New dog introductions can be tense times for both dogs and owners. When bringing new dogs as additions to households the first meet can be crucial to get right to avoid confrontations later on. Here is the advice for dog to dog introductions-
▪︎ Avoid tight spaces and confinement and allow dogs meet one on one each time.
▪︎ Get rid of any of the ‘novelty’ of a new dog by getting them used to each others scent being around them with beds, blankets, a collar or any other scent articles so the novelty wears off. Novelty provokes arousal in dogs, which can work against having a smooth introductions.
▪︎ keep toys and food away from an introduction for the same reason, it’s exciting. When taking breaks in between meetings and you’re at a distance from the new dog, you can reward either dog then to create positive associations, but avoid tossing food or giving food when the dogs are in close proximity of each other
▪︎ Keep all human emotion away from dog intros. Resist standing too close to them, crowd them or bend over them. Keep the dogs on long lines with a long, trailing, untangled leash. Don’t crowd them when they’re meeting, keep a couple of feet away and wind the long lines in and call the dogs away after the few sniffs each time.
▪︎ avoid allowing the dogs meeting head-on for each intro, for example if you’re introducing dogs and both are on a long line, walk in the same direction as each other, with a distance between the dogs and keep moving for short periods. Exploring smells together along side each other is how dogs become friends.
▪︎ if in doubt just let each dog sniff each others urine in an area they’ve marked and that’s a great way of getting to know each other without any possibility of confrontation.
▪︎ lastly, as always, monitor body language to make sure everyone is feeling safe and comfortable. Just lead either dog away if you suspect they’re starting to feel stressed. Shaking, scratching, disengaging by turning their body away from each other is enough to tell us they need a break
