Meet and Greet

The day arrived for us to meet Jackie for the first time!  In introducing a new adoptee to the existing family members, I wanted to be careful and methodical in how we did the introductions to insure the best possible outcome.  Jackie’s foster mom was an excellent resource in relaying what Jackie’s temperament is like, and what to expect with humans and other animals.  

In order to meet on neutral territory, we arranged for Jackie’s foster mom and dad to connect with us at a securely fenced, quiet park next door to our home.  We gave Jackie’s foster family a few moments to let Jackie stretch her legs, relieve herself, and have a drink after her car trip.  Meeting at the park without our current pups allowed my spouse Chris and me to say our initial greetings to both Jackie and her family, and to meet Jackie without the added element of other dogs present. 

After the humans and Jackie all had some initial time to greet everyone at the secluded park, Chris and I went to get our current two dogs at home.  This way Rosco and Gunner thought we were just going for another every day stroll to the neighborhood park, where there is occasionally a new neighbor and their dog at the park so it is not unusual for our dogs to meet a new dog there.  All three dogs had plenty of room to maneuver, pee, sniff, and sniff each other’s pee (how dogs interpret lots of information about each other), all with keeping a dropped or loose leash since we were in a large securely fenced area.  

Reader it went better than I had even hoped. Jackie was extremely sweet and friendly with Rosco and Gunner, and they seemed very interested in getting to know her. Meanwhile, following the pre-arranged plan, Jackie’s foster mom and dad slipped away nonchalantly to go have dinner together at a nearby restaurant, and give us time to start the bonding process with Jackie.  

From the park we went on a stroll with all three dogs on leash and ended up back at our home. Jackie and I went into our securely fenced backyard first, while Chris stayed up in the front yard with our two resident dogs.  I allowed Jackie to sniff and explore her new backyard, and then Chris came in later with Rosco and Gunner while Jackie was already inside the yard. We were able to drop the leashes and hang out for a long while in our yard to see how everyone would react in a slightly more confined space.  Chris and I have a covered patio so once we established the meeting was continuing well we sat down together to have a cold drink (it IS summer in Texas y’all— it’s HOT!) and continued to closely monitor the dogs as they got to know each other.  

Since everything was progressing well outside, I brought Jackie inside to discover her new surroundings on her own with me, and Chris stayed outside with Rosco and Gunner.  Previously I had strategically placed ex pen gates and closed doors so that Jackie would only have a limited portion of our home to explore, until such time as I’m comfortable she has learned some basic guidelines, and especially a good recall to me which of course will take some time to establish.  

After Jackie had some time to discover her new indoor surroundings, Chris brought in Rosco and Gunner. Bringing the resident dogs in after the new dog was already inside decreased the stress of the situation and made it more likely to diminish territorial ideas.  It worked well and so far everyone has been getting along brilliantly. 

The outlined plan for mixing the current resident dogs with the new adoptee worked smoothly, and it is a method I have used with success in the past as well.  

Jackie’s foster mom and dad re-joined us at our home to review Jackie’s feeding schedule and her ongoing heartworm, intestinal parasite, flea and tick preventative. We celebrated together in our kitchen over tres leches cake and a champagne toast in honor of Jackie’s new transition. Now that the introductions have been made, we are looking forward to making Jackie’s first night and next several days as comfortable as possible.

Jackie and Gunner on Gotcha Day: Gunner thinks she’s pretty cool-

Rosco and Jackie on Gotcha Day: Rosco loves her, but has never been particularly fond of sharing resources!

Pearls when introducing a new dog into an established single or multi-dog home:

• Follow a previously confirmed plan
• Have the dogs meet on neutral territory first, preferably in a securely fenced area where leashes can be dropped or at a minimum all leashes kept slack (straining against a tight leash can cause reactivity, lunging, or other unhelpful behaviors)
• For multi-dog households, it can be helpful to meet one at a time instead of all in a large group at once
• Allow dogs to organically approach one another; calm sideways sniff greetings, moving loosely (not stiffly), sniffing each other’s pee, all help to keep the process tranquil
• Proceed gradually from more open spaces to smaller spaces, and avoid congregating at trigger areas like gates or doors
• Be ready to separate dogs if a skirmish breaks out (a large but lightweight board such as a kitchen cutting board or a large solid placemat can be on hand to place between two dogs in the event you need to quickly separate them, but always stay calm and methodical— no shouting)
• Keep the leashes attached to each individual dog for emergency control but either drop the leash or keep slack in the leash
• When introducing the new dog on home territory, allow the new dog to be in the environment first, and then bring in the resident dogs, one at a time if necessary

Edited to add: with the surge in demand for dog supplies (and supplies in general), the third Omlet Fido Studio crate for Jackie is on back order.  We’ve rummaged out of the garage Prissy’s original crate from years ago.  I love the wire crates for their ease of use; they collapse down to the size of the bottom tray for travel or storage. Wire crates are the best for ventilation since they have no solid sides or top. With a blanket folded on top and a Brindle brand orthopedic bed with a removable water proof sheepskin cover, this Top Paw crate is being used with success:

Rosco is modeling Jackie’s crate

This exercise pen comes in handy to control access from the hallway and stairs.  The ex pen is a stand-alone and has a built in gate should we need it, but we just easily move the panel to walk through: