Welcoming a New Member to the Family

You couldn’t resist the temptation of getting a new family member, but you have old faithful still at home. Wondering how you are going to introduce them?

Here is a good tip so you steer clear of any confrontations.

Puppies may be scared of their new surroundings when first brought home. They also may want to explore without old-faithful guarding his territory. Puppies need to be happy when in their new surroundings, so to make this transition for old faithful and the new puppy easy, here is what can help.

Put old faithful in a crate. The idea of this is so the puppy can explore while old faithful is just watching him. Remember, we want old faithful to also be comfortable with the transition and not having the new puppy jumping on him if he doesn’t like it. We don’t want any undue confrontations that can hurt the welcoming process. While having old faithful in the crate, you can gauge how his temperament is towards the pup. See how he acts as far as if he tolerates the pup nose to nose through the crate. Watch for any growling from either party. Make sure the body language between the two is ok. You may want to keep them away from each other like this for a week or so. It depends clearly on how they both act as to when the next step will happen. If we didn’t use the crate for the introduction, you may have a harder time introducing them in a positive manner. The pup may get scared and run and really never go up to old faithful, or you may have old faithful running from the pup. The crate will help make sure they are introduced.

After the time allotted in the crate, you can introduce them by holding the pup’s rear to old faithful to smell. This may sound strange, but this is how dogs recognize each other. I never introduce my dogs face to face to avoid any altercation. After this, you can put your dogs on a leash and see how they are still doing. Most likely, they are fine. If you see that old faithful or the pup starts to act up, you can nip it in the bud right away. Pull them apart with their leash. Praise them when they are being nice and getting along.

Make sure to always be there watching when they are out and about playing.

Welcome to the family Fido!