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And Doggy Makes Three - Or Four Or Five...

© Lesli Richardson

So you want to add to your family. Whether you purchase or adopt, you still have to follow a few common-sense guidelines to make your new addition a welcomed member of the house.

If the dog is the first and only pet, your job is easier. Invest in a crate and teach your dog from early on that that's his space. If housebreaking is an issue, you'll find that it's accomplished a lot faster with the use of a crate. (More about this in a future article.) Also, if you don't know how chewy your dog will be, you'll save yourself some money and aggravation until you know you can trust your dog.

If you already have one or more dogs at home, or other pets, you'll need to acclimate them. If adopting a dog take your dog(s) with you to let them get to know each other. (Many animal shelters and rescue groups not only encourage but require this step to ensure a good home.) Keep the animals leashed but let them get close enough to each other to get familiar. If you have more than one animal, let the animals take turns, in order of their dominance, to get familiar. If the dominant dog accepts the newcomer, chances are the rest will follow.

If you have other animals such as cats or birds, you should also do a trail meeting to see how they will react. You don't want a dog chasing a cat or attacking a birdcage. If your newcomer is a puppy you'll be able to crate him when not under supervision, but an older dog needs to be pet and child safe.

And don't forget to include your two-footed kids in the meet and greet. If a dog isn't good with kids then it's probably not a good match no matter how much you want to bring him home. Older children are able to learn how to interact with a dog, but young kids need a dog that's appropriate for them.

Once you get your new dog home, use the crate as a holding area. It will let him get used to the sights, smells, and sounds of his new home, as well as allow the other dogs to have a sniff-fest over him on their "turf." Graduate to supervised meetings through a babygate and allowing the newcomer to pair up individually with your other dogs for supervised play sessions. At first, feed your newcomer in his crate to prevent territorial squabbles.

The copyright of the article And Doggy Makes Three - Or Four Or Five... in Dogs Etc. is owned by Pat Williams. Permission to republish And Doggy Makes Three - Or Four Or Five... in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.