New puppy vs old dogs

[Sjan]

I want to get a puppy and not sure how tp introduce it to my 2 older dogs,who have been on there own for 12 years?

[Janine]

I would just do it slowly. I'm in the same situation. I have a new puppy and 2 older dogs. My older ones spend most of their time outdoors and in a very large utility room they have acess to. The puppy is in the house. The first tiem I introduced them, I went outside with her on a leash. My older dogs are pretty friendly so one just sniffed her a bit, and the other one went crazy trying to get her to play. The second time I put her outside alone, but watched from th ewindow and only left her alone with them for 5-10 minutes as I was getting ready for work. There hasn't been any aggression issues, so now I feel confident now that i could leave her outside with them withotu a problem. And i probably will start sendign her for a whiel each day to exercise and play.

[McMegan]

Adult dogs, so long as they have been properly socialized themselves and generally aren't reactive to other dogs, will accept a new dog pretty easily. Adult dogs (still assuming they're basically well-socialized animals to begin with) also seem to have an instinctive idea of how to handle puppies. They will tolerate behavior from puppies such as jumping, nipping and playing that they wouldn't from another adult, but will also make it clear to the puppy when they have had enough. This usually comes in the form of a sharp bark or very quick nip to the pup's muzzle. This shouldn't be mistaken for your adult dog attacking the puppy - this is the way dogs communicate their boundaries. Watch what happens next - the adult dog who has given the correction will move away from the puppy, ignoring her. After a few moments of recovering herself, the puppy may offer a submissive behavior to the adult, such as licking the corner of the adult's muzzle or flinging herself on her back near the adult, wagging appeasingly. Generally, an adult dog will accept this posturing somewhat aloofly. Make sure your adults don't get over-saturated with puppy playtime - they will start to weary of the puppy and then it's time to separate them if the puppy cannot calm down or give the adults their space on her own. If she follows the example of the adults and lays down or relaxes when they do, treat! That's good behavior!

Overall, you can help by reminding all your dogs what the acceptable boundaries of behavior are. Supervise your dogs closely to begin with and if one starts to get too excited, either adult or puppy, remove that dog from the situation before anything has a chance to escalate beyond play. Give that dog a brief time-out, away from the excitement and in a quiet room, and only once he has visibly calmed himself down, return him to the fun. A dog will quickly learn that polite play gets him more playtime and roughhousing gets him secluded. Also, reward your dogs for good behavior. If they sniff politely and then move on with minimal reaction or interaction, treat. If they offer a play-bow, treat. If they share a toy nicely, treat everybody!