Adding a Second Dog to your Home
Adding a second dog (or third, or fourth!) to your home is very exciting and we all want to see our dogs love having new friends, but in order for it to be successful you need to bear one word in mind above all else. CALMNESS!!!
Here is some advice on settling in an new dog to your home with resident dogs from our behaviourist, Kahla.
Dog body language
Positive body language
- ‘Loose’ body with soft wiggles.
- Relaxed posture/no muscle tension
- Sniffing and exploring
- Looking to their new friend in a happy, relaxed way
- Sharing sniffs politely
- Not being overly interested in each other (interest is fine, obsession is not)
- Being happy to rest around each other
- Not crowding each other’s space/being respectful of each other
Negative body language
- Pulling away from each other consistently
- Avoidant head turns
- Excessive lip licking or whale eye
- Excessively upright, stiff tail set or tucked tails
- Jumping up at their handler insistently (can be a panic ‘get me out of here’ behaviour)
- No sniffing, just pulling hard on lead
- Tight bodies with significant muscle tension
- Constant, unstoppable play and excessive OTT excitement
Before you bring your new dog home:
- Remove all items of value, both yours and your dogs! Lift up all chews, toys and food.
- Invest in a baby gate or pen to separate the dogs if needed.
- Consider calming solutions such as Pet Remedy Spray or Adaptil and install these a week before your new arrival to help your current dogs relax.
- Check fences etc in the garden to make sure everything is secure.
The day you bring your dog home
- Walk your own dog beforehand.
- Make sure you can travel with both dogs separated and secure in your vehicle on the way home
- Don’t just unload and go straight into the house! Go for a long walk together somewhere quiet
- When you go into the house, walk the new dog in ahead of the existing dog. This is nothing to do with ‘dominance’ but more so your current dog can actively see the dog enter their home and isn’t surprised by them
- Aim for calmness. Allow your new dog to explore but consider keeping them on lead as they explore so you eliminate the chances of wild zoomies on day one
- Once the dogs have settled, and you’re confident they are okay, you can let the dogs off lead but consider leaving a trailing lead on both to make them easier to catch
- Feed the dogs in separate rooms and don’t bring them back together until the food has all gone and bowls have been picked up (don’t be surprised if they both lose a bit of appetite for the first week or so)
- Go for another walk in the evening together
- Insist on calmness in the house where possible
- Use baby gates/pens to separate the dogs if you need to enforce a bit of calmness
The first week
The first week can often be difficult for everyone as everyone works out what the boundaries and rules are, as they work out how to communicate and as they learn to adjust to new routines. Don’t be surprised if your dog doesn’t immediately take to their new friend, they may feel put out about having to share their home, their toys and you! Give it time and again, aim for calmness!
There is one main rule to follow when adopting a dog and that is the 3,3,3 rule. It will take you, your new dog and your current dog:
3 days to work out what’s going on and where everything is.
3 weeks to settle into new routines and start to relax.
3 months to fully settle and accept this is ‘home’ now.
Overall the most important things are:
Calmness, separate time, plenty of rest, clear boundaries and TIME
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