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

My husband and I recently adopted a Pekingese mix, adding him to our household that includes felines. This is not the first time I’ve brought home a new dog into a family with cats, but it is the second time I’ve faced challenges.
 
More than eight years ago I adopted a cocker spaniel named Cody; he came into a household that included a blind springer spaniel and two young cats. My kitties had become accustomed to living with Sage, the blind springer, so they naturally gravitated toward Cody. That’s when I was reminded not all dogs are used to cats, and the chase was on! For many months Cody “protected” Sage and me from those pesky felines (in his mind) and the cats remained secluded from the rest of us. I was to a point where I thought of re-homing him. But, one day, one of the cats stood up for herself, swatting Cody in the face when he chased her, rounding the corner of the bedroom. That action caught him by surprise and chasing cats became history.
 
Cody passed away in January at more than 17 years of age. Now, we’re facing the same situation with Lemons – a cat-chasing newly-adopted dog. This time, however, my cats are much older and a bit crankier due to arthritis… and I’m sure despondent because they’ve been displaced by a dog not much bigger than themselves. You would think I’d have learned how to properly introduce pets – in particular a dog to cats. We’ve only had Lemons less than a week, so I’m hoping implementing ideas from the American Humane Association can still be applied.
           
This wonderful pet rescue organization suggests several steps to introduce a new dog into one’s home that includes cats. Here are some of the recommendations:

1. Keep the animals separate. We are doing that. The cats have been in the basement for the past six days, and just recently I brought one upstairs to be “with the family.” However, I’m confining her to two rooms, one with a closed door and one with an open door but sectioned off with a baby gate. Although the cat can jump the gate, she is inclined to stay behind it as she has food, water, a litter box – and several places to escape the dog, including a shelved closet.
2. If the dog stares at the cat or the door of the room containing the cat for long periods of time, distract the pup with a treat or toy. Repeat the process until the dog no longer stares continually at the cat or the door.
3. When no one is home, the animals should be securely confined so as not to engage in unsupervised interactions. My husband works from home most days and the dog will be with him. On the days we’re both gone, I’ll secure both doors to the two rooms and also keep the second cat downstairs so the new dog can’t get to either of them.
4. Make supervised, leashed introductions, keeping the dog on a leash.
5. Keep using this type of introduction until both animals are calm around each other. This could take several days, even weeks.
6. If continued aggression persists between either the dog or the cat even after some time has passed, a pet owner may have to receive professional guidance from an animal behaviorist. Last resort, the dog may not be a good fit and need to be returned to the shelter or rescue and live in a cat-free home.

 
I’m hoping to not have to use a professional behaviorist or take our newly adopted dog back. Cody ended up working out just fine with our cats; I’m believing Lemons will, too, with hopes that his Toy Spaniel sweet temperament will kick in as he becomes more comfortable in his new home, our home, and that the cats will adjust to him as they did to Cody. However, I’m also aware their older ages (Lemons is 8 and the cats are 11) may be a hindrance to that adjustment… but I’m hopeful that’s not the case.
 
Read more information on introducing dogs and cats to one another, including bringing a new cat into a household with a resident dog, by visiting the American Humane Association’s website: http://www.americanhumane.org/fact-sheet/introducing-dogs-to-cats/.