Assimilating Your New Puppy
By Victoria Stilwell Introducing a new puppy into a household with an existing dog can sometimes cause problems, and the resulting stress and tension can have serious consequences. Puppies in particular have boundless energy, and even frustrating, which is why it is important that you supervise all interactions between dogs and intervene if things get out of hand. Peaceful coexistence is the obvious goal and can be achieved in a number of ways including monitoring both dogs’ interactions and reducing situational and environmental stress. Removing any triggers that could create tension such as food, bones or toys reduces the need to compete, and potential the location-guarding that commonly occurs in multi-dog households. Toys and chews should be given only when the dogs are separated, and both puppy and dog should be fed separately if there is tension at feeding time. Identifying triggers and minimizing stress for both dogs will help develop a better relationship between them. Obviouslly, it’s important to be patient.
The existing dog needs to be shown that the new puppy’s presence means good things happen to him. You can achieve this by standing in a room with your older dog and having a friend or family member walk into the room with the puppy. There should be no physical interaction between the dogs, and as the puppy is brought into the room, praise and high-value treats should be fed to the older dog. The puppy can then be taken out of the room and his or her departure will signal the withdrawal of the treats. This exercise can be repeated until the older dog becomes more comfortable around the willingness to engage in social contact with the puppy will indicate that the technique has been successful. Walking the dogs together allows them to have positive experiences in each other’s presence. The puppy will require less exercise than the older dog to begin with, but a small walk every day will help increase that bond. Start basic training with the pup while giving the existing dog a refresher course so that when both dogs are together they can
give you focus and be guided by your cues. Management is equally important to maintain calm and baby gates can be highly effective in giving each dog their own space. Occasionally, however, gates can have the reverse effect and exacerbate tensions. In this case, both dogs should be put in separate rooms and only allowed to interact under active supervision. Other stress-relieving tools such as dog-appeasing pheromone can be used to give the dogs a sense of calm when they are around each other. Just like with us humans, there will be occasional quarrels even between the best of canine friends, but it is essential that you don’t subject either dog to any situation that could cause them to react negatively to one occurs on a regular basis, re-homing options might have to be explored, but this can be avoided if you are diligent in applying all training and management procedures so that both dogs can live peacefully together in a stress free environment. Stay calm and in the
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