Introducing a New Pet into the Home

My lady loves me.  She loves me a lot!  She also loves our other dogs, but not as much as me, of course!  At least I think so, but shoosh don’t tell em! WOOF! My Lady already had Sallie and Maggie when I came along needin’ a home when I had nowhere to go. All the others came later. Seems my Lady can’t turn away a pup in need. But, we all had to have to have a meet and greet. If you’re thinkin’ on gettin’ another pet, there’s a few things ya need to know about when introducing a new pet into the home.

Selection

When people decide to introduce a new pet to the family, it’s important to consider some things.  How will the other pets adapt?  What age and size is best to add to the pack?  What personality will best fit the existin’ pack? Will anyone get eaten or bitten? Sometimes they choose you 🙂 But, ya still gotta follow some basic things.

Once human folk have a good answer for these questions, they can pick a new dog.  Then the human folk must plan a nice proper introduction of the new dog to the rest of the pack.

Keep in mind the pack order.  Adding a new dog means the pack changes.  If my Lady is alpha member of the pack, then you know I am next in line 🙂  I don’t wanna give up my spot and dependin’ on your dogs personality, they may not be very happy with someone who wants to take their spot either!  Most of us dogs do well with puppies, as we wanna take care of em.  But ya gotta know your fur-family and pick a pet that fits in with the pack.

My Lady knew that pickin’ the right dogs to fit our life was important.  She did a pretty good job there.  Well actually, they picked us seein’ as to how they were all strays and rescues like me. But she knew if it would work out or not  ‘fore she let it happen. She also knew a slow, planned introduction was best.  Introducin’ us to each other on neutral ground is a smart thing for all human folks to do, too. I remember Seager stayed behind a baby gate for a week or so ’til we all got used to him.

Neutral ground

Remember, we canines are territorial.  Our first introductions will go a lot smoother if we meet at a place that neither of us owns.  A friend’s house, the park, we don’t care.  But pick some place neither of us has to guard and protect.  This will let us focus on meetin’ and sniffin’ each other out.  It’s hard to properly sniff and assess someone when tryin’ to defend my home.

Safety

Introducin’ a new family member can be fun if the human folk are careful.  The most important thing to consider is safety.  Safety for pets and their human folk.  Part of this is keepin’ little humans away from first meetings and making sure small pets are protected.

Again, no one wants bitin’, which my Lady says is bad manners, but it can happen as we sniff out a new dog.  Any situation that leaves us unsure or scared can lead to barkin’ and bad manners.  Be patient with all of us, since some meetin’s can be fun and others can go South real quick like!

Once we get the meet and greet over with, and the new dog comes home, it’s still necessary to watch for safety.  You humans tend to drift off to do things, go to work, etc., so be sure ya got a plan to keep everyone safe as the pack adjusts.  Crate the new dog, put us in separate rooms, that sort of thing.  Once we adjust and get used to each other, then that cratin’ nonsense can possibly stop.

Most of all, give us time.  Be patient.  And show your existin’ pack how special they are because we will likely get our muzzle out of joint with some jealousy if ya don’t.  But, hugs and biscuits go a long way with that 🙂