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The day a new dog comes home is full of excitement, but all the fuss can be stressful for a dog or puppy. First impressions are vitally important to dogs and coming into a busy house full of new people and animals can scar a dog or puppy for life. Take the time to introduce your new dog slowly and calmly into his forever home, and he’ll soon feel like he has been there forever.
Children Children are naturally excited when a new dog comes into the family, but it is important to talk with them beforehand about how they should behave. Make it a rule that children will not try to pick up the dog. Encourage children to let the new dog have some quiet time for the first few hours after it arrives. Once the dog settles in, allow the children and the dog to play together in the yard, but keep these sessions short—no more than 20 minutes until the dog is completely at ease. Children aren’t ready to be responsible for a dog until they are 8 or 9 years old, but by then they can become excellent dog trainers and should be involved with any obedience classes the dog takes. Encourage children to interact with the dog in a way that makes it clear that they are authority figures. Teach children how to groom, feed, and play games with the dog. Challenge your children to teach the dog a new trick. The training process will create confidence in the child and the dog and reinforce appropriate relationships. Other Dogs If you are bringing home a second dog, be prepared for an adjustment period. Even a dog that has previously been friendly to other animals may become aloof or even aggressive to another animal that moves into its home. The best way for the two dogs to meet the first time is in neutral territory. Ideally, your older dog should come with you to choose the new animal and should have a few chances to interact with it before it comes home. Choose a local park or a large pet store that welcomes animals for the first encounter. Once the new dog comes home, let her and your old dog spend some time together in the yard. Remove any items your old might want to defend like toys, food, or chews. Let the new dog explore the house, but for the first few days keep her confined to one room that can serve as her safe place. Once the two dogs have settled in, you can start allowing them to move freely through the house together. Over the coming weeks it will be essential to establish your old dog as the dominant member of the pack. Allow your older dog to eat and enter or exit the house before your new dog. Although it may be hard to do so, you should give the lion’s share of attention to your old dog. Introducing a new dog is usually more stressful for your old dog than it is for the new one, especially if your new dog is younger. Cats Surprisingly, most dogs and cats can learn to tolerate each other. They may not crave one another’s company, but they can live in the same house peacefully. The most important thing to remember when introducing a new dog to a cat is to make sure the cat has an escape route. Puppies are naturally cautious around cats, and cats seem to recognize this. Before long, most cats will establish themselves as dominant over a rowdy puppy. Older dogs may have a harder time accepting a cat as a roommate, but as long as the cat has a safe perch out of the dog’s reach, things should eventually smooth over. One way to ease the transition for a new dog and existing cats is to keep the animals separate for the first week or two. Keep the dog in a single room for a few hours and give the cat the run of the house. Later, switch the two animals. This way, the dog and the cat will grow accustomed to each other’s scents. When the first meeting occurs, the dog should be restrained by a leash or a crate, and the cat should have a clear escape route. Gradually increase the two animals’ exposure to each other and within a month, dog and cat should be coexisting without too much strife. Small Animals For most dog breeds, the desire to chase small animals is difficult to overcome. The breeds that are most successful with small animals are those that have a low prey drive. This includes some toy breeds that have long served as companion animals and, surprisingly, many giant and herding breeds. Terriers, sporting dogs, and other breeds that were bred to hunt vermin and small game generally can’t be trusted with small animals like rabbits or guinea pigs unless raised with them from a very early age. It’s best to keep dogs and small animals separate. It only takes an instant for a well-meaning, playful dog to do permanent harm to little pets.
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