Chapter 3: Introducing Your New Dog to Your Resident Dog
Rules as integration increases:
Supervised Entry: Bring them home with leashes on, letting your resident dog enter first to claim space, then allow the foster in. This reinforces to your resident dog that this is still their home
Controlled Exploration: Keep them on leashes indoors initially, allowing short, positive interactions with treats and praise
Increase Time Slowly: Gradually increase supervised time together, ensuring they can comfortably ignore each other or have play bows (play invitation)
Separate at Night: Keep them separated (baby gates, crates) when you can’t actively supervise, especially overnight, for the first few weeks. This gives your resident dog uninterrupted rest time in their own home