a dog coming to stay for the week , how to integrate ?

bigblackdog

any tips on how to integrate a new dog who i have offered to look after for the week ?
we have a 4 yo male labrador
our 'guest' is a 3 yo male labrador

hes coming tonight :eek:

Kittendreich

As you don't have much (any!) time to prepare them...I'd recommend that you meet out of your house and go for a long walk, play ball etc so that both dogs get time together on neutral ground to suss each other out and the exercise will make them tired and more tolerant when they get home. If you can, walk back to the house so they are walking together and into the house to save a 'confrontation' in the car or at the door.

As the dogs are both boys and a similar size and age that may cause a few problems as it will be harder for them to sort out who is 'boss', but it really depends on the individual dogs & their personalities. Do they know each other? Do you anticipate any problems (i.e. is your dog territorial, used to other dogs in 'his' house, aggression/socialisation problems with either?) - that would give posters a better idea of your concerns and what might help.

Raggs_2

Having baby sitted many of our friends dogs for days to weeks, and adopted a stray for a month or so whilst finding it a new home. All whilst having a cat as well, the best advice I could give is let them get on with it, and stick to your rules.

Don't fuss, don't get excited, the dogs will probably play around for a while, so before it arrives clear low tables, move delicately balanced ming vases etc etc. Once they get the idea that the other one will be around for a while, things will calm down. If you can get them playing together outside for a while before (so both are tired) it may help speed this bit up.

Stick to any house rules, for instance in our case, dogs aren't allowed in the bedroom, no fences/gates or closed doors, thems the rules, and the dog sticks to it. Each time the new dog tries to go in, it gets dragged out. Generally they get the idea very fast (they learn it just as much from our dog). Then don't spend any more time petting the friends dog than your own, pet them together (avoid jealousy).

Don't give them 1 toy, or 1 chew, it will lead to problems. If you give them 2 (one each) be prepared for both of them to want what the other one has, and spend the next half an hour swapping sneakily, until they realise they lost the first one.

Feed them at the same time (assuming you don't just leave food out 24/7). But give them it a reasonable distance apart (so there's no chance of thinking the other dog is trying to steal). If you can control your dog more easily, put the friends dogs food down first, and excitedly say your dogs name whilst carrying his bowl to the usual spot. Thankfully our dog won't even touch the cats food until she walks past him having left it.

Take them out often (more often than usual). Although we've never had an issue with dogs forgetting their house training, I always assume it's a possibility, and would rather give the strange dog the best chance possible.

Ask the friend about habits, likes and dislikes etc etc.

Enjoy it. Enjoy seeing your dog have company. Resist the urge to get another dog so your dog has company all the time.

bigblackdog

Kittendreich wrote: »

As you don't have much (any!) time to prepare them...I'd recommend that you meet out of your house and go for a long walk, play ball etc so that both dogs get time together on neutral ground to suss each other out and the exercise will make them tired and more tolerant when they get home. If you can, walk back to the house so they are walking together and into the house to save a 'confrontation' in the car or at the door.

As the dogs are both boys and a similar size and age that may cause a few problems as it will be harder for them to sort out who is 'boss', but it really depends on the individual dogs & their personalities. Do they know each other? Do you anticipate any problems (i.e. is your dog territorial, used to other dogs in 'his' house, aggression/socialisation problems with either?) - that would give posters a better idea of your concerns and what might help.

thanks , your first paragraph sums up my own thoughts on what i will do , exactly what i was thinking , get them off on a walk to get them a bit used to each other , then play ball in the garden try to get them freindly with each other then bring them indoors.
The new dog we have never met before , our dog is quite territorial , and dominant , although playful , very exhuberant which may cause a problem if anything .
I think he will be fine otherwise i would not have offered to have our 'guest' , if they do start fighting :eek: , what is the best thing to do , apart from run ?

jennikitten

Are they neutered? If they aren't/only one is, I wouldn't leave them alone.

zaksmum

I was just about to say this. If they both still have their bits, there's quite likely to be trouble.

If they do fight, just recall your own dog and find out (in advance!) what the other dog recognises as the "stop that right now!!!" command.

How come you've offered to mind this dog if you've never even met him?

jennikitten

As well as the fighting, there's also the 'one of them liking the other a bit too much' problem...

bigblackdog

mine has his bits , i have offered to have him for different reasons , i.e ours can go to theres when we need somewhere , it would be nice to have another dog around for a while , if all goes well that is .
I was just thinking of any possible problems that may arise , perhaps from others experience , so thanks for everyones input

bigblackdog

jennikitten wrote: »

As well as the fighting, there's also the 'one of them liking the other a bit too much' problem...

:rotfl: nice way of putting it , i have pondered that , bucket of water?

jennikitten

bigblackdog wrote: »

:rotfl: nice way of putting it , i have pondered that , bucket of water?

Well I'd be extremely careful, my parents have a Pomeranian (regular sized one not teacup size) who's about 4, and about 6 months ago they got a baby poodle. Pomeranian left the poodle alone (in fact, poodle bothered him more than the other way round) until he started maturing, and then there was an incident of fairly vicious rape.

Edit: They are both male btw

lisawood78

The point people are making with ref to them ermmm 'getting amorous' may seem amusing/ridiculous considering they are both males but we have 2 females and the older one regularly 'humps' the other til she submits and rolls over. While there is no nastiness involved in this, she does use it as a dominance act, and only does it if the younger one is getting a bit too big for her boots.
What I guess i'm trying to say is that one of these dogs tries this on the other one, there may well be a backlash with teeth and quite possibly a fight. Not trying to scare you but please be very careful and do not leave them alone in the same room, IMHO.