First time Intros

brittk · November 2009

So we are hoping that by summertime, if all goes as planned, we will have our Kai! (dont know how I'll wait till summer, but I've waited 2 years so what's another couple of months, right?)

Anyways, this will be the first dog in our home (non family pets, both grew up with dogs). All of our close friends have dogs ranging from 3-7ish in age. 3 are large breeds, 2GSDs and 1 Rhodesian Ridgeback mix and then a JRT. We hope to be able to do everything humanly possible with our Kai ; park, dog park, picnics with pals, dinners at outdoor pubs, walks around downtown, general play dates with friends, travel etc. Especially playdates with our friends' dogs.

Knowing that Kai are like elephants, they never forget, do you all have any pointers on introducing our new puppy to our friends' dogs? I will say that one of the GSDs has just recently begun showing aggression to other dogs mainly when he is on leash and the JRT has not been trained at all.

I wasnt sure if the introductions should be different than if were introducing a new puppy dog that already lived in the home since these dogs will not be living together? Any advice you can give would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

BradA1878 · November 2009

Kai are very social and polite dogs. I would let your new pup meet the other dogs right away - as in very young (under 14 weeks). Take it slow, but let them interact. The key is keeping the experience positive - so feed both dogs (pup and adult) while they meet. if the adult dog is acting inappropriately, get your pup out of there BEFORE she/he has a bad experience.

----

tjbart17 · November 2009

Koda was really good at meeting dogs from the get-go. At nine weeks old, he seemed to have his own polite rules on how he wanted dogs to go up to him and would sit and watch them until they calmed down enough for a proper intro. (you know butt sniffing and all that. lol). I would start early, just maybe not a dog aggressive dog.

He was also really good at not jumping on other dogs, pulling towards them, etc. He was a very well mannered young man.

Remember, always set up your pup for success not failure. Kai's are so sensitive and when something goes wrong they do remember.

And congratulations!!!!!!!

brittk · November 2009

Thanks for the advice and I wil be sure that there are tons of treats available! Are there any methods you think would be best? should we walk the dogs together around the block, plan a chance meeting, etc? I definitely want for the first meeting to be with the Rhodesian, who is the calmest and most polite of the bunch.

Assuming the the dog aggressive GSD's demeanor toward other dogs doesn't improve, do you think that before 14 weeks is still the best time for a meeting? I definitely am not going to wait until all of the shots are administered before we are out going new places and meeting new people and dogs but I want to make sure that we have as many possible positive experiences and help our pup to be the best he can be.

Tara: I can only hope that he has the same demeanor as Koda ;) hopefully he'll be as handsome too =)~

Thanks again!

First time Intros

Comments