Introducing Pets to People (Kids) and Other Pets

On Sunday I brought home a foster dog, he is a 10ish month old mutt. He doesn't know a thing, not his name, no commands, not even "sit". That said, he is a pretty calm dog, he doesn't jump and he walks nice on a leash, always a plus in my book.

I live outside of town, so I picked him up in town. I knew I would first have to introduce him to my kids, 3 years old, and 3 months old, the 3 month old isn't really a concern, she isn't going to be grabbing him or anything, but it is nice to see his reaction to babies in a controlled environment. First he met my 3 year old, I told her not to grab him and let him sniff her hand, I had her stand to his side and told her not to stare and hunch over him so he didn't feel threatened at all. She is pretty good with animals. It has a lot to do with how the kid reacts that will set the mood. You don't want the kid to run up and grab the dog's face, we have no clue how he will react and of course you want to avoid any bites. She stood at his side and let him sniff her hand, I gave her a treat to give to him flat palmed. I had already tested and given him a treat. He wasn't snippy, but just to avoid any issues I had her just sit it on her palm so no fingers were snapped. I wanted to make sure he knew she was a good thing that came bearing gifts. I made sure the environment was controlled, so this was an on leash meeting, just in case he became tense or uncomfortable. I looked for early warning signs, ears back, whites of eyes showing, shifting eyes, excessive drooling, tail between legs. You do not want to wait until bearing teeth, growling, or hair up, those are late warning signs and a good indication the child and dog should not be interacting at that time. The nice thing about early warning signs is you can quickly diffuse the situation and possibly try again later, you do not want to push the dog too hard, especially a foster or shelter dog that no one has knowledge of their history. You really need to watch kids with dogs and make sure kids know how important it is that they are gentle and non-threatening around strange dogs. The number one way you are going to have a successful introduction is making sure the child is on the same page and understands how to approach a dog, not  pull on them, grab ears, grab tail, etc.

So, it turns out that my daughter and the foster boy get along pretty well, that does NOT mean I will leave them alone together. I strongly believe young children and dogs need to be supervised. As far as my 3 month old goes, I held her, he sniffed her a little, I didn't let his face in her face, after the sniff he walked away and has no interest.

3 yr old and foster boy

Next he was due to meet my dog Ava, she gets along with most dogs, especially if they are calm. Ideally you want to introduce on neutral territory, I didn't have that option because I was the only adult with no help. I tied foster boy outside and went in and got Ava because we were not a neutral spot, I opted to take them for a walk together. Again, ideally when doing the walk approach, you want two people so one can walk each dog, I did not have this luxury. I walked Ava up to him where he was tied up and had her sit and wait while I untied him. Her hair was up a little, but he seemed nonplussed. Do not force the dogs to interact. They need time to relax, Ava had the one up because she has lived with us for seven years, you could definitely tell from body language she was more comfortable; ears up, relaxed prancing gate, relaxed tail. Meanwhile, foster boy had his tail tucked and ears back, he walked slowly and unsure. I walked one on each side, I did not force Ava in his face, as the walk progressed his tail relaxed, which is great! As soon as he appeared more relaxed, I turned around and headed back to the house. You want to look for a relaxed tail and face, even a play bow, remember a wagging tail is not always a happy tail! Halfway back to the house he decided to sniff Ava, Ava hates being sniffed and tucked her tail, but tolerated and then she decided to sniff him. We got back to the house and I separated them with a gate just to make sure they were good. They appeared fine, both were relaxed.

The other reason I put up the gate was because I didn't know how he would be with cats. CC sauntered down the hallway to see what was going on. She immediately puffed up and hissed. It would have been very helpful if foster boy would have known some commands, like "sit", "stay", and "leave it"...well he doesn't and I did not have time to teach him these things before he came in. He was not aggressive in any way, but very interested and playful. CC did not like this. They both seemed to calm down a little, so I walked him out of the mudroom on leash, he laid down, so I let go of the leash, but kept it on so I could have quick access in case he decided to chase her. Make sure when using this approach not to yank back or yell at your dog, you want it to be positive, so try redirection if they do decide to chase. He doesn't so much chase as just can't leave her alone and she hates it, she does not want to be sniffed or be around him, so she hides and he follows. I would say he isn't a very good fit in my house, but I do not think he has an issue with cats, I just think he is feeding off of her energy and in the right household with a more laid back cat, he would probably do well. For now, I just watch very closely and make sure to try and redirect if he is annoying her. I want to make sure he has positive experiences so he doesn't develop any aggression towards cats.

foster boy and Ava

I hope I thoroughly explained the introductions for everyone, if you have any questions or perhaps I should explain something further, don't hesitate to post a comment!

I was going to do weekly, but I think I will do 2 a week, look for my next post tomorrow or Saturday!

Side note: He is a really sweet dog and up for adoption, if anyone is interested. :-) He is very food motivated and knows sit now. He isn't jumpy or high energy at all and likes to hang out outside.