Introducing a new puppy to your resident dog – When Maya met Lucia

When we thought about getting another puppy I actually ended up making a list of pros and cons, and of course what Maya wanted was at the heart of our decision. It was one of those times when I really wished that she could actually speak! Lucia is almost 9 months old now and I can safely say that we made the right decision – the girls love playing  together and are often to be found sleeping side by side on the settee or curled up together in a dog bed or crate. So today I thought I’d share with you the way I introduced the girls and got them used to each other. When we bought Lucia home we introduced her to Maya in the garden, well to be more accurate we let Maya think that she “found” her. I have read lots of advice online that it’s a good idea to take your dog with you to collect your new puppy but as it was a fair distance by car, and I already knew that Maya was quite relaxed about having other dogs playing in our garden I decided it would be less stressful for the girls to do it this way. (I guess if Maya had a different personality I would have approached it differently) At first I kept both girls on a lead but it soon became apparent there was no need and although initially there was quite a lot of sniffing, when I bought Lucia into the house Maya was happy to let the pup explore her crate and bed.

Of course the initial introduction was  just the start – Lucia was pretty full on with Maya for the first couple of months enjoying nothing better than to swing off her ears! Good old Maya had the patience of a Saint and soon learnt to ask to be let into her den for some “me time” I rewarded her with a raw chicken wing or yummy chew when she asked to leave the room to stop the situation getting heated. I didn’t leave the girls alone together for longer than 5 or 10 minutes for several weeks, mainly because of Lucia’s ear fascination, but I am relieved to say that they both co-habit peacefully together (with the odd bit of play fighting of course)  happy to share food and treats with each other which I really hadn’t expected! Obviously I fed them separately at first to be on the safe side.

I do think it’s important to allow your older dog to keep to his or her routine so I still took Maya out on her usual walks, this had the advantage of allowing Lucia to get used to spending time alone and as Maya always naps after her walk it gave Lucia a bit of one to one time with me.

Have you got any tips about introducing a new puppy to the rest of your household? Why not comment below and let us know.

Love Sal, Maya & Lucia xxx

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