or doesn’t understand these corrections given) and continues to pounce on Scruffy playfully. Now Scruffy is really getting stressed and overwhelmed and he communicates this with a more intense correction with several charging air snaps with bared teeth. Fido is startled and not sure where all of this intensity is coming from and now is baring teeth back at Scruffy. Teeth clash back and forth until humans step in to separate. In this scenario, we would need to intervene after the first correction that occurred(when scruffy yelped and Fido didn’t take the hint) by guiding Fido away and occupying his attention elsewhere so Scruffy can have a pause in play.
• As these off leash interactions move to inside the home, continue to supervise until they are consistently interacting with each other appropriately. When unsupervised(anytime your focus is not directly on them) they should be separated. I would also recommend separating periodically throughout the day to avoid either dog becoming annoyed or overwhelmed with the other.

Sharing is Caring

...but what’s mine is mine

In new developing dog relationships, it is common for dogs to be stingy about sharing their things. For this reason, we want to make sure all valuable resources are picked up and put away when the dogs are together. These items can include but are not limited to: Bones, treats, food, and toys. If your dog has a fav bed, it’s not a bad idea to have that put away during their interactions as well. Separate the pups during feeding time(this is includes human feeding as well). We don’t want any potential resource guarding to ruin all the progress that’s been made up until this point. Over time, as these dogs grow to love each other you can slowly introduce resources, but it may be necessary to keep certain resources separate if the dog(s) have a hard time sharing certain things.

When you’re the best of friends

Having so much fun together,

you’re not even aware you’re such a funny pair

you’re the best of friends...

While it can seem tedious and time consuming, all of your patience and hard work will be rewarded as your dogs’ relationship blossoms into a trusting respectful friendship!