Bringing a new dog home to meet the rest of the family?

Question

We are looking to adopt a dog. We have a 1 and bit year old fella with us now. The dog we are looking to adopt is 3 years old. Ours is a German Shep/lab cross and the new guy is a pure German Shep. Our boy is very social and very well behaved and plays well with all the other dogs. The new dog also comes with great recommendations from the kennel his owner takes him too (I wanted an impartial reference about the new addition). Both dogs have met before and play very well together. Their obedience levels are about the same and at the kennel are both walked off leash, come when called, and know all the commands. Now most things I have read say to crate the new dog so the house resident can get to know the new guy. Is this something we wills till have to do- I don't like to have to crate when the new guys hasn't been in a crate for years? Will we need to do anything different since they are already very well acquainted? Any suggestions or tips when introducing the new guy into our house would be very much appreciated. We want to make sure we make the right first impressions (ie we are top dog not the other way around).

Answer 1

Many, many dogs have come across my doorstep for a number of years. I fostered/rescued. And I had a multiple dog household of my own.



You have a lot going for you simply because the dogs already know each other. As far as introducing the new dog to the household? Don't sweat it, hon. Bring the dog in, let it interact with your other dog and work on getting the newbie used to your schedule.



I see no reason to crate the newbie. Unless the dog is prone to chewing things it shouldn't or is not housebroken.



I see this as simply your resident dog teaching the new dog the lay of the house. Basically what my dogs did when others were brought in.



Good for you and have fun!!

Answer 2

Don't worry about it too much. If anything it's the other way around - the old dog should be crated and the new dog allowed freedom initially. However, i'd just let them sort themselves out - and when you see that one is the top dog - don't worry about it - that's what is supposed to happen and better if it's sorted out quickly than not.

One thing that is probably a good idea is to thoroughly clean the whole house so the smell if your current dog is minimised - so they can both start on 'neutral' ground from the beginning. Most dog communication comes from smell.

Buy new dog beds for both of them. Make sure the new dog has it's own place and that both dogs know which bed is 'theirs' so at least they have somewhere to go if they want to get away.



If they start to fight and it doesn't look like they'll get along, try changing their diet to a food with less sugar (most dog food is very high in sugar (bulking agent)), more vegetables, more oils, more protein and less carbs... just to make them more content and less grumpy generally.



Also to make sure they know you are top dog when you feed one thing you can do is make them both sit on one side of the room, mix the food, place it down in the other corners and then wait, look at them and only let them go to eat at your command - one dog at a time - a different dog each day. Always calmly and almost silently as you do it all. The underdog to go first more often than the top dog (it's a signal to the topdog that you care for the underdog - that he is part of the family and not to be bullied).



Anyway good luck with it all i'm sure it'll be fine!

Answer 3

I bring new dogs into my household all the time.



I take everyone for a walk before we go inside, and then take the new dog out to the yard and stay there with him for a little while, just so he knows where the "bathroom" is.



I don't see any reason to crate a dog, especially since the two already know each other and get along.



I will sometimes crate a new dog when I leave if I am not sure that everyone will get along in my absence.

Answer 4

Just go slow and make sure you do have a place to separate them. That's the main intention of the crating. You don't want your old pup to be overwhelmed with the big change that is going on. Give them space, if you have a backyard let them play out there. It's a totally different thing having a new dog in their territory and things can be TOTALLY different.