Episode #242 Introducing a Puppy to Other Pets

Bringing home a new puppy when you already have pets? Amy walks you through safe, step-by-step strategies to help your puppy meet other dogs, cats, or critters—without stress or chaos. Harmony is possible!

Chapters

• 0:00 Episode Introduction
• 1:10 Pet Introduction Basics
• 2:28 Dog-to-Dog Introductions
• 4:04 Puppy and Cat Introductions
• 6:00 Training Tips and Final Thoughts
• 7:10 Episode Closing and Resources

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Today's episode is all about safely introducing your new puppy to other pets in your home, whether that's another dog, a cat or something else entirely. Welcome to the Puppy Training Podcast. I'm Amy Jensen, founder of Baxter Bella, the online puppy school. Here we are all about helping you create the best possible experience raising a puppy, from training tips to practical tricks, all aimed at fostering a happy, well-behaved dog who truly feels like part of the family. So if you are ready to enjoy the journey and strengthen the bond with your dog, let's get started. Hi everybody, thanks for listening. I appreciate you being here.

Speaker 1: 0:44

So it was National Dog Day the other day. Did you and your dog celebrate? I hope so. Baxter and Bella. They love to get outside. They like to play Frisbee, they like to do go sniff walks. If you never tried a go sniff walk with your dog, I highly recommend it. You put them on a longer leash I like 10 foot leashes and they just get to sniff and be a dog and they check in and I give them a reward and then we move along and they think it's the best thing in the world. So if you haven't tried it, go do it.

Speaker 1: 1:10

Okay, today we are talking about pet introductions, these early meetings matter. So when they're done right, they lay the foundation for lifelong harmony in your house. Done poorly, they can lead to stress or even aggression. So let's walk through a calm house. Done poorly, they can lead to stress or even aggression. So let's walk through a calm, controlled process of introducing a new puppy to your family and pets at home. Now, before your puppy even meets the other pet, let's think about space and some supervision. You can use things like baby gates, crates or leashes just to give each animal their own space.

Speaker 1: 1:43

We want to also make sure that they have room to retreat if they want to, and we never force face-to-face meetings right away. So what this might look like is you have a baby gate set up and the puppy's on one side of the baby gate and your other dog's in the other room. They can come to the baby gate, sniff one, two, three, and then I lure them away from each other. And then they can come back and sniff one, two, three, and then I lure them away from each other, and then they can come back and sniff one, two, three, and then I lure them away from each other. Each time I'm luring them away, I'm giving them a little food reward. I'm keeping these interactions as positive as possible and I'm watching their body language. So as soon as their body language is loose and noodley and happy, I'm going to let them try to be together. If I see any tensing, staring, freezing, freezing, hovering, any worrisome body language, I'm going to wait.

Speaker 1: 2:28

So management is everything in the beginning. We want to go slowly again. Your goal is curiosity, not chaos. If your puppy or your other pet wants to move away, let them. And if they'll come back and be curious, great, reward them. But we don't want to force that. We want it to be natural and on their own terms.

Speaker 1: 2:48

If you have another dog at home, you can have them meet outside, maybe in your driveway. Both dogs can be on a leash and you can go for a little walk together as they're sniffing. That can help relax them. And again, you're watching for body language. We're looking for nice relaxed posture, wagging tails, open mouths, maybe tongues hanging out. You can allow brief sniffing, then separate and repeat. So walking like moving and then having to focus on the movement and then finding other things to sniff along the way besides each other and you're working together can be a good way to do an introduction and then you can gradually move indoors, keeping the interaction short and positive. If your current dog has favorite things like maybe they have a favorite toy or they're very interested in food you might want to be a little careful about using the toy or the food in that introduction. You can use other things that are less valuable to them. We don't want to cause any kind of tension or guarding issues on the part of our dog but again, you're going to know that because you know your current dog, you know their behavior and you'll be able to decide is this a smart thing for me to do or not? Typically speaking, you can use food rewards. Just maybe use a little lower value food rewards to keep this positive and fun for both dogs.

Speaker 1: 4:03

Let's take a different scenario. Let's talk about a puppy and a cat. Cats are a little different. Let your cat observe the puppy from up high or behind a gate, like we talked about in the beginning. You can keep your puppy leashed at first, but we don't want that to be a point of tension, so be careful with that. You're just using that leash as a way to manage your puppy, if needed, to redirect them, and then we can reward calm behavior and interrupt any chasing. We don't want this to become a fun game for our puppy.

Speaker 1: 4:30

Puppies love movement. We call them movement magnets. They are attracted to fast, fun things and cats are those things. So if you have a cat in the home, they can be really exciting to these new puppies. And we want to teach calm behavior around cats, not that they get to chase them whenever they see one. So we want to interrupt chasing. That's where the baby gate's going to help. That's where some management's going to come into play. We also don't want to allow our puppy to corner or harass the cat. Now, cats are pretty good at taking care of themselves. They've got a nice set of claws and they know how to swipe. So we don't want our puppy to get injured either or to get a cut on the nose from being too curious.

Speaker 1: 5:11

So it's important that you manage this interaction and go slowly. It might take you several days to even several weeks before they can live harmoniously together. So don't be frustrated if it takes a little bit of time. But we can show our puppy how to behave nicely around a cat. So, as you're training this puppy, protect your cat's space and routines while helping your puppy learn boundaries.

Speaker 1: 5:33

You might have to rotate your household. That means one animal might be out and the other animal is in a bedroom, or vice versa. You're switching. Maybe the puppy is taking a nap time in the crate and the cat can wander about the house, and then the puppy. It's time for them to get up and do some house training practice. Maybe it's time for the cat to go take a nap and you can do some rotations like that to keep peace in the beginning.

Speaker 1: 5:57

So remember that this takes time. This is a process. It could take days. So remember that this takes time. This is a process. It could take days, weeks. It's not going to probably happen in hours, that's okay. Also, every pet is different. They have their own personality, they have their own unique energy, and so you'll have to figure out what that looks like at your house. But with patience you'll build a peaceful, respectful relationship between your new puppy and existing pets. And remember, training your puppy helps a lot. So as your puppy gets better at things like leave it, you can apply that to the family cat or even your older dog.

Speaker 1: 6:31

Sometimes people think, oh, this older dog will be the puppy sitter and they're just going to want to be with this puppy all day long. That's usually not the case. Usually our older dogs need a break from the high energy of the young puppy, so make sure you're not just leaving it up to your older dog to do all the puppy sitting. All right, you guys, you're not just introducing animals, you're creating a family. So remember, go slow, stay safe and celebrate the small wins. And if you need help, we have detailed guides, videos and support inside our program at Baxter and Bella. Have a great week and happy training. Thanks for tuning in to the Puppy Training Podcast. I hope today's tips help you feel more confident and excited about raising your dog. Remember, with a little patience and consistency, you can create a loving bond and a well-behaved pup who's a joy to have in your family. If you found this episode helpful, be sure to subscribe, leave a review and share it with fellow puppy parents. For more resources, visit Baxter and Bella online. Until next time, happy training.