Quote Originally Posted by Taz_Zoee View Post
I am not an expert on this, but I'll tell you what we tell people at the shelter.
For the dogs first meeting you want them to be on neutral ground. You don't want to bring a new dog into Lily's territory (thats how she sees it). When my brother or I got new dogs we would have all the dogs meet outside. I wouldn't bring the dog into their house and when they got the puppies they were behind a fence in the kitchen so they met my dogs that way....not face-to-face right away. If you get a new dog from a shelter or a foster home you should be able to bring Lily along with you to meet the dog. Then you could see if there would no chance for them to get along. We encourage people (almost demand) to bring in the resident dog for a meet and greet.

Now for the cats. I might suggest to handle that almost as you would introducing a new cat. SLOWLY. If possible keep the cats and the newbie separate so they can learn the smells and maybe see under a door. I happen to have a baby gate I use on the "cat room" door and that has helped with introductions. The dog can see and smell kitty but cannot harm them.

As you know, this could take weeks to have peace in the house. I know it took several weeks before my RB Taz would not smack Zoee on the nose when she got too close. Eventually they all learn how to live with each other in harmony. At least my dogs and cats live in harmony. The two cats on the other hand......not so much.

Also, like I said in Dukes last thread, see if you can get a history on the dog to know how they are with other dogs and cats. I know that's not always easy, but sometimes foster homes can give this info.

GOOD LUCK!! I'm sure you will eventually find the perfect match for your home.
Good tips, I'll have to try the meeting outside thing, but the only problem is, Lily doesn't like to meet other dogs no matter where she is. She finds them all (or at least most) too exciting and she likes things to remain calm or she sort of "freaks out" in a way. So, it's hard to judge how well she will do with another dog, even if they meet on neutral territory.

She hasn't always been the only dog in the house though, i.e. when we had Roxy, so I don't understand why she can't just get along with other dogs and not freak out when meeting them .

I thought about the baby gate idea, too. Letting the new addition be behind the gate and letting everyone come up and sniff it calmly... now I just have to invest in a gate .

Oh, and I always make sure that the previous owner/shelter/rescue has an idea if the animal is good with cats/dogs. I take that into big consideration when we're looking for another dog.

Thanks for all the tips, Cindy!
Quote Originally Posted by snakemama View Post
BAD RAP is a pit bull rescue with some of the finest, most knowledgeable dog people ever working for them. Here's a blog entry from them about introducing a new dog into the household. The dog in this article was a spicy little pit with a history of being snippy with other dogs, and she was able to transition in seamlessly.

http://badrap-blog.blogspot.com/2009...or-dogdog.html

Also, under this link:

http://badrapbarncrew.blogspot.com/p...-to-links.html

Is a PDF file about bringing home a new dog. It's well-written, detailed, and just wonderful!

Good luck with your next pupper!
Those were both very helpful too! Guess I just have to remember to take things very, very slowly.