Dog introductions

[svenya]

I have 8 year old male Mcnabb collie mix who is typically very mellow mannered and shy but is very sweet once he warms up with people and sometimes dogs. My younger dog who was a female recently passed away at the age of 6 due to complications with epilepsy and they were the best of friends. While my current dogs temperament with other dogs has always been an issue I never worried much about getting them both around other dogs as they had each other so it wasn’t a big deal. Now that he’s alone I do feel bad that he’s isolated in a sense (he gets ALOT of human stimulation) from other dogs and would like to socialize him more. In the past I’ve typically introduced him out in front of our house with a single dog (usually the “not a mean bone in their body” type) w/ and w/o leash and sometimes with a muzzle if I do off leash. I kno a muzzle isn’t commonly used for introducing but I’ve noticed if we can get through the initial meeting without aggression or growling usually he’ll settle down quick once he realizes the dog isn’t a threat. I do try the off leash as well cuz he immediately causes leash tensions which I’ve read can also increase aggression. Another thing I try is to have someone hold my dog while I introduce myself to the new dog and stay between my dog and the new dog to show trust I guess. Long story short I’m looking for advice on initial introductions with a temperamental dog.

 

[andreea777]

@svenya I'd do a nice long leashed walk before ANY introductions. Follow the leader, as big a gap as u need for dogs to be calm. Switch leader
. After an hours walk in neutral territory (not in front of house) try intro as you think works best.