How to bring a new dog into the old pack?

Question

I have a chihuahua, a shihtzu and a rottie. This weekend we bought another shihtzu. we kept her and the two little ones at our camp site together over the weekend.they all get along good.

When we got home tonight we broght in sissy and peanut first. then we took the new dog in the house and put her into a crate so Molly, the rott couldn't hurt her. I am in the process of teaching molly that blackie is to be part of the pack. And yes Molly can be aggressive towards dogs she doesn't know. does this sound ok? or should I be doing something else?

Answer 1

Put them all in the crate together.  They'll learn to love each other.

Answer 2

Sounds good so far.  I dole out treats too building on the good associations protocol, though I'd probably be asking Molly to do simple things for hers.  That goes for any of the other little ones that may have BIG personalities too!

Installing a reliable "leave it" is a great preventative to have.  I have my dogs drag a leash once I start putting them together so I have a bit more time to react if I need to.

I heap attention on my established pack whenever I add anyone new setting the precedence that the newest "intruder" is a good thing for the crew.  Take your time and do intros singly before putting everyone together.  Go slow and I think you'll be fine.

Answer 3

just pet both the rottie, and the new dog at the same time, and it the rottie growls, barks, snips, ect, then spank her.  She will learn to cut it out.  I just brought in 2 puppies, with one old dog, and they don't get along much yet, but they will.  They have def. made progress.

Answer 4

Dogs need to know where they stand in the "pack".  Few people understand it, but if you are female, you are the alpha if you care for the dogs.  If you have a husband or significant other, they would be your alpha mate.  The most aggressive female will want to be second in line to be alpha female after you.  It is very important that you establish a pecking order for the other dogs.  The aggressive female should be fed 1st after humans and allow to go first after humans in any activities.  In a perfect situation the pecking order should be female, then male ... the female ... until the last male is the omega at the bottom of the food chain.  Your dogs will calm down and respect you for keeping the order (it's your job as alpha).  Having a clear order will keep the peace.  If any of your dogs does not respect the order, ignore them until they do.  Feed and praise them only after they have kept their place.  They are fighting in response to the stress of not knowing their roll.

Hope this helps.

Answer 5

i would buy a muzzle if you dont have one and put her on a leash while someone is holding her bring in the new puppy let your rott smell her and if they get along let them play but keep the muzzle on her. then when you feel like its ok take the muzzle off. if you dont want to use a muzzle then have your rott smell her through the crate.

Answer 6

Do NOT go with that person's advice. Do not put them all in the crate! Trust me, with large breeds like that it's dangerous. Not saying rotties are dangerous, I'm a pittie fan. But when trying to get to know a smaller dog, large breeds may inflict unintentional injury.

Here's my suggest, take them all to the dog park and soft muzzle the rottie for the protection of the little dog. Let them play around and get to know each other. Show the rottie and small dog the same amount of attention. The only reason I say dog park is because rotties are typically territorial dogs, as are pitties. A dog park would be neutral territory.

Go with that and see what happens. After the dog park, slowly introduce them at the house.

But first and foremost, do not forget you the 'pack' leader. If the Rottie because abnormally aggressive, make a loud, dominating type noise. That should get them back on track.

Answer 7

I was always told that its better to introduce the new dogs scent to the old clang. if you will.  Try that a few times than when you do bring her in for permanent, the other dogs will accept her better, cause they will know her smell.. I love puppies.. Have fun  :)