hints and tips for integrating a pup into an established pack

[Storm Angel n Auroras Mum]

ok so my two are well established and happy. So how do i bring a pup into it safely??

Angel is my biggest concern, i hope having had pups before i had her will maybe trigger some maternal instincts.

Aurora will be 8 weeks when we.bring her home. I cant take the dogs to get her as its a 4 hr round trip.

She wont be able to go on walks.

so any help and.advice will be.appreciated.x

[Devildust76]

Sorry Louise we've not had any experience with this. Useless I know! I tend to think along the same lines as you, maybe she will trigger a mothering instinct in Angel. It's weird that they do treat pups differently. When Kodi was smaller and we took him to meets the other Husks treated him differently and he treats other pups differently to the way he treats the older dogs so they kind of know.

[Storm Angel n Auroras Mum]

Sorry Louise we've not had any experience with this. Useless I know! I tend to think along the same lines as you, maybe she will trigger a mothering instinct in Angel. It's weird that they do treat pups differently. When Kodi was smaller and we took him to meets the other Husks treated him differently and he treats other pups differently to the way he treats the older dogs so they kind of know.

adults she wont accept in the home.

storm avoids pups but hes only a concern coz of his size not nature.

and thanks for replying.

[Mollys Dad]

For the initial introduction - make sure it is on neutral ground - i.e. not on your two's 'territory'. This can be your local park which your dogs are obviously familiar with, but they know it is not their property so they are meeting the new dog 'out there'. From what I have read, bringing a new dog into your house can provoke territorial behaviour which is not what you want. Once the dogs are ok with each other, their 'new friend' should be ok to enter 'their' house. Get someone to meet you at the park with your two when you get back to help you with this acclimatisation

[Gideon Cross]

What i would suggest is keep them separated until the puppy is at least 4 or months old then introduce them while you are watching the pup. when I got my GSD Samson. I waited till he was 4 months old because he was big enough for Aaliyah not to look at him as prey and I would watch them. It's a slow process but it's worth it.

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

We brought blaze into the back garden n held him whilst we let bings out to greet and say hello

Sent from my ST18i using Forum Runner

[Bec]

Keep them separated so the adult dogs know the pup is there but don't immediately interact with it. I don't bring a pup home and let it interact with my other dogs straight away, they are separated and introduced gradually. Let the older dogs get used to the idea that the pup is there without the pressure of interacting. When you do let them interact I would do it one at a time under close supervision and I wouldn't let them run together until the pup is much older and assuming they are getting along when supervised.

[snowpups]

I would meet outside the house mainly with angel who is the problem. I would hold the pup but put it close to angel to sniff if she goes to snap giving her a firm no and remove her then try again I normally let jasper my puppy friendly dog as he loves all puppies and will warn the others off if he has to then ice the alpha meets the pup who then jump looks see wat it is then leave it alone then gradually all the others get to meet the pup. My guys aren't to bothered by puppies but if it was a adult I would do it different. Make sure she has a crate hun and make sure she feed in the crate and popped away when treats and that are around as it move then likely that when angel will attack the pup. Good luck hun xx

[Stormy]

Definitely do it slowly... as when I introduced Skye to Connie ( the cocker spaniel pup ) she wanted to kill it!! She got jelous basically plus connie was tiny.... we had introduced the other 4 dogs and they were all fine we did it one by one... Skye and Connie are now great friends except Skye trys to dominate her nowadays.

Dont think you will have any issues with Storm atall will just be Angel but i think done slowly they will be great friends Are you getting a female?? Hopefully she will be submissive and not dominant..

I didn't know you were getting a pup so soon So congrats

[Storm Angel n Auroras Mum]

Im not sure keeping them seperate will help.

I know everyone means well and I asked for advice.

But keeping them apart will surely make Angel jealous which is what we dont want. I dont want her to resent the pup and if shes shut in the kitchen while the pup is in the living room with the family surely she will get jealous?

Introducing them on neutral ground would work for an adult, but this is a pup who wont be able to walk.

And the issues weve had with angel before didnt present themselves untill we were in the home. Every dog ive brought in the house ive introduced to her on neutral ground and shes been fine. Inside the home after a few days not so much.

I will be stopping all play between the adults for a while.

I know it will be harder raising a pup with two adults around but I can do it.

[Emma]

Good Luck Louise. x

I was wondering if you have to rooms next to each other that could have a baby/dog gate placed in between. Storm and Angel on one side and the Pup on the other. That way you could open it up for interactions when you've got the time but when you need to be getting on with other stuff they're still able to see and smell and familiarise with each othen ther.

Hopefully that'll be all that's needed but if It's too much for the puppy to cope with initially then the pup will probably need to some space and time to calm down by itself. The thing with any separation( in my head anyway) is not to separate Angel but the Pup. Coming to a new home and being greeted instantly by 2 new unfamiliar dogs could stress the puppy a fair bit and if you spot the signs I'd be inclined to put the pup in a quiet room for a while to calm down. I definately wouldn't want to remove or Separate Angel as imo that may cause her to feel more stressed, which is not really helpful. If you do have to separate the pup for a few days, then for short periods of time take storm and angel, one by one, in to meet the pup (on lead if needed) and famiiarise that way. Ideally, when Storm's visiting and Angel's not, then whoever she's bonded to the most would stay with her and let her know that she's special too. This is what we had to do when introducing Ice to the cat at first, (yeah, I know it's different but essentially the principle is the same). The key, is to make sure they are all happy and calm when around each other and to end the greeting if things start to go downhill (In our case Sasha the cat came charging full pelt across the room hissing and clawing like a puma, our cue to leave! lol).

And one last thing I would say is to think of the worst scenario and make preparations to make sure it won't happen. for example, if you're worried the pup may get bitten, keep a basket muzzle on hand, just in case. Then you'll feel more safe and relaxed and this will hopefully be picked up by your pack.

Good luck Louise, we know how much this means to you and wish you all every success! xxx

[Storm Angel n Auroras Mum]

Good Luck Louise. x

I was wondering if you have to rooms next to each other that could have a baby/dog gate placed in between. Storm and Angel on one side and the Pup on the other. That way you could open it up for interactions when you've got the time but when you need to be getting on with other stuff they're still able to see and smell and familiarise with each othen ther.

Hopefully that'll be all that's needed but if It's too much for the puppy to cope with initially then the pup will probably need to some space and time to calm down by itself. The thing with any separation( in my head anyway) is not to separate Angel but the Pup. Coming to a new home and being greeted instantly by 2 new unfamiliar dogs could stress the puppy a fair bit and if you spot the signs I'd be inclined to put the pup in a quiet room for a while to calm down. I definately wouldn't want to remove or Separate Angel as imo that may cause her to feel more stressed, which is not really helpful. If you do have to separate the pup for a few days, then for short periods of time take storm and angel, one by one, in to meet the pup (on lead if needed) and famiiarise that way. Ideally, when Storm's visiting and Angel's not, then whoever she's bonded to the most would stay with her and let her know that she's special too. This is what we had to do when introducing Ice to the cat at first, (yeah, I know it's different but essentially the principle is the same). The key, is to make sure they are all happy and calm when around each other and to end the greeting if things start to go downhill (In our case Sasha the cat came charging full pelt across the room hissing and clawing like a puma, our cue to leave! lol).

And one last thing I would say is to think of the worst scenario and make preparations to make sure it won't happen. for example, if you're worried the pup may get bitten, keep a basket muzzle on hand, just in case. Then you'll feel more safe and relaxed and this will hopefully be picked up by your pack.

Good luck Louise, we know how much this means to you and wish you all every success! xxx

thanks emma.

we have crates so if we need to seperate, pup including thats what we will use. the living room and kitchen are adjoining.

Alex is taking a week off of work so for the first week there will be two of us at home 24/7 with pup and dogs. also means we can take all out together, pup obviously being carried lol. and the other walking the other two.

[Bec]

Im not sure keeping them seperate will help.

Just to clarify, I recommend that anyone integrating a new pup or dog into their home keep them separated from the current dogs at least initially. This is even more important with a pup as pups can easily be injured running with adult dogs. You don't want to run the risk that the pup will bond too closely to the older dogs and won't be able to learn how to be on its own, which can cause separation anxiety. You also don't want the pup to develop a higher value for the older dogs than the pup has for you, or learn bad behaviour from the older dogs. At the very least, it's a matter of safety to make sure that pups and adult dogs only interact under close supervision at least initially so you know the pup won't accidentally get injured.

I would be especially cautious in your situation as you know your bitch has issues with new dogs coming into the house, and you don't know how she will respond to the pup. It's easy to manage them properly so that all their interactions are positive, it is much harder to manage them and integrate them together into the pack after a bad experience.

I would guess (of course) that you want the pup to live with you for the rest of its life, so careful management in the beginning is even more important when you consider that this is a pup you are going to have for 12+ years. Get it right at the start and you won't have to go back and fix things that have gone wrong down the track

But keeping them apart will surely make Angel jealous which is what we dont want. I dont want her to resent the pup and if shes shut in the kitchen while the pup is in the living room with the family surely she will get jealous?

I think you are putting your emotions on to Angel, jealousy is a human emotion not an instinct that dogs experience. When I have pups in the house I don't let them have free run to help with toilet training and making sure they learn the behaviour I want them to learn, so I would have a puppy pen set up as well as a crate that the pup can chill out in when you aren't interacting with her directly. Angel can be loose in the house if you want while the pup is in the pen, so she can be around it without the stress of interacting with it. Put her away or have her in the crate when you have your one on one time with the pup. I do think it's important that all dogs can learn to self settle when you aren't directly interacting them, not just pups but adult dogs too.

I have two older dogs and introduced a pup to the house earlier this year, my Sibe is 10 years old and is uncomfortable around dogs he doesn't know especially young boisterous dogs and my pup is VERY boisterous, extremely high drive and very full on, so I know what it's like to bring a third young dog into the house. I often have different dogs staying here or visiting often as well, managing them correctly in the beginning is so important to how they get along down the track.