Introducing our new Puppy to other Family Pets

Toby knows we expect his patience.

Introducing our new puppy to our other family pets is a gradual process.  When we first brought Coco home, the dogs could smell this strange puppy and were not particularly welcoming.  They barked at Coco when we put her in her cage.  We told them sternly to be quiet and they calmed down....but they were clearly not pleased with her presence. 

Dixie is not minding Coco.... too much!

That was fine.  We would not expect Toby and Dixie to understand that Coco was going to be a part of our family.  She had all the smells of her last breeder and her litter mates.  It would take several days for her to lose some of the old smells and for them to be use to her scent.  We did not force the introduction.   Because Coco was in her pen we did not have to worry about how the dogs liked her.  She was safe behind the pen walls.







Past experience has shown that our dogs tend to adjust quickly to new dogs that come into our home. Happily our pets have all had good socialization since they were young.  This makes a new puppy much easier to bring into the family.

With Papa at his side Toby will put up with anything.  Even kisses!

During this first week that Coco has been with us, her playtime outside of the pen, has always been supervised.   At first the dogs did not wish to have much to do with her.  Coco on the other hand was very eager to meet them.  Mostly she would try to run up to them, and try to play, but they would walk away.  We would not allow Coco to run after them too much so we could keep the experience positive for all the dogs.

As each day went by, the older dogs were more and more relaxed with Coco's puppy antics.  As the weather warmed up, the snow melted and they were running outside more.  Coco was so excited to follow the big dogs.

But it was good to see that if the dogs ran to the back yard, Coco would leave me at the porch steps for no more than a minute.  She would come running back as soon as she realized I was out of sight.  This is a good thing.  Puppies at this age, should still have very strong attachments to their care giver.

Coco wants to adopt Dixie has her big sister.

If the big dogs turned to chase Coco, she would immediately roll onto her back to show them submission, and that she was not comfortable with being the object of the chasing game!

Will you be mine?

Don't push me, pup!

As for the cat, that is also interesting to watch.  Candy is always very patient with the dogs, and knows how to communicate in her own way.  But sometimes she is in no mood for their antics and will put them in their place very quickly.   In this photo we see that Coco has noticed Candy at the front door and wants to play with her.  In just seconds Candy made it clear she was not feeling patient that evening.  She gave Coco quite a startle when she hissed at her.  The communication was quite effective.  Coco will definitely modify her enthusiasm for the future.

It is interesting to see the language of the dogs and cat with one another.  Coco is very responsive to their cues and will fit in just fine..