The Art of Introducing Dogs

Introducing Dogs
This book has been written for those that want to learn about or perform introductions between dogs. You will find this book a valuable resource if you are a professional dog trainer, dog walker, run doggy play groups or work at a doggy day care, boarding kennel or shelter. You don’t need to be a dog professional to benefit though. Nearly everyone who is involved with dogs, from professionals to enthusiasts to pet owners, will have a need to perform dog to dog introductions at least once, but more likely many times in your dog’s life or as part of your dog business. It is recommended that you read the entire book before embarking on any introduction. There is handy and important information scattered throughout the book which you will miss if you skip sections. Once you have read the entire book, you can of course go back and pick out the information you most require.

Luckily for us, dogs are social animals, and if well socialised, generally enjoy the company of people and other dogs. Introductions are so much easier if the dogs to be introduced have impeccable social skills learnt through good early and ongoing socialisation with other dogs. Some of the reasons that people introduce dogs to each other include – adding an additional dog to the household, adding a new dog into a doggy circle of friends, adding a new dog into a play, training or walking group. Whether you are adding a new dog into your clients or your own current social circle, or are assisting clients as part of your business, it makes sense to do a bit of research to make the introduction process as smooth as possible for everyone concerned. This book is primarily written to assist owners to integrate the new dog or puppy into their home with an existing dog. This is probably the more difficult type of introduction as it is long term and continuous, therefore much more attention has been devoted to this type of introduction. Introducing new dogs into play or social groups is far easier as the dogs are only together for short periods of time daily, weekly or even less frequently. Generally the longer the amount of time the dogs will be in close contact the more important it is to manage the introduction process and ensure compatibility among the dogs.

Are you and your dog ready for a newcomer?
So, you or your client have finally decided that it is time to introduce a new dog or puppy to the pack for either personal or professional reasons. The most important question to ask right now is whether you or your clients are ready to take on an additional dog. An extra dog requires much greater commitment, more veterinary visits and bills, more bathing, grooming, feeding, preventative health care and training. Going for walks will also take longer as each dog pulls you in a different direction to the scent of their choice. Gaining another dog also means a whole lot more love and potentially a wonderful friend and playmate for the existing dog.

If there are already one or more dogs living in the home, now is the time to really think about how introducing a new dog will affect the current dog/s, because it will affect them. For good or for bad, a new dog adds a whole new dynamic to the home. Hopefully, with some common sense and knowledge, introducing the new dog will go smoothly and will be the best thing that ever happened to you and your current dog/s.

Let’s have a look at some initial but important considerations.
Firstly, how old is the resident dog? The older the dog, potentially the less tolerant they will be of a newcomer—puppy or adult. Dogs over 5 years of age begin to slow down and play generally becomes less important to them. Therefore, a young or hyperactive puppy or dog could cause considerable stress for the older dog, particularly if the older dog has not had much contact with young or active dogs recently.

The sex and status of the resident dog and the newcomer is important. If you have an entire (un-desexed) male, introducing him to another entire male could end in tears. Likewise, introducing two un-desexed females. The best combinations are opposite sex introductions i.e. introducing a male to a female. Other combinations can and do work depending on the individuals.

Do you have the knowledge, assistance or facilities to do the introduction properly? If you have never done a successful introduction before, talk to someone who has and preferably someone who has done this several times so you get a rounded view. There are many good dog behavioural trainers who can work with you to plan and implement the introduction to get the best outcome. The resources section provides information on where to access qualified trainers.

It is important to be able to separate all the dogs during different phases of the introduction. Possible structures which can facilitate dog introductions include a house and yard, dog runs or the use of barriers within the home such as crates and baby gates.