The 4 Week Countdown! (help lol)
It's been a while since I did much more than lurk here and I apologise! But now I have some super exciting news to share with you all and I've come for advice (as usual).
In just over 4 weeks time I'll be picking up our newest addition to the family, a 15 week Hokkaido puppy who we have named Kirin. She will be joining the resident ASBO Four here in cold, rainy, gloomy ol' England!
So I'm looking for a few hints and tips on how to introduce her here. This will be the first time I've ever picked up a pup without having my lot in the back of the car - with my Inuit breeder I used to borrow one of her paddocks and do a neutral territory 'meeting' there and then the pup would go in a crate in the back of the car for the journey home so they would be 'in' with the other dogs. I've never had a problem introducing a pup that way before but this time it's going to have to be a little different. Obviously Kirin is quite a bit older and will be quite a bit smaller than your average 8 week old Northern Inuit pup.
We will be arriving home from our very very very long journey at probably around 2am. I have no idea how Kirin will be in the car, but here's hoping she travels okay. Now I'm not sure whether introducing them all at 2am is going to be the best of ideas. So I was thinking of maybe sleeping downstairs with Kirin and leaving my lot upstairs as is normal until morning, then they can all meet outside in the front garden (which my four do not usually go out on) when it's light outside. Failing that we could potentially chuck them all in the van and take them up onto the plains for a proper 'neutral territory' introduction.
It's been around 4 years since we last brought a puppy home, so I feel all a bit rusty! If anyone has any advice or stories they'd like to tell I would love to hear them!
In just over 4 weeks time I'll be picking up our newest addition to the family, a 15 week Hokkaido puppy who we have named Kirin. She will be joining the resident ASBO Four here in cold, rainy, gloomy ol' England!
So I'm looking for a few hints and tips on how to introduce her here. This will be the first time I've ever picked up a pup without having my lot in the back of the car - with my Inuit breeder I used to borrow one of her paddocks and do a neutral territory 'meeting' there and then the pup would go in a crate in the back of the car for the journey home so they would be 'in' with the other dogs. I've never had a problem introducing a pup that way before but this time it's going to have to be a little different. Obviously Kirin is quite a bit older and will be quite a bit smaller than your average 8 week old Northern Inuit pup.
We will be arriving home from our very very very long journey at probably around 2am. I have no idea how Kirin will be in the car, but here's hoping she travels okay. Now I'm not sure whether introducing them all at 2am is going to be the best of ideas. So I was thinking of maybe sleeping downstairs with Kirin and leaving my lot upstairs as is normal until morning, then they can all meet outside in the front garden (which my four do not usually go out on) when it's light outside. Failing that we could potentially chuck them all in the van and take them up onto the plains for a proper 'neutral territory' introduction.
It's been around 4 years since we last brought a puppy home, so I feel all a bit rusty! If anyone has any advice or stories they'd like to tell I would love to hear them!