Post # 1
Member
900 posts
Busy bee
- Wedding: July 2013 - Rock Hill Country Club, Manorville NY
So you may have seen my other thread that my husband and I were considering a second dog to help with our 2 year old male dog’s anxiety and fearfulness.
We worked with a Lab rescue in CT, describing the personality type we were looking for. They’ve matched us with a 7 month old female Lab/Hound mix (just like Bruford!) named Louise. They describe her as self confident, but not dominant. She’s potty trained, great with young children, cats, other dogs, even chickens. She sounds perfect for us.
Anyway, we are going to be meeting her Sunday and I’m looking for tips. So far, Bruford has never met a dog he didn’t get along with. In fact, he loves other dogs.
How do you safely, and most successfully introduce two dogs? We already have a head start because they both get along with other dogs, but I still want to do this correctly.
We will be meeting on neutral territory with the foster mom, and if it seems like a good match, she will come home with us!
Post # 3
Member
233 posts
Helper bee
@Jilliebean1: You’ve already got the most important part down – neutral territory. We just brought a new foster dog into our home a few weeks ago and we already have 2 dogs of our own. Because the foster dog is 8 and 100 pounds, we felt more comfortable having him on a leash in the event we needed to pull him away from a situation…I’ve read that some dogs feel more fearful when on a leash, but if something happened, it would have been difficult to move this 100 pounder! We introduced them one at a time. They sniffed for a bit and he did growl at one of my dogs, but dogs are extremely aware of others dogs social cues, so my dog just walked away. With her being a puppy, I don’t think there will be too much of an issue. Just remain close enough to them in the unlikely event you need to pull them apart. Dogs are very adaptable and learn to figure out their pack quickly…so as long as you lay down the rules and they know you are the pack leader, then they usually work themselves out pretty easily. Good luck!
Post # 4
Member
900 posts
Busy bee
- Wedding: July 2013 - Rock Hill Country Club, Manorville NY
Thank you. I’m a worrier. Odds are in our favor that they will get along, as they are both friendly with other dogs, opposite sex, he’s only 2 and she’s only 7 months or so, and having them meet on neutral territory.
Post # 5
Member
6117 posts
Bee Keeper
Member