Introducing a New Dog
How to welcome a new adolescent or adult dog as a family member, foster or visiting playmate
Slow and careful introductions are key for happy meet-ups. Whether you are introducing a new permanent family member, a new foster dog, or welcoming a family or friend's dog for a visit, careful introductions matter. Below are some resources to help guide your introduction. If you are introducing a new puppy, we will follow different instructions, but you will still use the body language and play signs from steps 1 and 2.
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Learn Dog Body Language (review the first 4 videos on the linked page which total about 30 minutes)
Learn the signs of good dog play & learn to do a consent test (one 5 minute video and one 3 minute video)
Gather information and review flow chart. Decide on your approach and get started!
Additional Resources
STEP 2: Learn about Signs of Good Dog Play
Fellow Academy graduate, Jane Sigsworth, put together these very informative and important to watch videos to help others recognize good and not-so-good dog play.
STEP 3: Gather Information & Flowchart
Before you introduce dogs, let's think through some details. ​Have they met before? Are either of the dogs leash reactive? Is your dog friendly with dogs? Is the other dog friendly to other dogs? Does either dog guard people from other dogs? If you aren't sure about these, pretend the dogs aren't friendly so you choose the most conservative path to meeting up.
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Unsure if your dog or the other dog is dog friendly? Need some help with this? Click here for a Dog Sociability Chart, a graphic on the Spectrum of Dog Sociability and a chart on the Sociability Spectrum.
Are both dogs medically healthy? If they aren't, defer meet-ups until health concerns are resolved.
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This flow chart will help you get to a good meet up starting point.
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STEP 4: Additional Resources
Your Dog is Dog Friendly; New Dog is Dog Friendly
Watch Fear Free Happy Homes' Video (<5 mins)
Get Familiar with Stress Signals
If you see any of the circled body language in either dog, increase distance between them or give them a break from each other.
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Warning About Predatory Drift
Beware of predatory drift with dog play - especially new dogs with a significant size difference (one dog little and another big) or in a situation where multiple dogs play. Read more below in an excerpt from Fight! by Jean Donaldson.
