4 Tips for Introducing Dogs the Right Way

Wondering how to introduce two dogs without stress or tension? Certified Dog Trainer Hannah Richter explains how to handle dog introductions, what successful dog greetings look like, and how to spot signs when a dog meet and greet is not going well.

TRANSCRIPT

Have you ever wondered what the proper way to introduce two pups is? Well, let's talk about it. I'm Hannah and this sleepy fellow is Rupert and this is Bean. As a certified dog trainer, I'm going to help you understand how to make meet and greets go more smoothly by sharing some of my favorite tips and tricks with you today. As you may have noticed, dogs default to sniffing when they first greet each other because it's their way of getting information about the other dog. From sniffing, your dog is able to tell the other dog's sex, age, and even temperament. Most female dog interactions will start off with sniffing of each other's mouths and then going around to sniff the rear. Most male interactions will start off by sniffing of the rear. During an initial greeting, your dog is likely to be more curious and spend more time investigating than with a dog whom they've already met. When a greeting is going successfully, you'll definitely notice that your dog has nice, soft, loose body language. This can include a wagging tail, gentle bending in the torso, relaxed ears, and a relaxed mouth. Getting to know your dog's body language during greetings will help you understand how they are feeling in a given interaction. Try to keep your greetings to a minute or two, which will prevent your pup from breaking out into full-on play, but will give them enough time to sniff and investigate. Now let's talk about what to look for if the greeting is not going as well for your pup. Coming on too strong by jumping, lunging, or barking can be a setup for a disaster. Not all dogs will tolerate an excited greeting, which is why it's important to focus on your dog's body language. Some signs that your dog may be uncomfortable during an interaction might be pinned ears, tucked tail, stiff body language, snarling, growling, lip licking, and even raised hackles. Raised hackles are when the hair on the back of the dog's neck starts to stand up when they're feeling nervous or over-aroused. If you do notice any of these signs, it might mean that your dog needs some space from the other dog. A couple final tips to keep in mind. Some dogs do better with initial greetings in a more neutral space, like outdoors, rather than in the dog's home. When dogs are at their own home, sometimes they'll start to feel a bit territorial about their space, which can then lead to them not wanting to have as friendly and relaxed of a greeting. If your dog happens to go into fight or flight mode, being outdoors will give them the space that they need to sort out their emotions. If your greeting doesn't go as well as you'd hoped, I recommend that you put on leashes and separate the dogs to the opposite sides of the space that you're in, whether that's in your home or outdoors, and just let them adjust to being around each other before you start to worry about having them interact. A couple different ways you can separate your dogs would be having them in their own crates, putting them in separate rooms, having them on leash, and either having those leashes held or tethered to stable pieces of furniture in the room, or you could think of getting a gate or a pen. Sometimes you can start to reward one of the dogs for just noticing the other dog without having a forced interaction. If Rupert here were feeling a little bit uncomfortable with Bean, what I could then start to do is anytime Rupert looks over at Bean, I would go ahead and say good and reward him so that he knows that just noticing Bean was all he needs to do and that there's no reason for him to get more worked up with negative emotions. If you're bringing a new dog into your home where you already have another dog, I recommend that you give them short increments of hanging out rather than forcing them to be together for longer periods of time, so making sure that both dogs get some time away from each other will help to prevent any arguments. If the initial greeting didn't go as well as you'd hoped, don't stress out about it. Sometimes the first greeting can be a funky and some dogs just need a little bit more time, patience, and practice for their relationship to go more smoothly. Every dog is different, but I hope this has given you a few tips to keep in mind next time your dog is out in the world and making friends. Thanks for watching, see you next time!