So you’re thinking about adopting a second dog? Do you have a vision that both dogs will be best friends, play and run around the backyard together, and then snuggle on the dog bed together at the end of the day? We have almost always had two dogs at the same time in our family.
But wait, how do you know they’ll be best friends? Are you friends with everyone you meet? Most of us have people we are acquaintances with because we have to be, then we have a small group of close friends that we go out and have fun together.
Don’t expect your dog to love every dog just because you do. And don’t be disappointed if your current and a newly adopted dog don’t hit it off right away. It’s okay for them to just coexist, they don’t need to snuggle and be best buds just because you want them to.
Just as a side note, I am going to refer to your current dog has HE or HIM and your new dog as SHE or HER, just to try and make things less confusing.
Prepare for Adopting a Second Dog
Step 1: Start off by selecting the right dog to be his companion
Think about your current dog’s personality. Try to find a new dog to adopt that will complement or match your current dog’s energy and personality traits.
Is your dog fearful or lacking in confidence? A perfect companion may be a confident dog to help teach him to become more confident in himself.
Is he a senior or low-energy dog? Then, bringing in a puppy or a high-energy dog may just annoy him. Puppies like to play, bite, and crawl over and will not leave your adult dog alone. Consider adopting a 3-5-year-old dog or even another senior dog.
If your dog has any behavior issues, please ask yourself, “Should I get another dog”? Those bad behaviors are only going to get worse when getting a second dog.
Also, consider gender and size.
Opposite sex may get along better than same sex. In general, I recommend adopting opposite sexed dogs. When that is not possible, the second best option is to have two males. Two females are the most likely to have issues.
Bringing Home Another Dog: Day 1
Step 2: Keep the dogs separate
Here are certain steps to take when introducing a new dog to your pack. These steps are very important to keep the balance in your house.
I learned about this process when we first started fostering. The rescue insists that we keep our foster dogs and resident dogs separate for a minimum of 24 hours. I’ll be honest, when I first heard this, I thought they were crazy. How was I going to possibly keep our dogs separate for an entire day? But they are right; it really works and creates a much smoother transition.
I’ve personally gone through these steps many times. Not only with my own dogs, but every single time we bring in a foster dog. It works; as hard as it may seem, these steps help create a calm and balanced transition.
Even the easiest, happy dogs can get stressed when another dog enters their home. It’s only 24 hours, one day of separation that can change the relationship of your dogs forever.
Step 3: Bring the new dog inside the house.
Do not allow the new dog to run loose in the house yet. Keep her on a leash; in fact, I recommend keeping her on a leash for several days until you get to know her behavior inside the house.
Use a bedroom or a baby gate to separate an area in your home for the new dog to relax and adjust to his new surroundings.
Keep this separation for 24-48 hours, depending on the dog. If they seem to be calm and both dogs are easygoing, then 24 hours is more than enough.
Remember, your newly adopted dog is undergoing a lot of new things and can easily be stressed out. If your resident dog won’t give her space, then consider a bigger separation.
Read the Bringing Your New Dog Home and the 3-3-3 Rule for more details.
Day 2 or 3 with Your Dogs
Step 4: The first meeting
After the 24-48 hour separation period and both dogs are calm, you can start the introduction stage. You need someone to help you with this step.
Never introduce your new dog inside your house.
If you have more than two dogs, introduce one dog at a time. Starting with the calmest and easy-going dog first.
Take both dogs for a long walk. The resident dog in front of you, the newly adopted dog behind with your helper (in a single file, not side-by-side yet).
Walk parallel to each other about 10 feet away, slowly working your way
closer together.
After a good long walk, when both dogs seem calm, allow them to sniff each other’s rears (it’s a dog thing).
Watch the dog’s body language, showing of teeth, growling, stiff erect tail, stiff body stance, ears back, or raised hackles. If any of these occur, give a firm NO, and continue walking. Do not allow this to escalate; as soon as you see ANY of those signs, separate the dogs and start to walk again.
Keep these first interactions short and sweet. Don’t overwhelm either dog with too much sniffing. Once they have a minute to check each other out, start walking again. Repeat several times until everyone is calm.
Once this meeting is successful, you may go on to the next step of bringing the dogs inside the house. The resident dog should be allowed to enter the home first, then allow him to welcome the new dog inside.
Step 5: Giving the new dog more space
You can take down the baby gate now and give your new dog a little more freedom. I still recommend restricting one area or floor of your home; in fact, I recommend this for up to a week or more.
If you have a fenced backyard, then allow the dogs to run around free outside together. Keep these sessions short, again, not to overwhelm either dog. Allow both dogs to come inside and investigate each other.
Never leave the two dogs alone. If you cannot closely supervise them, then put them in their crates or separate rooms.
Step 6: Resource Guarding
If your dog has never had another dog in the house, you may not know if he has resource guarding issues.
Resource guarding can be the guarding of people, food, toys, dog beds, or any object the dog feels it needs to claim. You need to be super-aware of the signs, and if you’ve never witnessed it before, it may catch you off guard at first.
Watch for a showing of teeth, growling, stiff erect tail, stiff body stance, ears back, whale eyes, or raised hackles. This is a time you really need to learn your dog’s body language.
If you have a resource guarder, then you will need to be super vigilant on feeding time, bones, toys, dog beds, or whatever he likes to guard. Even if you don’t think either dog is going to resource guard, I still suggest having separate feeding areas.
Read Why is My Dog Aggressive with Food – Resource Guarding?.
Day 4 and Beyond with Two Dogs in Your Pack
Step 7: Continue taking it slow
Take a lot of long walks together as a pack. Keep both dogs tired by giving them more than enough exercise. A bored dog equals trouble. Continue being super aware for several weeks or even months, depending on the dog’s personality and temperament.
Read Top 5 Reasons to Take Your Dog for a Walk.
Watch for any signs of stress in either dog. If either dog gets overwhelmed, reduce the time they have together and slow it down even more.
Why is it so important to slowly introduce the dogs?
A newly adopted dog is under a tremendous amount of stress. The resident dog is wondering who the heck this new dog is and why she is in his territory.
Mix these feelings together, and you will get a dogfight. Not because either dog is aggressive, but because it takes time to unwind and to help both dogs understand the situation.
Is it better to have two dogs?
Having two dogs is better for our family, but maybe not for yours. Consider everything that goes into owning two dogs: including picking up more dog poop, more dog hair, more training, and more expensive vet bills. Does your current dog really want a companion, or is it all about you?
I wish you all the best of luck with the new addition to your family. Having two dogs can be a lot of fun. Leave a comment below and let me know all about your new dog and how the introductions went. Any additional tips to share with the Rescue Dogs 101 Community?
Up Next:
Hi!
I am at a loss as to what to do. Last March we fostered a dog (3-4 years old) and it got along so well with our 6 month old puppy, we decided to keep her. After adopting her the rescue put us in contact with the person who had found her at a cemetery and kept her for 6 months. This person stated she could not keep her due to aggression towards their small dog. The rescue was well aware that we also had a small dog. However, the small dog is always by my side and they have done fine. I was also told the rescue guarded her food but nothing else. I feed her in her crate so this was not an issue. For the first several months she had no issues with other items, then all of a sudden she lunged for my small dog who was sitting beside me chewing her bone. I caught her and prevented any contact. So, we would put her in a separate room when we gave them all bones. She seemed to get over this as well as the food guarding. Several months ago, she lunged and began a fight with the puppy ( now a year old). It was difficult to separate them and very traumatic for my husband and I as well as the dogs. We separated them for awhile and they eventually got back to being buddies. 3 weeks ago the rescue attacked the one year old again, she had a toy hide on the chair and the one year old walked by. She does not growl or give warnings, she just lunges. This time the rescue did have puncture wounds to her face even though she is about 10 pounds more than the other. We have not had any success putting them together since. I am able to walk them together but anything else the rescue is aggressive and the one year old is fearful ( she is part sight hound) she is typically very submissive and reacts out of fear when this occurs. The rescue has come a long way in her training but we have also hit a plateau, she is a bit resistant with me at times now also as far as following commands even leashed. We have had 2 different behaviorists come to the house the first ultimately discussed rehoming (giving back to rescue). The second stated they would try but would need to use prong collar and e collar… I’m not a fan particularly for a dog that has a history of abuse and neglect. She also has been to the vet to check for medical issues in which there were none. The vet also put her on calming meds approximately 2 months ago. We have invested a great deal in this dog and adore her but are wondering if she would be happier in a home without other dogs. Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you very much.
I wholeheartedly feel for you. Your rescue is a resource guarder. Our dog, Ginger, has very similar behavior issues. We’ve been working with her for almost 4 years now. She gets better for months, then we let our guard down and she has a relapse. I have many times wondered if she’d be happier in a one dog, one person family. But we love her and couldn’t bear letting her go. Read my story: Living with a Resource Guarding Dog. I can’t make the decision for you. But I wouldn’t count out the prong and e-collar. They can be tremendous training tools if used properly. You can’t just throw an e=collar on a dog and expect them to understand what it means. It takes time and lots of training. And i know you said she acts without any warnings, but look closer… she may show some very slight body language that is alerting you and your other dog. It can happen in a split second, I know! Also read: The Prong Collar, the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly and How to Talk to Dogs. I hope this helps!
Hi!
I wish I would have read this article sooner. We brought home a 10 month old female lab mix to foster for possible adoption from our local shelter yesterday. We have a 3.5 yr old lab mix, also female. She was also from the shelter. We brought our dog to meet the foster dog first and then introduced them in the back yard once we brought the foster home. Then we let everyone have free run of the house. The first afternoon/night went okay with the dogs pkk Lou sting and rough housing all night. We put a crate in our bedroom for the foster dog to sleep and our dog slept in our bed. I made the mistake of bringing home a new dog bed for the foster dog and put it on the floor in the living room where the two dogs then got into a huge brawl. My dog scraped the foster dogs ear causing it to bleed a little. Later in the day our dog now tries to lunge at the foster dog if she even tries to walk towards us in the living room and us guarding the couches. I put the dog bed up after the fight. The foster dog is scared and is pretty much sitting in her kennel. Should I start the steps over? What about bathroom breaks? The dogs do okay outside in the yard.
Yes start all over. It will take more time now to repair the relationship between the two. Keep them separate even in the backyard for now. But do take walks together on leash.
Debi:
I really appreciate your comments here and I’m going to follow them very closely.
I’m still a little confused on Step Two…..Are you saying by “separating the dogs”, they should be in two separate rooms, sight unseen, for 24-48 hours. Or is it ok they can see each other through a gate?
I currently have a two year old Coton de Tulear, who has free reign over the entire house. I will be bringing home a 10 week old “Coton” next week, so it should be interesting, to say the least.
Every situation will be different, so it’s important to read your dogs. Start with sight unseen, then try through a gate. If the gate proves to be too much, then go back to behind a closed door. Just take it slow, wait for both dogs to become calm.
Hi Debi!
Thanks so much for your wonderful website.
Could you please clarify step 2 in “The Best Way to Introduce a Second Dog Into Your Pack” article? I understand that it is imperative to keep the dogs separate for the first 24-48 hours, but does that mean they shouldn’t see each other either? i.e. will it work to keep them separated in different rooms, but visible to each other through baby gates?
Thank you
It really depends on the dogs. If they are very easy going, then yes they can see each other though baby gates. But if either of them get worked up over just the sight, then I recommend no sight. You can offer something of each others to smell.
Mrs. Debi,
Hi! We just adopted a 2 yo male pit/boxer mix from the shelter today named Marvin. We have two dogs at home: Diesel, a 5 y/o male pit/boxer and Zooey, a 6 yo female chi/dachshund mix. We had them both meet Marvin at the shelter before going through with the adoption and no agrgession signs were shown. We had them meet again outside when we got home this morning and it went ok. We hadn’t read your rules yet, and brought him in the house to meet the other two again. Diesel got very territorial and barked, growled/lunged and all other signs you listed at Marvin multiple times, inside and outside in the yard. At the shelter, they told us if Marvin backs down, then its a good thing but if he doesn’t, then that would be bad. The multiple times Diesel got aggressive with Marvin, Marvin retaliated and if we didn’t have them both on leashes, there would have been multiple fights. Is this a sign that Diesel isn’t going to accept Marvin at all, or should we give them some time? Diesel hasn’t reacted that way in a very long time and it was a little scary. Right now we have Marvin in our guest bedroom in his own crate, separated from Diesel and Zooey and are planning on following your rules you have posted. Thank you so much for any advice.
– Keishla
Give it some time. Take a step back, start over and follow the rules listed here. If they got a long outside of the home, there is hope that they can inside. It just takes patience.
So it’s over a year now, how are they getting along ????
It’s been a year of family transition – my husband and I had a 15 yr old (Loki) and a 16 yr old (Aluna), both American Pitbull Terriers. We lost Loki to lymphoma this summer, and we brought home Apollo, a lab pitbull mix puppy, as a companion for Aluna. Unfortunately, we just recently lost Aluna to cancer. Artemis, an adorable little blue American pitbull terrier puppy. It’s early days yet (day 6), but Artemis and Apollo are doing well together. They love to play together, but still need to learn how to relax together, lol. Apollo is already in puppy training, and Artemis starts next week, which I know will help. Apollo is almost 5 months and Artemis is 10 weeks.
Any frame of reference on how long it takes the relaxed stage to start??
So sorry for your loss of Loki and Aluna. As for how long it will take the puppies to relax… they are puppies! Sorry to tell you, but not anytime soon 🙂 They are so young and full of energy.
Hi
We currently have a female Maltese Poodle named Pixie, now 5 years old. My daughters aged 13 and 10 yrs would love a second dog (as we are a busy household, two parents working full time, kids at school and various activities after school and on weekends) we feel Pixie most likely gets bored and lonely with us only being around in the early morning and late evenings, even though we walk her each morning she could probably also use some more exercise/play time. Having a companion for her would give her someone to hang out and play with in our absence. She is a lovely dog with a beautiful temperament, great with the kids and pretty good with other dogs on our walks (she was super friendly and receptive to all dogs regardless of size etc until a couple of years ago when she got a scare from an aggresive alsation who was running free on one of our walks and has made Pixie a little more tentative around big dogs ever since). I feel guilty that we can’t spend more time with her, does this reasoning for getting a second dog sound like a good idea and if so are we better to stick with getting a small to medium breed as the better option for her companion. I read that getting two female dogs can pose problems but am quite nervous about getting a male dog, Pixie lives in a part of the house that she can access the back yard through a cat door so a second dog would also most likely live indoor/outdoor with her, I really don’t want them spraying all over the house!
First, male dogs shouldn’t mark inside your house. With that said, if the dog was aloud to do it in a previous home, or picks up a scent inside your home, then it will require some training. But in general, it shouldn’t be an issue. Only you can answer if getting another dog is right for your family. But it sounds like Pixie could benefit from a companion. You’ll want to find a temperament that compliments her. Obviously stay away from any aggressive tendencies. Instead of getting another dog, you could consider maybe doggy daycare a couple days a week, maybe on your most busiest days. Good luck with whatever you decide. We did just release a new online course about adopting a dog, check it out, maybe it could help answer some of the questions you have: https://www.rescuedogs101.com/adopting-your-perfect-dog-101/
Hi Debi
Thanks for the super useful information. I have a 9 year old Yorkshire terrier. We had another who we lost recently. We are looking to re-home a father and daughter duo of 10 and 6 years. I just need to understand the ‘whilst in the home’ part. I read to give the new dogs their own separate area. For the first say week, even when we are in the home/ communal area should the new dogs be in their room or with us being there can the dogs/ us all be together? Obviously is anything happens I will separate them like a time out. Super clear on everything apart from this part? Thanks Helen
So you are adopting a bonded pair, bringing them into your home with the 9 year old… after the first 24-48 hours of separation, and you walk the dogs together, they meet outside and then inside and everything goes well… then they all can be in the same room with you. Watch for any signs of stress, and don’t leave them alone for any amount of time. The dynamic of the bonded pair moving into your existing dogs space can be complicated. So just be very aware of everyones body language. Better slow than sorry.
Hi, so I just moved and my landlord has 7 dogs, all of different breeds. I’ve been hesitant to introduce them since it’s only been a few days. Today we tried 3 of his dogs. 2 were okay, and one was displaying his dominance to my dog. My landlord went to let another dog in on a leash, and at introduction it lunged at my dog and chased him until my dog fell into a ditch. Do you have any advice on introducing a dog to a “pack”. I’m not sure if he’s traumatized, but I am. I’m also scared because he’s a 20lb jack Russell mix and these dogs are much bigger than him.
One dog at a time. And not on the same day. Take it slow, very slow. 7 dogs is a lot, so I realize it won’t be easy. But take the easiest, most laid back dog first, and work your way up the chain. One dog, one day. And maybe even more than one day once you get into the dogs that are more dominant. Giving your landlord something that smells like your dog, a blanket or something, to allow his pack to investigate your dogs smell.
Do they need to all be in the same yard or something? What’s the need to have them all meet? Because your dog is going to need time to settle in your new home first. If you can avoid interactions for a while, that would be best.
My mother has a large mastiff (150lbs) who lives at her ranch. Unfortunately there are going to be many times in the very near future where our newly rescued 6 year old saint/sheppard mix (75lbs) will be staying with her. Throw into the mix my brothers Great Dane puppy that occasionally is there. My question is this. My mothers/brothers dog do well with other dogs and frequently play at the ranch with any dog that shows up. However my dog, the rescue, growls and lunges towards big dogs (I’ve noticed this on walks). What would be the best way to introduce these guys? As walking them somewhere neutral is unlikely and the intro would have to be on the ranch. Suggestions for control or best case scenario?
Has your dog ever met a large dog OFF leash? Many times it is the leash that creates the anxiety and once they are off leash they love to just play. Could you have a fence between the two dogs? This would give you chance to see how your dog does off leash and still keep the other dogs safe.
Yes, my dog has gone to a dog daycare situation where he is exposed to dogs off leash however I, or our family members have never been present. My concern is the location being familiar to the dogs and the territorial aspect as well as feeling the need to protect known family members that would be present. Any valid concerns there?
If you are concerned, then it’s valid. You know your dog best. I would try the fence if possible. And maybe before leaving him for any long periods of time, go for some short visits to let them play. If you think he’ll try to protect you, then you stay back and let a neutral person be there. Feel free to join us in our free Facebook group for other rescue dog parents and maybe others have suggestions they’ve tried! https://www.facebook.com/groups/690535831406635/