Introducing a New Puppy into a Home with an Existing Pet.

It was November and I had spent 3 months searching for just the

right puppy. 

MAX

Finally we had found what we considered to be the

perfect one. Luckily she was already 7 weeks old so she could

already be separated from her mother. 

 I was so excited when we brought her home, our new addition to the family. I made 

sure I had all the required supplies; food and water dishes, food, a bed and a

crate. We were ready. The fact that we already had a cat never

really caused me much concern. I figured they would give each other

a good sniff and surely it would not take long for them to become the

best of friends and live happily ever after. 

A friendly Cat 'n' Dog

I had visions of our little puppy all curled up with our cat in front of the fireplace.

Reality hit when I walked into our house carrying a crate with our

newest family member inside. Our dog is a female so I will use she

when referring to a dog. The cat seemed a little curious so in a

moment of obvious brain freeze I took the puppy out of the crate to

introduce the two. 

Our cat in a split second armed herself for

battle. The hair was straight up making her look like I had just

taken her out of the dryer and she started hissing and growling as if

her opponent was a rottweiler rather than a puppy that could fit in

my hand. The poor puppy could barely walk so she just fell into a

ball and shivered and whimpered. I'm sure that as soon as we removed

the dog and put her back in her crate, the cat went to her bed and

started plotting a way to have the new puppy just suddenly "disappear"

like getting flushed down the toilet. 

Cat 'n' Dog

She considered herself to be

the queen of the household and it was obvious that there was going to

be a battle for the crown. Boy had I called this meeting wrong! 

In an attempt to help you avoid a similar situation I'm going to outline

a few pointers as to what you SHOULD do when you introduce your new

puppy to your resident pet. This information comes from research

done concerning raising a puppy, unfortunately the how to introduce

guidelines would have been much more beneficial if found BEFORE the

actual deed was done.

Firstly the introduction must be done slowly. If possible take a

towel and rub the new puppy with it then bring it home and put it

somewhere that your resident pet will frequent and be able to smell.

This will also work if you take something that has the scent of your

existing pet on it and put it in the carrier you bring your new puppy

home in. 

When you first bring a new animal into your home she should

stay quarantined from the other animals until it has seen the vet.

Once she has seen the vet you will still need to keep her separate

from the other animals.

Allow the animals to smell the new puppy

from under the door so they may become to each other. After a few

days to a week you can try the introduction but make sure you are

close in case you have to take on the roll of referee. If there is

some growling or paw raising don't interfere unless of course you

feel your puppy is in danger. 

 If your puppy is being crate trained

you can put her back in the crate and continue to take her out for

short intervals to spend time with the other animal. Make sure the

amount of time you let them spend together is increased gradually.

Doberman puppy with a German Shepherd

Most importantly never leave the two animals alone and be sure to

flood the resident animal with love and attention so they feel secure

in their place in the family. This will greatly reduce the risk of

having the new puppy take a whirl in the toilet. If you want all

animals to live in harmony you have to be patient and let the animals

deal with each other in their own way and in their own time.

Comfy Cat

Author: Cass Hope

Cass Hope has been a writer for over 5years. Cass regularly

contributes to online and offline publications in a variety of

areas. She also teaches classes in basic obedience for puppies.

She is currently sponsoring this site: http://www.1st4dog-

training.info

Article Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_5461_54.html

Contact him at http://www.1st4dog-

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