Episode 35 - Introducing New Pets to Resident Pets

Today we are going to be talking about introducing new pets to resident pets. The key is to never rush the pets into interacting and make sure to take it slow to avoid failure.

Show Notes:

Dog to Dog Introductions
• Always have dogs meet leashed on neutral turf
• Make sure to keep distractions to a minimum
• Do not rush the dogs interacting with each other
• Keep over excitement to a minimum while introductions are happening
• Slowly allow the dogs to interact with each other
• Never scold or baby either the new dog or the resident dog
Cat to Cat Introductions
• Keep new cat and resident cat separated until both cats return to normal behaviors
• Slowly increase the time the cats are interacting through a barrier while slowly decreasing supervision
• Eventually allow cats to interact without a barrier with supervision while keeping them separated when alone
• Cats determine how long this process can take
Dog to Cat Introductions
• Keep new pet contained when first bringing in home
• Slowly allow interactions with a barrier and supervision
• Slowly increase interaction time while decreasing supervision
• Eventually allow dog and cat to interact without a barrier but with supervision

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