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Originally Posted by theporkieyorkie  Hopefully, since he's been living with another dog, he will enjoy being with your little one.
If you haven't introduced them yet, I would say the best place to do so first is on neutral ground...in other words, not in your house or at the house the other dog was living at...so neither of them feels threatened that the other is invading their territory. I would also keep both dogs on a leash at first....that way you can control the situation easier, if anything should happen. This gives the dogs a chance to meet without the additional external territorial to see how they get along with each other on equal ground.
When I let dogs meet for the first time...I don't let either one of the dogs dominate the other by jumping on the other dog and I don't let either dog get too aggressive with the sniffing. Bigger dogs will literally bulldoze Ricky and lift his rear legs off the ground, if i let them.
Whenever I let another dog in my house, I usually put up a baby gate in between my boys and the other dog at first...so the other dog has time to sniff around and everyone has a chance to calm down before being together. Too much excitement can bring out aggression in some dogs and it definitely does in my older male. I also make sure I pick up toys, chewy's etc etc....because sometimes dogs can get possessive over their food and toys. I also monitor playtime and food time closely...to make sure nobody invades each others space.
I also think one of the best things you can do for your dogs to get them to get used to each other is walk them together as a pack!! I am currently babysitting a dog and walking him with my dogs literally changed his behavior. Before I walked them together, he looked at my little 4 lb dog like prey, like a squirrel or rabbit....and now he sees him as a pack member.
I am guessing you are probably going to see a big difference in energy levels between your 6 month old and the 9 year old. Hopefully, the 9 year old will become a good role model for your puppy...and I am sure he will be so grateful to have a nice warm home this winter!!
IMO, anyone who keeps a yorkie outside in the winter is crazy. They don't have undercoats like other dogs do....so they get cold much easier!! A lot of people thing dog clothes are just for "looks," and sometimes they are...but for our breed in particular, they really do need coats and sweaters to keep them warm in the winter.
Good luck with the introduction!!! I am so glad you decided to take in the 9 y.o yorkie!! I absolutely love seniors, but I know re-homing them can be very difficult...so this little guy sure is lucky!! |
They haven't been introduced yet, we've not even seen him yet. The go between told us the owners sorting all the things I flagged up injections, teeth, health check etc at the vets then I'll be contacted again to arrange the trail period. So we know it'll be after this weekend sometime.
Thank you for all the great tips.
I'd of forgotten about picking up toys and chews. Had thought to go for a walk for their first meeting. Keeping leads on, when they first come home, is a good idea too. Our Border Collie is 9 also, and this yorkie's last companion was a Border collie too, so I'm hoping that helps his adjustment.
Thank you EVERYONE for all the supportive comments. I too couldn't bare to think of a Yorkie outside. It made me want to give it a cushy warm life, for the rest of it's life....and had me shedding a tear at the thought of his life so far. Caleb hates the cold, until we got him, we'd not planned on having a dog, who wears clothes, but he loves his tops, when it's chilly, even goes a fetches it and brings it to us to put on. Mostly he's naked, but I can't see him wanting to going out this winter, without a dog coat on.