introducing my two dogs

[lor]

Hi, We have a 10 yr old Jack Russel terrier (Minnie) & my dd just got a German Shepard puppy (Candie). Does anyone know a good way to introduce them? While Candie wants to smell & investigate Minnie, Minnie avoids, walks away or growls. Since Candie is small now, I can quickly pick her up 'out of harms way' and also since Minnie insn't too big she can go lay on the couch or bed & Candie can't get up to bother her (don't worry, I plan to train Candie that she cannot go up there & shed). If Minnie is out back looking for a place to 'go' & I let Candie out, Minnie stops looking & simply wants in..away from that little dog. ------------ (Candie is 6 wks old, slightly bigger than my DD's BF's size 13 shoe & the fluffy white collar & cuffs of my new coat remind me of her.)

[Tbackpain1]

Well, when we bring in a new "foster", our Golden is all happy to see them but some of the foster dogs are unsocialized, so we have to take our time with them.

When we introduce a new dog, we bring them in with Dylan in his kennel, and we introduce the new dog that way. Then the new dog is placed in their kennel so they know where "their own space" is. There is space between the two kennels, but they are visible to eachother. Each new doggie gets their own "stuff" (bowls, snuggle blanket, "baby" and chewie) and I keep that separated as well, feeding them in different areas, so that no one is disturbed and there is no fighting over food. They do sleep in the same room, but always in the kennel.

After the first day or two of them adjusting, I slowly move the kennels into closer proximity, and also will allow the dogs to be out of kennels in the same room. All thru that first 48hrs, when I remove one dog from kennel, the other may sniff and investigate as much as he/she can thru the gates...but I don't let them come together off leash. They are both on leash, and are introduced after long walks, so they're tired and not ready to fight as much.

Big thing is to watch the behavior of the dogs. Its good that it seems like both your dogs are socialized, just not quite ready to meet yet. Watch the body language (head up, tail up, rolling to show genitals, etc.) as those are all indicators of what role the dog is taking in your "pack". Also, once they have a "good" meeting, make sure to reward and praise both dogs equally.

Good luck with this. If you can't do crates/kennels, baby gates will probably work as well, and you can just keep them in separate rooms till they get used to eachother. Take care.

Theresa