Introducing Your Puppy to Other Animals

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Bringing home a new puppy can be a bit of a shock to your existing pets, so take the time to properly introduce your puppy other animals. And although the way dogs establish dominance may seem violent, it's important to be there to firmly establish yourself as the alpha dog of your household.

When your puppy is the only animal you have, you won't have to worry about him not getting along with any other pets. However, if you have any additional dogs, cats, birds or other pets, there may be an adjustment period while all your pets get to know one another. Don't be alarmed if your new puppy doesn't immediate take to the other animals – it can take several weeks for your pets to establish a new pecking order.

The first thing you should do when you get your new puppy home is let it and your other pets meet each other. You may encounter some displays of dominance in this situation, especially if the other animal is older. Once the two meet each other, try to leave it up to the animals to decide what happens.

For the first few days – and especially if your pets are clashing a lot – it might be helpful to lock the puppy up at night and any other time the house will be empty. Simply shut him in a bathroom or bedroom where there's nothing he can really destroy. This prevents any major animal battles from occurring while you aren't home to play referee. This is an especially good idea if your puppy is much smaller than your other animals since he could easily be hurt.

If you're introducing your puppy to another dog, be ready for the two to fight for dominance. This process should be relatively violence-free, although it may not look like it to you! Be sure to step in if the fighting gets too aggressive and make certain your dogs know that bad behavior is not acceptable. If you have more than one dog, you may need to help your puppy get established in the pack – or dominance order – that your current dogs have already established.

The best way to do this is to use a dog crate. Put your puppy in the crate and let the other dogs approach and sniff the puppy. This lets them get used to each other without being able to attack one another. If one of your current dogs makes any aggressive sounds or motions, step in and correct them. This lets all of your dogs know that being aggressive towards each other is not acceptable, and in the pack mentality, it establishes you as the top "dog."

If you're introducing your puppy to other animals, the process will be a bit different. If your other pet is a cat, you'll hear some truly tremendous hissing and growling from you feline if she's never been around dogs before. After several weeks, though, she'll generally begin to accept your puppy – or at least tolerate him. Sometimes, in fact, your younger cats will actually enjoy playing with your new puppy and the two will become very good friends.

With caged animals, puppies will often sniff and bark at them a few times, but otherwise, they'll generally ignore rats, ferrets, guinea pigs, and the like. However, if you let any of these rodents out of their cages, keep an eye on the two to make certain your puppy doesn't try to play too roughly with them.

Remember, while adding a puppy to your existing pet family can be a little stressful at first, in the end, all of your animals will become used to each other. All it takes it a bit of firm instruction and a reminder that fighting and aggressive behavior is not allowed.