Advocating for Older Dogs When Bringing Home a New Puppy - Take the Lead K9 Training

When I mentioned that we'd be introducing Lola to her new housemate for the first time we had a lot of interest from folks on how to do that! This is their first interactions - which really weren't much mingling at all! Lola worked on her place command (impulse control and minding her own business) while I continued to work on some handler engagement, object exploration, and food work with Shakira, the 9 week old toy poodle puppy!
This "keep the puppy busy" helps Lola observe and get a feel for this new creature in a safe way without feeling too pressured by the puppy exploring her space. For Shakira, it keeps her handler focused which keeps building attention to person around distractions, as well as helps her experience Lola without overwhelming her (or Visa versa). The first sniffy sniffy mingling session will likely be later today or tomorrow, in the yard, where Lola has plenty of room to walk away if she feels too encroached by little Shakira.
Taking it slow and smoothly when introducing puppies to the house helps create a pack that trusts the humans have some control, which builds a predictable routine and relationship between dogs...which makes all dogs feel better about the changes! The trouble families can run into when they bring a new puppy into the house, is that the older dog may not accept the pup with open paws - especially, if they are like Lola, and can be reactive to other dogs, sensitive of dogs in their space, and territorial of their people.
The mistake many families make is that they let their puppy, unchecked explore and eventually smother the older dog in the house. The older dog may give corrections, and some are certainly warranted, but often we hear of conflict 3-6 months down the road when there is now an hard grudge from the older dog to the little one who pressured them too much and too often.
Too often people try to let the dogs "work it out" and have a relationship with leadership influence from their humans, and we can quickly have an upturned pack of tension very quickly.
To help create a calm and smooth introduction we focus on advocating for puppy and older pack members by utilizing crate training, handler engagement, and leash on when around each other to keep things less "spotlight on the older dog."
Puppies have a tendency to be VERY dog centric (coming from a litter, they want to play and follow) so it's important to do individual work with your puppy so they bond with YOU, not just the pack. Here is a link to some puppy tips that will help you build routine of training, potty, and playtime: taketheleadk9t...