Doggy Introductions

[kentishgal]

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So my new baby arrived yesterday!! He is almost 4 months old and a beautiful almost all white boy(3 cute blue fawn brindle patches tho!). Even tho this is his second home he is wonderfully friendly and laid back!. My 9 cats got no more than a mild interested look anda tail wag. My mice, rats and rabbits dont even register, I think he reckons they are some kind of wierd ornaments!!LOL

He has a great recall even stopping mid bird chase in the park coz some other women called HER dog back!! And his only reaction to a couple of cats we met on the street was to look at my other two dogs curiously, he couldnt work out why they were so excited Bless him!!

My only concern is how he gets on with my two dogs. My other two were introduced quite young, both of them, and Hannah was 6wks and much smaller than Adam so no problems. Suddenly my chihuahua and mini daschund have a great galumphing clumsy speed demon to deal with and they arent taking it well! They are growling and biting him when he gets to close at speed(he has bowled them over and made them yelp a couple of times) also are guarding all their toys and not letting him play with much. Even the stuff they never played with anyway!

However they will all sleep on my teeny two seater sofa with me and for all the viscious sounding attacks Mathew (my new dog) has never had a mark on him or yelped at all.

So I really dont know what to expect from introducing dogs, cats Im pretty experienced with and generally there is at least a 2week period to settle before you know if it will work, but what about dogs?

Any help for my extra long post would be appreciated!! Ta!!

 

[Whippets Rule]

My only advice would be, make sure new dog has a crate or safe place to go away from the other two if you go out.

don't tell the other dogs off unless they are just bullying him. If he deserves their growls and bites because he is deliberately annoying them,let them sort it out but keep an eye on things. If they start to be generally nasty to him without foundation, then you should tell them no in a firm voice.if they are too possessive with the toys it may be worth taking away the toys for a short while so that they don't become trophies of war...only bring them out during supervised play.

make sure they have plenty of attention especially if you are interacting with the new boy...makes them feel involved and if they get lots of praise and fuss when he is around, they soon learn that his presence is rewarding.

always make sure all the dogs can get away from each other if one or more want to settle in peace too.

just be as calm and firm as possible and always be consistent and try not to favour and fuss the new boy too much in front of the others.

 

[Hula]

My only advice would be, make sure new dog has a crate or safe place to go away from the other two if you go out.
don't tell the other dogs off unless they are just bullying him. If he deserves their growls and bites because he is deliberately annoying them,let them sort it out but keep an eye on things. If they start to be generally nasty to him without foundation, then you should tell them no in a firm voice.if they are too possessive with the toys it may be worth taking away the toys for a short while so that they don't become trophies of war...only bring them out during supervised play.

make sure they have plenty of attention especially if you are interacting with the new boy...makes them feel involved and if they get lots of praise and fuss when he is around, they soon learn that his presence is rewarding.

always make sure all the dogs can get away from each other if one or more want to settle in peace too.

just be as calm and firm as possible and always be consistent and try not to favour and fuss the new boy too much in front of the others.

I agree with all this post . In general I think dogs are more likely to get along than cats

 

[kentishgal]

Thanks. Ill take their toys away for now. They all have separate crates at bed time and can go in during the day if they feel like it. Im just really worried coz they seem to be getting more aggressive with each other not less. The puppy is getting bullied if he just comes near them.

Id hate to have to give him back to the breeder as one family has already returned him, thro not fault of his own, after a week.

 

[Whippets Rule]

Thanks. Ill take their toys away for now. They all have separate crates at bed time and can go in during the day if they feel like it. Im just really worried coz they seem to be getting more aggressive with each other not less. The puppy is getting bullied if he just comes near them. Id hate to have to give him back to the breeder as one family has already returned him, thro not fault of his own, after a week.

this is where you need to step in and take control, if they are simply being nasty you have to tell them off, also giving them all a bath can help as they all smell like family and the boy doesn't smell of where he came from( this has always helped with our introductions).

Start making the new boy have a few time outs in the cage if he is getting too much for the resident dogs.

the aggression may also be reduced if they are all given extra exercise to wear them out a bit too.

whenever the new lad is around and everyone is calm and being nice,give a few treats out, make sure they are small and not going to be big enough to be guarded,this giving out of treats again makes the other dogs associate the newbie with good things.

Find something that will interest the least aggressive of the other two and try and engage that dog in play with you and the newbie, probably in another room away from the other dog.if you do this with each of the first dogs so that each one begins to build a relationship with new boy and they aren't together to gang up on him.

 

[kentishgal]

Im abit more optimistic this morning I have to say! I think Ive sussed the problem and its more fear aggression on the part of my current two dogs. As typical tiny dogs they react with aggression to bigger dogs if they think they could get hurt, even by accident.

So for now all high value items will be bought out under supervision.

Morning walks will be separate, Mathew first to blow off some steam and so he will be tired when crated whilst Adam and Hannah have a stress free run around together. Afternoon walks still together for bonding I think.

Finally, and most important I think, teaching Mathew the 'settle' command. Meaning that all 4 feet must be on the ground and he has to calm down!!

Once he's older and can manage a longer walk then great. Usually we go for about an hour and a half meeting about 10-30 other dogs to run around with. That should keep him calm enough not to squish my little ones or the cats to death!LOL

If I can just make it through the puppy phase...

And I really get what you all see in the breed now, he is just the perfect dog!!