Introducing unfamiliar dogs
Not all of us are comfortable meeting new people. We may feel shy, self-conscious or out of place in a room full of new people but happy and confident when surrounded by close friends & family. Or, we may love social interactions and thrive off of meeting new people. The key is: every person is different and our dogs work in much the same way.
Some dogs enjoy meeting other pooches and enjoy a butt-sniff and maybe a game of chase. Others can take it or leave it and mostly ignore other dogs they come across. However, there are some dogs who are reactive and fearful when they see another dog and this can cause complications for owners should they ever need to introduce another dog.
As a dog trainer, I am often asked by people how they should introduce their nervous or reactive dog to another dog, whether it be a friend’s dog or new puppy. There is no sure fire way to secure a positive introduction but there is a set of steps that you can take to make an introduction as stress-free as possible for all dogs (and people!) involved:
Step 1: following
You want your introduction to take place on neutral ground, preferably a quieter location. Your garden is not neutral ground; this is your dog’s space. Quiet roads surrounding one of your houses, a nature reserve or the best option is a private field for hire (if one of the dogs is very nervous).
Have the dogs on lead and walk one behind the other. You want a fair bit of distance between them, think 10+ meters. The more nervous dog should follow behind. This allows the dog to smell and get information about the other dog from a safe distance and get to know them before meeting them head on. If either dog shows any signs of nervousness or over-excitement, increase the distance between them.
Once the dogs have settled into the walk, swap them over (not allowing a greeting whilst you swap!) and repeat a few times until they are calm. You can slowly decrease the distance between them, without actually letting them greet each other.
Step 2: parallel walking
Once the dogs are comfortably taking it in turns to walk behind each other, you can start walking parallel. Again, start with some distance between you. The dogs can look at each other but any overreaction (barking, pulling, whining, growling, lunging) and you need to increase the distance or go back to step 1.
As you walk, gradually decrease the distance between you until the dogs are walking side-by-side. Allow them to walk next to each other, greeting each other if they wish, for no more than 3 seconds and then walk them apart again. Repeat until the dogs are happily walking side-by-side, not paying each other any mind.
Step 3: home turf
You may need to repeat steps 1 & 2 several times, over the course of several weeks, before you can get to this stage. You cannot rush a reactive dog and need to move at their pace.
Once both the dogs are comfortably walking in tandem for extended periods and perhaps they’ve enjoyed an off-lead walk together (assuming they have reliable enough recall to be allowed off-lead) then you can introduce a home visit.
It’s a good idea to keep both dogs on lead. You may also need to create separate spaces for them to retreat to if they become overwhelmed. Don’t leave one dog alone without people, you may need to split into two groups.
Keep an eye on body-language: we don’t want to see any stiffness or tension. Tails should be soft and body language should be floppy. If the dogs play, you want to be seeing green-flag behaviour outweighing red-flag behaviour.
And that’s it! You know your dog best and how you think they will react to a new dog in their space. Some dogs are completely fine to meet at home on the first meeting whereas others may take weeks, if not longer, of step 1 & 2 before step 3 is an option. Move at their pace and don’t rush it.
And as always, if you are unsure or worried about an introduction for your dog, click here to drop me a message.
