adopt-a-shelter-dog month, part 2: introducing your new dog to other pets

As mentioned in last week’s blog, October is National Adopt-a-Shelter-Dog Month. Whether you adopt a dog this month or sometime in the future, knowing how best to introduce a new friend to your household if you already have pets is a helpful process for everyone involved.

Here are a few tips for introducing a newly-adopted dog to other pets:

1. Give the animals currently living in your home opportunity to meet the new four-footed housemate on neutral ground. Most animal shelters provide visiting rooms to which you can bring your current pets to meet their potential new companion. A park also works very well. Meeting on neutral territory keeps your current pet from feeling the need to “protect” its territory from the “intruder;” the park meeting may seem more like a “play date” for your current dog, and if your current animal is generally friendly with other dogs, that positive park meet-up may translate well when both dogs are at your home.
2. When adding a new dog to your household, consider the pack mentality and the animals’ personalities. Often, it’s best to bring in a dog that is not an alpha or dominant dog; two sub-alphas are likely to get along better and even bond more strongly than a dominate and a submissive. The best pairing is usually a male and a female together (spayed and neutered of course!); two females or two males can be more aggressive toward each other, even if they’re fixed (that’s not always the case, as I have friends who have two males, they even had a third at one time, so truly, all depends on the animals’ personalities). The likelihood of assertive or aggressive behavior is often lessened when a spayed female and a neutered male live in the same household. Whenever I’ve had two dogs living in my house, I’ve always had a male and a female (fixed, of course), and that arrangement/pairing has worked out well each time, including my latest adoption which happened last month. Learn more about dog pack hierarchy from Cesar Millan at his website: https://www.cesarsway.com/dog-psychology/pack/Dog-pack-hierarchy.
3. Make sure there is a special, secure spot for both the new and current dog (or cat) to get away. A quiet room or a corner of your bedroom or home office can serve as that special place. A crate/kennel is often a good idea. The kennel, with the door open so that your dog can come and go as it pleases, provides security when the dog needs down time. Your newly-adopted pet, especially, needs a place to retreat to when the excitement of the day becomes too much. When our new dog, Jeremiah, came to live with us, our cats stayed in the basement for several days, even weeks, as they adjusted to the new dog in their house. We’ve not had an issue with Jeremiah chasing the cats, but we were prepared to deal with that if it became a problem, for we have experienced that in years past.

 
Implementing these ideas can help make your next dog adoption story a much more happily ever after! For additional tips on this topic visit the following websites:
https://bestfriends.org/resources/introducing-dogs-each-other
https://www.cesarsway.com/dog-training/socialization/a-new-member-of-the-pack
http://www.littlebuddies.org/intorducingnewpet.htm

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Mary, adopted in 2013, and Jeremiah, adopted in Sept. 2017.