Animal lovers are seldom happy with a single pet! They often prefer being around multiple furry friends. While having a house full of pets is wonderful, it is equally important to socialize everyone. The amount of socialization needed depends on the breed you bring home. For example, if you are searching for Pitbull puppies for sale in India, you may need to socialize your furry friend more than a breed like Labrador.

New pet introduction can get tricky and requires precision. As a pet parent, ensure that other pets in your house have received extensive socialization training. Irrespective of the breed, these pooches need socialization training to become good friends with other puppies. Things often work out well and all furry friends live like siblings!

Here is a quick guide that will help you introduce your puppy to other pets:

Get Your House Ready

Make a few changes in your house before bringing a new puppy home to existing pets. If possible, create a designated area for your new furry friend away from other pets. This will help it get comfortable with the new surroundings. Create a safe space for your pet and give it all the toys it needs so that it eases into its new home. It is best to make your new pet familiar with other pets when it is comfortable.

Focus On Scents

Almost all dogs have a powerful sense of smell. It is advisable to get all the pets in your house familiar with each other’s scents before meeting in person. When your new puppy gets used to the scent of other pets, meeting them will not be that difficult.

You can do this by exchanging toys and bedding between your pets. To be more direct, you can rub a piece of cloth on your new puppy and have other pets sniff it to become familiar with its scent. This is always a great starting point to establish a connection between your puppy and other pets.

Proceed To Visual Introduction

Once all your pets are familiar with each other’s scents, you can slowly move on to visual introduction. At this stage, you should focus on getting your new pet used to the sight of other pets and vice versa. Once everyone is comfortable with seeing each other in the house every day, interactions become easier at a later stage.

During the initial days, you can have your puppy and other pets look at each other through a crate or a baby gate. See how each party reacts during such sessions. If everyone seems cordial, things are likely to go smoothly in the days to come. If you notice any party getting violent or aggressive, be patient and wait for this behavior to subside. If you have trained the existing pets in your house, they will get accustomed to seeing their new furry friend every day with time.

Moreover, ensure that the initial meetings are short to prevent any party from getting overwhelmed or intimidated.

Initiate Face-to-face Meeting

After the initial visual introduction, you can proceed to controlled face-to-face meetings. This is when your new puppy can interact with your existing pets in a controlled environment. Such meetings remove fear from your new pet’s mind and motivate it to interact with the other pets. It also makes the existing pets realize that the new family member is not a threat to them.

It is important to choose a neutral space to conduct these meetings. Do not do this in either of your pets’ rooms. A dog (especially an adult) may get stubborn when it stays in its territory. It is best to keep all your pets on leashes. If not leashed, ensure that someone holds them throughout this controlled meeting.

Let all the parties approach each other themselves. If the existing pets in your house have received socialization training, they may take the initiative and approach your new puppy. If the puppy responds properly, they are likely to develop a strong bond in the days to come.

Keep an eye on signs like growling, aggression, shivering, etc. If you notice any such behavior in any of your pets, take them away from each other and go through the previous steps again until everyone is comfortable.

Facilitate Supervised Interaction

After multiple successful controlled interactions, you can leave your pets free. Allow them to know and get familiar with each other. Throw in some toys for them to play with. All this while, monitor these play dates to ensure everyone’s safety.

Move On To Unsupervised Interactions

Once you are absolutely sure about all your pets being harmless to each other, you can slowly move on to unsupervised interactions. This is the stage when your pets are comfortable with each other and consider them members of your family. At this point, you can live your life peacefully knowing that your furry friends will be safe with each other!

Patience Is The Key

From the day you bring a new puppy home, you need immense patience to introduce it to your existing pets. It is just like introducing a kid to a bunch of other children in a foreign setting. If any of your pets act stubbornly, have patience and take things slow. If needed, you can always bring a professional dog trainer on board to facilitate these meetings. Once your pets become familiar with each other, they are bound to live like siblings for the rest of their lives!

Buy Your Next Puppy From Premium Pet House

If you already have pets at home and need another furry friend, Premium Pet House has some of the healthiest and cutest puppies for sale in India. Our dog breeders will help you choose the most suitable breed depending on the puppies you already have at home. All you need to do is give us a call and share your requirements. Our team of ethical dog breeders will handle the rest!