New Best Friends?

Many folks think that they can simply add a new dog to their current dogs and they will "work it out". If you're very lucky, this is the case and everything works out for the best. But by using this method, you are taking the risk that a dangerous, costly and possibly deadly situation may occur.

Dogs are pack animals by nature and sometimes its difficult to introduce new dogs to the pack. Dogs will rally for rank.  Depending on their personalities, the pack will ultimately have an alpha or dominant dog and the others will follow. If you have two or more dogs who want to dominate you could have a problem.

As one who has introduced both foster dogs and new four-legged family members to our growing pack, there is one thing that has always worked for us - introducing the dogs on neutral ground. Go to a park (not a dog park) or take a walk away from the house and around the neighborhood. Ensure that all the dogs are on leashes. By introducing the dogs in a neutral area and not in your house or yard, you are alleviating the need for your existing pack to be possessive and protect their property. I've seen introductions in a house go very badly. So be safe and take everyone for a nice, long walk.

Here are a few other tips that may help you introduce your dogs with success:

• Introduce using a fence. If your walk goes well, put one dog inside the fence and one on the outside. Let them sniff each other through the fence. This gives them more freedom to explore and get to know each other.
  
• Use crates. Once you are in the house, consider putting the new dog in a crate and let the other dogs sniff him or her. This will help them get used to the new dog's scent.
• Use leashes or remote collars. If you are unsure of how your dogs are going to react or are worried that their might be a fight, leave a leash on each dog. Use a shorter leash so they don't trip or get caught on something. Supervise the dogs when they are together to ensure that there isn't a fight. Remote collars that beep or spray citronella are helpful to control a dog when you are not nearby.
• Put away all toys, treats, etc. Until you are sure that the dogs are getting along, put away all toys and treats or anything that may cause a fight. 
• Correct all bad behavior. If either dog growls, correct the behavior immediately. Give a sharp tug on the leash with a vocal correction. If that doesn't work, drop a metal pan on the hard floor. The more noise you make, the more likely you are to get the dog's attention. Don't let any negative behavior go uncorrected and this could fester into a dangerous situation.
• Give equal attention to all dogs. For the first few weeks, I try to ignore all the dogs. Dogs can be very jealous creatures and will take notice if one dog is getting more attention that the others. Give your dogs a pat on the head here and there, but don't dote on them, particularly if the rest of the dogs are looking on. Resist the urge to make the new dog feel "too" welcome.
  
• Be patient. Dogs are intelligent, unpredictable creatures. They are not likely to bond overnight. Give your dogs as well as yourself time to get acclimated to the newcomer. Be prepared to spend a lot of time supervising, correcting and getting to know your new pack.

I am in the process of introducing a possessive, dominant mastiff to an aloof, submissive mastiff (that's a total of 280lbs of dog) and so far it's gone pretty well. By following my own rules and ensuring that we are consistently supervising, we have two dogs that are becoming friends.