This subject came up elsehwere, and caught my interest. Since most
folks here seem to be the owners or caregivers of multiple pets, I
think the answers may be interesting.

A lot of people give advice on meeting on neutral ground, but beyond
that, positions, leashes or not, etc, seem to vary widely.

I have often not had the luxury of "neutral ground" and I'm betting
someone like Matt hasn't either, given the business he is running.

For me, a huge part of it is knowing MY dog(s) and pretty much only
having to worry about the new one. Ok, and Franklin, who can be a
bully with pups of a certain age, or defensive with the wrong dog.

I'd be interested in hearing people's idea of "ideal" ways to intro,
as well as what has actually been done and worked. Do you approach
differently if it's a permanent vs a foster or boarder dog? Puppy vs
adult? Age cutoffs?

I've intro'd a lot of dogs over the years, and usually had only my
home to do it. I prefer my yard, for dogs to feel the comfort of
space, but when it's pouring down rain at 6 a.m., that isn't a good
choice.

I've used leashes and not, crates and not, holding and not. It's been
pretty individual, dependent on existing dog(s) and new
dog(s)/Puppy(ies).

And then I throw in the need to intro to cats, just for yucks!

--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

In article ,
Janet B wrote:
I'd be interested in hearing people's idea of "ideal" ways to intro,
as well as what has actually been done and worked.

I have no idea what's ideal, and I expect that "ideal"
varies somewhat depending on the dogs, the owner, the
circumstances, and so on, anyway.

What I do and has worked well for me is to take the new dog
out in yard, first, and then give him time to check things
out, get familiar with the smells, *relieve himself* (I
think that's really important), and relax a bit. After he
seems settled I bring out the calmer subset of my dogs and
give them time to get acquainted, and then perhaps let out
the rest after a bit. Then they go inside. The dogs I've
been adding have tended not to have been inside a house
before, haven't seen stairs before, and so on, and I've
found that they learn more quickly from the others than they
would without them. However, for the first few days the dog
is either tethered to me or in the office/whatever with me
with the door closed (housebreaking training) and sometimes
the other dogs aren't that thrilled about that.
Interactions stay supervised throughout the honeymoon
period.

Your mileage may vary, obviously. Siberians are very packy
and can be kind of primitive in their interactions with each
other, and considerations for more subtle dogs may be
different.
--
Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis -

In 2007, one trillion dollars worth of mortgages in the
US will have their rates reset

"Janet B" wrote in message
...
This subject came up elsehwere, and caught my interest. Since most
folks here seem to be the owners or caregivers of multiple pets, I
think the answers may be interesting.

A lot of people give advice on meeting on neutral ground, but beyond
that, positions, leashes or not, etc, seem to vary widely.

I have often not had the luxury of "neutral ground" and I'm betting
someone like Matt hasn't either, given the business he is running.

For me, a huge part of it is knowing MY dog(s) and pretty much only
having to worry about the new one. Ok, and Franklin, who can be a
bully with pups of a certain age, or defensive with the wrong dog.

I'd be interested in hearing people's idea of "ideal" ways to intro,
as well as what has actually been done and worked. Do you approach
differently if it's a permanent vs a foster or boarder dog? Puppy vs
adult? Age cutoffs?

I've intro'd a lot of dogs over the years, and usually had only my
home to do it. I prefer my yard, for dogs to feel the comfort of
space, but when it's pouring down rain at 6 a.m., that isn't a good
choice.

I've used leashes and not, crates and not, holding and not. It's been
pretty individual, dependent on existing dog(s) and new
dog(s)/Puppy(ies).

And then I throw in the need to intro to cats, just for yucks!

--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com
===========
I never had to introduce a pup to an older dog, but I did have to introduce
my previous 5 year old Rottie Rescue dog to my 13 year old Chow. Both of
these dogs were very serious dogs.
What I did was to have someone walk one dog near the other dog (no sniffing,
just nearby in a field with both on leashes) on neutral ground.
Then I let the new dog (the Rottie) into my back yard alone to investigate
the entire yard. She walked around the entire fenced in boundary line of
the yard sniffing step by step very slowly and methodically. Then, I placed
her in a separate section of the yard that was also fenced in, and allowed
the Chow to come into the yard and walk around freely. They could see each
other all the time through the wire fence. I did this for a week to see if
there would be any confrontations on the part of either dog. There were
none. I also kept them separate inside the house for a week. That way,
they could see each other and get used to having the other dog around more
slowly. When things seemed to be going ok, I let the Chow out into the yard
first and then the Rottie. Although, they were never chummy, they got along
fine with no problems. The Rottie always had a lot of respect for the old
Chow and became kind of a caregiver for the old dog, always keeping an eye
on him. The Rottie knew that the back yard belonged to the Chow, and that
he was just allowing her use it, which I thought was very generous of the
old Chow. They have both since passed on.

Janet B wrote:
This subject came up elsehwere, and caught my interest. Since most
folks here seem to be the owners or caregivers of multiple pets, I
think the answers may be interesting.

A lot of people give advice on meeting on neutral ground, but beyond
that, positions, leashes or not, etc, seem to vary widely.

I have often not had the luxury of "neutral ground" and I'm betting
someone like Matt hasn't either, given the business he is running.

For me, a huge part of it is knowing MY dog(s) and pretty much only
having to worry about the new one. Ok, and Franklin, who can be a
bully with pups of a certain age, or defensive with the wrong dog.

I'd be interested in hearing people's idea of "ideal" ways to intro,
as well as what has actually been done and worked. Do you approach
differently if it's a permanent vs a foster or boarder dog? Puppy vs
adult? Age cutoffs?

I've intro'd a lot of dogs over the years, and usually had only my
home to do it. I prefer my yard, for dogs to feel the comfort of
space, but when it's pouring down rain at 6 a.m., that isn't a good
choice.

I've used leashes and not, crates and not, holding and not. It's been
pretty individual, dependent on existing dog(s) and new
dog(s)/Puppy(ies).

And then I throw in the need to intro to cats, just for yucks!


Thinking back, the only times I've brought new dogs into the home was
when we were adding a new puppy to the family. I honestly can't recall
doing anything but walking into the house carrying the new baby, sitting
down on the couch with the puppy on my lap and letting the big dogs have
a good sniff.

All of my BCs have been very good with puppies, but none more so than
Zane. He's positively maudlin over the little ones, laying his ears
back, wiggling his silly curly tail and gallumphing in circles, trying
to get them to play. Feeding times are supervised and I've never had a
dog that was possessive over toys so resource guarding has never been an
issue.

Cooper, the JRT (age 3 now), is my most recent puppy and he's never
experienced adding a youngster to the household so I honestly have no
idea how he'd react. Since he periodically kills and eats rabbits in
the back yard, I suspect he'd bear watching, at least at first.

Kathleen

"Janet B" wrote in message:

This subject came up elsehwere, and caught my interest. Since most
folks here seem to be the owners or caregivers of multiple pets, I
think the answers may be interesting.

This is just so dog dependent that I doubt there is a one size fits all.

A lot of people give advice on meeting on neutral ground, but beyond
that, positions, leashes or not, etc, seem to vary widely.

You know, the one time we truly met a dog on neutral ground, the homecoming
was disasterous. At least in part because we handled it all wrong.

For me, a huge part of it is knowing MY dog(s) and pretty much only
having to worry about the new one.

Yes, that's *huge*. I now know that if Khan is unhappy with a dog, he's
unhappy with that dog. Age, gender, neutral venue, etc. don't seem to
matter much. Some breeds of dogs I'm extra cautious with, because they're
more likely to start something with him. Pan OTOH doesn't much care one way
or the other. She's bitchy, but otherwise harmless, although other dogs may
not feel the same way.

I'll be dog sitting Luna, a Husky mix
(http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y65.../Dogpark13.jpg) for a few
days. Pan doesn't like it when she plays with Khan, but I don't expect any
trouble, because Luna is not likely to start any, and Pan doesn't either.

I'd be interested in hearing people's idea of "ideal" ways to intro,
as well as what has actually been done and worked. Do you approach
differently if it's a permanent vs a foster or boarder dog? Puppy vs
adult? Age cutoffs?

Puppies, I can bring in with no problems. They may get snarked at for being
rude, but no other precautions necessary. Any submissive/neutral dog of
either gender gets the same reception. Dominant dogs of either gender, and
large unneutered adult males are a problem, so they just don't get to come
home.

For the most part, I do want the dogs to meet the other dog at a neutral
venue, like the dog park. There, I have the luxury of restraining my dogs
and observing the other dog's behavior, introducing them through a fence to
judge reactions (doesn't always work of course), and having the dogs
interact with either dropped leashes or off-leash.

I've used leashes and not, crates and not, holding and not. It's been
pretty individual, dependent on existing dog(s) and new
dog(s)/Puppy(ies).

That's pretty much it.

And then I throw in the need to intro to cats, just for yucks!

That, I have no experience with. My brother's dogs and his new kittens seem
to be doing as well as can be expected. The big dog is fine, doesn't notice
they exist. The little dog is nervous and scared, but curious at the same
time. They're taking it slowly, by keeping the dogs and cats separated for
now, but letting them meet through gates and crates.

Suja

On Wed, 25 Oct 2006 09:06:50 -0400, Janet B
wrote:

For me, a huge part of it is knowing MY dog(s) and pretty much only
having to worry about the new one. Ok, and Franklin, who can be a
bully with pups of a certain age, or defensive with the wrong dog.

I've got the opposite problem. My dog is the problem dog.

I'd be interested in hearing people's idea of "ideal" ways to intro,
as well as what has actually been done and worked. Do you approach
differently if it's a permanent vs a foster or boarder dog? Puppy vs
adult? Age cutoffs?

I have never had "ideal" dogs, so I haven't any idea what an "ideal"
meeting might look like. Elliott, bless his pointy little head, was
happy to meet most females in his own home or in his own yard,
unleashed. On-leash meetings on neutral territory were doomed to
disaster. Meetings with boys were nearly always Not Good.

Harriet is, um, special. Introducing her to girls is not an option,
unless they are very puppyish puppies. Harriet's ideal way to meet
puppies and dogs is to leash the newcomer (if the new dog/pup is allowed
to sniff her butt before she's ready to consider friendship, she will
not tolerate it, and she does *not* allow do-overs). Let her sniff the
newcomer and size it up, then, when she is relaxed and making play
overtures toward the it, the newcomer can be loosed. Crazy-dawg
zippy-zoomies and bitey face ensue.

What does *not* work with Harriet is introducing her on neutral
territory. When she's off her territory is when she's at her most
aggressive (due, I'm sure, to her increased anxiety level), so
introducing her to other dogs is a Very Bad Idea.

When I got Harriet (7mo) and introduced her to Elliott (~5yo), all he
wanted to do was worship her Divine Bitchness. It was love at first
sight for him. Harriet was not at all accommodating. She wanted to
beat the crap out of him, so she was crated the first night. By the
next morning, she'd had an attitude adjustment, and had decided he was
actually pretty spiffy.

FWIW, I've always had to introduce newcomers by myself, as there hasn't
been anyone else around to help out. I'm not sure that's a bad thing,
though, because adding extra people to the mix can create its own
problems.

And, I, too, allow the newcomer to motor around the yard and pee and
generally get its bearings before meeting the resident(s).

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)

I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us
with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use.
-- Galileo Galilei

"Janet B" wrote:

I'd be interested in hearing people's idea of "ideal" ways to intro,
as well as what has actually been done and worked. Do you approach
differently if it's a permanent vs a foster or boarder dog?

Don't know that the answer's particularly useful in a general sense, but
I've always simply brought newcomers (boarders and new additions alike) into
the house on leash.
Then again, because my dogs are so accustomed to constantly meeting new
dogs, AND to sharing their space with other dogs, it's not the issue with
them that it might be with other dogs.

The only exception to that is that Bren and Morag did meet at the SPCA the
day before I brought her home; I don't think it made any difference, though.

Thing is, if I were concerned about real aggression from a newcomer, I most
likely wouldn't be bringing that dog into my home at all.

WRT cats... same thing; since my cats are *incredibly* dog-savvy, and are
accustomed to having strange dogs go in and out of the house, just letting
them come up and greet the new dog is usually sufficient.
The dogs' reactions, even if they've never seen a cat before, are usually
on the order of "Gee, what is that? It acts like a dog, but it doesn't smell
like a dog... " then figuring out that even if it doesn't quite look or
smell right, it's a pack member and to be accorded respect.

Most interesting variation on that I've seen:

One of my neighbors has a young Jack Russell. I happened to be out front one
day when she walked by, and we got to chatting; as we did, Robyn (the
Siamese) came strolling around the house and immediately beelined for the
dog.
Her owner was apprehensive, telling me that the dog is "excitable", likes
to chase small animals, and had never met a cat... I said "Just watch -
it'll be OK; he's used to JRTs, and he likes dogs."
The dog bounced up and down, but as he got closer, she began to react to
his confident/dominant body language by calming, just as she would have for
a dog with that demeanor. He walked right up to her... and she LAY DOWN
submissively in front of him, wagging her tail and reaching upwards to touch
her nose to the underside of his chin.
Her owner was astounded. :-D

On Wed, 25 Oct 2006 11:15:58 -0400, "Sionnach"
wrote:


"Janet B" wrote:

I'd be interested in hearing people's idea of "ideal" ways to intro,
as well as what has actually been done and worked. Do you approach
differently if it's a permanent vs a foster or boarder dog?

Don't know that the answer's particularly useful in a general sense, but
I've always simply brought newcomers (boarders and new additions alike) into
the house on leash.

That's what I do, and it's why I love greyhounds (which are generally
the only new dogs coming in). None of my dogs has any aggression
problems, and they know how they're expected to behave, so there have
never been problems. In order to avoid overwhelming newcomers or
visitors, we don't let all of our dogs in at once. In warm weather,
the dogs might meet outside, newcomer(s) in side yard and our dogs in
backyard. A lot of this depends on what we're doing (getting several
dogs from the track, just one dog being returned, someone visiting
with a dog our dogs don't know, etc.) and whether one or more new dogs
is going to be staying as a foster.

Neutral territory is probably the safest and best idea, but not too
practical here, and fortunately not necessary.

Cats are another story. No dog comes into this house that hasn't been
tested with cats (cat-zapping fosters stay in the kennel). Still,
they're re-tested, on leash and usually muzzled, by me before they
have any house freedom.

Mustang Sally

"Sionnach" wrote in message:
He walked right up to her... and she LAY DOWN
submissively in front of him, wagging her tail and reaching upwards to
touch
her nose to the underside of his chin.

Just wondering. Do your cats know to make themselves scarce if the other
dog is truly into eating cats?

I was the home checker and caseworker for someone who had two cats. After
the HV, I unloaded my dogs and had all the members of the family check them
out. Pan was off-leash, and spotted one of the cats, sitting on the porch.
She slinked down low, and then ran at the cat. As she got close, the cat
just arched its back a little, and Pan put the brakes on so fast there were
skid marks. She just pretended she was there to do something else, and then
casually sauntered off.

They took a dog home for trial that had shown no prior interest in cats. As
soon as this dog came home, the two cats just vanished. The dog was
constantly on the hunt for cats, and turned out to be decidedly cat
unfriendly.

Suja

"Suja" wrote :
"Janet B" wrote in message:
For me, a huge part of it is knowing MY dog(s) and pretty much only
having to worry about the new one.

Yes, that's *huge*. I now know that if Khan is unhappy with a dog,
he's unhappy with that dog. Age, gender, neutral venue, etc. don't
seem to matter much. Some breeds of dogs I'm extra cautious with,
because they're more likely to start something with him. Pan OTOH
doesn't much care one way or the other. She's bitchy, but otherwise
harmless, although other dogs may not feel the same way.

Yup. When I need to introduce a dog, I start the way Melinda described
(let the new dog get comfortable alone first). When I had a full crew, I'd
start with Sam, then Duke, then one of the ACDs, then the other, then
Lindy, and forget about Jack. I'd still start with Duke, he's the least
reactive. Then Ranger. Then Lindy. Offleash (or with a tab leash) in a
secure area, but probably not the house.