Introducing your new puppy to your senior dog

Bringing home a new puppy is exciting and requires planning; when you already have a senior dog at home, it’s even more important. In fact, your senior dog should be the first thing you consider when you begin to toy with the idea of a new furry family member — after all, they were there first and will have to be okay with sharing their home, their life, and most importantly, YOU.

With a little preparation and patience, you can determine if a puppy is right for your family, and help your senior dog be as excited about their new sibling as you are.

It’s important to consider your resident dog’s needs before bringing home a new friend. For some dogs, bringing a new puppy into the home is rejuvenating and exactly what your senior dog needs to regain that pep in their step. Others may not be so eager to welcome a furry brother or sister into the home. When determining if your senior dog wants a friend, think about the following:

• Dog experience. When considering if your dog would like a doggie sibling, start by thinking about your dog’s history with other dogs. Do they like to go to the dog park and interact with new dogs? Have you had other dogs stay over in your home, or live with your dog before? Are they avoidant or reactive to other dogs when you’re walking down the street?
• Personality. Routines are beneficial to all dogs, but to some are particularly important. How does your dog cope with change? Do they become anxious and pace or vocalize non-stop? Do they guard items that are (or they decide are) theirs? Does your dog like other dogs but isn’t particularly tolerant of rowdy play or dogs who get in their face?
• Play style. Much like human relationships, not every dog is a perfect fit — a doggie love match will include play styles that complement each other. If you have a small senior dog with back issues, be mindful of a large breed puppy that plays by pouncing on other dogs’ backs. If you have a large senior dog with prey drive, you’ll want to avoid getting a small fluffy puppy that will run and look suspiciously like a bunny.

You may not know the answers to these questions right off the bat, and that’s okay. To get an idea of how your dog fares in regards to these categories, observe how your dog responds to other dogs in controlled environments.

• Phone a friend. One of the best ways to see how your dog feels about other dogs is to schedule a doggie playdate with someone you trust. Start by taking the dogs for a walk, then work up to playtime in your yard, and ultimately, see how they do inside your house. This will help simulate introductions to a new doggie family member so you’ll get a better idea of how your dog will react.
• Ask an expert. Many doggy daycares assess your dog’s social behaviors before introducing them to a big group. This is not only good for getting intel on how your dog responds to other dogs with different characteristics. It will also build your dog’s confidence if they’re not familiar with how to interact, and allow them to exert any pent-up frustration. Some local trainers and pet sitters may offer interactions with their own dogs as well.
• Do a dog meet first. Ask the breeder, shelter, or rescue to let you introduce your senior dog to your potential puppy before you make a final decision. While this won’t be 100% indicative of how the dogs will interact in your home — the new environment is likely overwhelming and building a relationship takes time — it will help weed out any big red flags.

Both puppies and senior dogs have sensitive immune systems. Puppies under a certain age won’t have received all of the vaccines that protect adult dogs, making them more likely to catch and carry life-threatening diseases. Though senior dogs have already received their age-appropriate vaccines and built-up antibodies, their immune systems can be more fragile and turn a common upper respiratory infection into pneumonia or kennel cough.

To keep everyone healthy, start by making sure your senior dog is up to date on all their vaccines. Though you can start introducing your senior dog and new puppy when the puppy is 9 weeks old, keep the dogs separate for at least the first two weeks. When animals enter a new environment, their stress goes up and their immune system goes down, leading many new pups to develop upper respiratory infections. If one of the dogs is sick when you bring home your new puppy, keep them separate until they complete a full course of their medication.

To minimize incidents, monitor your puppy’s interactions with your senior dog and step in when one dog becomes too much for the other and they need a break. Feed your resident dog and the new puppy separately — this will not only prevent them from eating each other’s food, but also avoid any potential guarding behavior.

Change is hard for any dog, but especially for older dogs who have grown accustomed to their routine and life being a certain way. To help your senior dog get used to the idea of a new pup, start by getting your supplies for your new puppy and setting them up in the house. Just the addition of these is a disruption from your dog’s normal routine, so give them a week or two to begin to get used to the new setup.

Once you’ve found the right puppy for your current dog and family, it’s time to begin their introduction into your home.

First impressions matter

Start by introducing your senior dog to the new puppy on neutral territory. This will give you a better idea of how each dog responds to the other without the factors of your home, and what your senior dog may see at ‘theirs’ impacting the interaction. Introduce the dogs outside your home, with both dogs on leash. Keep in mind that depending on your puppy’s age, they likely don’t have all their vaccines and shouldn’t be walked around the neighborhood even on a leash.

Keep the leashes loose when doing introductions, and don’t force the dogs to interact — instead, allow them to choose to approach and retreat at their own pace.

Once you’ve introduced the dogs out front, you can bring them into your yard (if you have one). Bring the puppy in first to prevent your resident dog from guarding the space. Start by walking them around the yard on a leash, then drop the leashes if you feel they interact appropriately. It’s helpful to let the leashes drag for a little while so that you can easily separate the dogs if something goes wrong.  After spending some time in the yard, it’s time to bring them inside.

Make sure any high-value items are put away to avoid guarding. This includes food, toys, and bones. Repeat the same process (puppy in first, both dogs on a leash, drop the leashes as you feel comfortable).

Watch their body language

While dogs communicate some things through vocalization, most of their communication is through their body language. Puppies are just learning how to understand these cues and may not always be respectful when your senior dog says “that’s enough.” To prevent a combative situation between your senior dog and puppy, it’s important to keep an eye on the body language cues you see from both dogs. Keep in mind that signs of stress can be subtle. It could be as simple as your senior dog not eating, ignoring the puppy altogether, or not showing interest in toys the way they were previously.

Play it safe

Until you’re 100% confident that the dogs are getting along, don’t leave them together unattended. You can crate your puppy while you’re out, which will also prevent them from chewing on things and house soiling. Make sure the crate is in a separate room your senior dog doesn’t have access to. Having one dog in a crate and the other roaming freely around them can build up frustration, which can negatively impact their interaction when they have access to each other. Baby gates are another management tool that can help your dogs acclimate to each other slowly.

Mind the resources

Every dog has different items that are important to them and may be worth guarding. Feed your dogs separately to avoid your senior dog getting into the puppy food and vice versa. To avoid guarding and fighting with toys, it’s helpful to have a surplus around so that each dog has more than enough to choose from. Your attention can also be a resource too, so make sure to give each dog separate one on one time to avoid jealousy.

Your feedback matters

Praising your dogs when they interact appropriately will help them pick up on what you like and encourage them to do more of it. On the flip side, do not punish either dog when they’re not interacting well. This will only degrade their trust in you, and they will associate the negative experience with the other dog, making it even harder to get them comfortable with each other.

Instead, separate the dogs from each other periodically. While you should try to do this before there is a negative interaction, if you see that things are going south, giving the dogs a break from each other will help them reset.

If introducing a new puppy to your senior dog seems daunting, you’re not alone. Reach out to a local certified professional dog trainer for support. They’ll be able to work side by side with you to understand the subtle cues your senior dog may be giving and devise a plan based on what your dogs’ needs. And if it’s not love at first bark for your senior dog and puppy, that’s okay.

Building these relationships takes time and patience. By taking it slow, you’ll ensure that you are happy to have the new puppy as a part of your family and your senior dog is too.